Definition
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs) is an open-source coding standard project supported by Google. The objective of the AMP project is to enable publishers of static content to build web pages that render fast on mobile devices. Responsive sites can be slow to load on mobile as desktop resources are heavy and often have excessive content for a mobile device.
Load speed matters because site performance can significantly reduce conversion rates. Mobile devices in particular often suffer from poor internet connectivity and so this further handicaps sites with poor load speed. AMPs achieve a faster load speed through a number of methods including:
- AMP uses a streamlined version of CSS.
- JavaScript is prohibited and so this prevents the use of some applications.
- It forces developers to use an off-the-shelf JavaScript library that AMP provides.
Can I get AMP to work on WordPress?
AMP can be integrated with WordPress sites in less than 5 minutes.
- Install the official AMP WordPress plugin here.
- Activate the plugin. The plugin will dynamically generate AMP-compatible versions of your pages by appending /amp/ to the end of your post URLs. You won’t need to put redirects on your pages for mobile devices as this is something that search engines such as Google will handle.
- Now Install Yoast SEO AMP Glue plugin. This allows you to change the styling of your AMP pages, put CSS in manually and extra tags in the head section.
The AMP plugin now also supports pages as well as posts.
Conclusion:
As the number of mobile users continues to rise and Google puts its weight behind AMPs it is important not be left behind. Although AMPs do have their critics, with Google being firmly supportive of AMPs, it is critical to ensure you activate AMP pages if you want to avoid being penalised by Google.
Resources:
Conversion marketing – Glossary of Conversion Marketing.
Over 300 tools reviewed – Digital Marketing Toolbox.
A/B testing software – Which A/B testing tools should you choose?
Types of A/B tests – How to optimise your website’s performance using A/B testing.
