diff --git a/app/index.html b/app/index.html
index d811dc9..bb19f87 100644
--- a/app/index.html
+++ b/app/index.html
@@ -952,7 +952,7 @@ body {
 
   // Category state (phase 3)
   let categoriesUse = false;
-  let categoriesList = [];        // [{code, name, direction, message, notfoundmessage, pagenotfoundmessage, font, ...}]
+  let categoriesList = [];        // [{code, name, direction, message, notfoundmessage, pagenotfoundmessage, visibilityifnocontent, font, ...}]
   let categoriesByCode = {};      // code → category object
   let defaultCategoryCode = null;
   let activeCategory = null;      // current code
@@ -1202,13 +1202,14 @@ body {
     //   - Home page: always show (per config.homepage or default 'pages/home.md')
     //   - Variant exists for active category: show
     //   - Active category has notfoundmessage: show (renderer falls back to default language)
+    //   - Active category has visibilityifnocontent: visible: show (renderer shows pagenotfoundmessage)
     //   - Otherwise: hide
     if (!categoriesUse) return true;
     if (page.file === defaultPage()) return true;
     const variants = page.variants || [];
     if (variants.includes(activeCategory)) return true;
     const cat = categoriesByCode[activeCategory];
-    return !!(cat && cat.notfoundmessage);
+    return !!(cat && (cat.notfoundmessage || cat.visibilityifnocontent === 'visible'));
   }
 
   // ─── Theme ────────────────────────────────────────────────
@@ -2243,7 +2244,8 @@ function fmtDatetime(dtStr) {
   function visibleCategoryCodesForCurrentPage() {
     // Which categories should appear in the dropdown:
     //  - the variant exists for this page, OR
-    //  - the category has a notfoundmessage
+    //  - the category has a notfoundmessage (fallback to default content), OR
+    //  - the category has visibilityifnocontent: visible (shows pagenotfoundmessage instead)
     //  - always include the active category so user can see what they're on
     const out = new Set();
     const page = currentPage
@@ -2251,8 +2253,8 @@ function fmtDatetime(dtStr) {
       : null;
     categoriesList.forEach(cat => {
       const hasVariant = !page || !page.variants || page.variants.includes(cat.code);
-      const hasMsg = !!cat.notfoundmessage;
-      if (hasVariant || hasMsg || cat.code === activeCategory) out.add(cat.code);
+      const alwaysVisible = !!cat.notfoundmessage || cat.visibilityifnocontent === 'visible';
+      if (hasVariant || alwaysVisible || cat.code === activeCategory) out.add(cat.code);
     });
     return out;
   }
diff --git a/docs/reference-config.md b/docs/reference-config.md
index c0b429f..0c0d829 100644
--- a/docs/reference-config.md
+++ b/docs/reference-config.md
@@ -163,6 +163,12 @@ default-category:              # The category used when no ?cat= parameter is in
                                # current page. Also enables fallback: the renderer will fall back to
                                # the default-category content instead of hiding the page.
                                # Omit to hide the category from the dropdown when no variant exists.
+  visibilityifnocontent: hidden  # hidden (default) or visible.
+                               # hidden: category disappears from the selector when no variant exists
+                               #   for the current page (unless notfoundmessage is also set).
+                               # visible: category stays in the selector regardless. When the user
+                               #   navigates to a page with no variant, pagenotfoundmessage is shown
+                               #   in the content area. No fallback to default-category content.
   pagenotfoundmessage: "This page is not yet available in English."
                                # Message shown in the content area when a page cannot be fetched for
                                # this category. Overrides the top-level pagenotfoundmessage.
@@ -204,6 +210,7 @@ categories-selecttext: "Language"  # Label shown next to the icon in the categor
 | `name-latin` | No | Secondary label in the dropdown, shown alongside `name` when `name` uses a non-Latin script. |
 | `direction` | No | `ltr` or `rtl`. Default: `ltr`. RTL flips nav and content direction. |
 | `notfoundmessage` | No | Short note shown in the dropdown when no variant exists for the current page. Also enables fallback to default-category content. |
+| `visibilityifnocontent` | No | `hidden` (default) or `visible`. `visible` keeps the category in the selector when no variant exists; navigating to it shows `pagenotfoundmessage` with no fallback to default content. |
 | `pagenotfoundmessage` | No | Message shown in the content area when a page cannot be fetched for this category. Overrides the top-level `pagenotfoundmessage`. |
 | `font` | No | Font filename from `assets/fonts/`. Loaded on demand when this category is activated. |
 | `line-height` | No | Body line height override for this category. Restores to theme default when switching away. |
@@ -277,7 +284,8 @@ categories:
   - code: nb
     name: Norsk
     direction: ltr
-    notfoundmessage: "Ikke tilgjengelig på norsk"
+    visibilityifnocontent: visible
+    pagenotfoundmessage: "Denne siden er ikke tilgjengelig på norsk ennå."
   - code: ar
     name: عربي
     name-latin: Arabic