AMP is a powerful new web technology that has revolutionized the way developers and publishers create content for mobile devices. It is a simple and efficient way to create fast-loading, user-friendly, and engaging mobile web experiences that can help to boost engagement and grow businesses.
With AMP, developers and publishers can create stunning, interactive, responsive mobile web pages that load quickly and provide a great user experience.
In this article, we will discuss the benefits and features of AMP, as well as how you can use it to create engaging and successful mobile web experiences.
What is AMP?
AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages, an open-source framework for creating mobile-friendly webpages that load quickly and efficiently. AMP is designed to make web pages load quickly on any device, regardless of the browser, operating system, or connection speed.
It works by setting strict standards for HTML and CSS and limiting the number of resources that can be loaded onto a page.
This helps webpages load faster, as the page only loads the essential resources. AMP also uses caching and pre-rendering so that when a user visits a page, it is already partially loaded and ready to go. This helps speed up page load times even further.
Google and other companies collaborated to create this Open Source Framework, which is available for anyone to use.
Why Use AMP?
AMP, or Accelerated Mobile Pages, is a web development framework created by Google to make mobile web pages faster and easier to use. At a basic level, AMP is a set of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS codes that allow web developers to create highly optimized content for mobile devices.
The goal is to create pages with faster loading times, better user experience, and improved search engine rankings.
For example, when loading a page with AMP, you will likely notice a faster loading time. This is because AMP caches the page on Google’s servers, so users don’t have to wait for the page to load from the original server.
This makes it easier for users to access the content quickly, which can result in higher engagement and conversion rates.
In addition to faster loading time, AMP provides better performance and user experience. AMP pages are optimized for mobile devices and are designed to be lightweight and responsive, so they work well on all types of mobile devices. This means users won’t have to wait for content to load, and they can easily navigate through the page.
Finally, AMP pages also boost SEO rankings. Because they are optimized for mobile devices, they are likely to rank higher in search engine results, which can result in more organic traffic to the website.
Overall, AMP is an excellent web development framework that can help improve a website’s performance and user experience. Web developers can create faster, more optimized content for mobile devices and boost their SEO rankings by utilizing AMP.
History Of AMP
The Accelerated Mobile Pages Project was created in 2015 by a coalition of tech giants like Google, WordPress, and Adobe. Leading news websites like The Guardian, The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Zeit, and El Pais were among the first to benefit from this innovative technology. Twitter and LinkedIn also joined the project from the beginning as technology partners.
Nowadays, many prominent media outlets are using AMP to speed up their mobile page loading times. WordPress users can also use this technology through plugins, though no eCommerce solution is currently available.
The Core Components Of AMP
Most web servers can interpret AMP Source Code since it is written in popular scripting languages. The following are the core components of Accelerated Mobile Pages:
- AMP HTML: AMP HTML is the backbone of the AMP framework. It is a subset of HTML enhanced with custom AMP properties and components. It is written in HTML, with some restrictions such as no inline JavaScript, no external style sheets, and no custom font. AMP HTML includes custom AMP elements such as
<amp-img>and<amp-video>to allow for faster loading of images and videos, as well as other features such as<amp-ad>and<amp-accordion>for ads and expandable content.
- AMP JavaScript: AMP JavaScript is a library of JavaScript components that helps to speed up page loading. It includes the AMP Runtime, which is responsible for parsing and validating AMP HTML and managing resource loading. It also includes AMP components such as
<amp-analytics>and<amp-animation>for tracking analytics and creating animations.
- AMP Cache: The AMP Cache is a content delivery network that helps to speed up the delivery of AMP pages. It caches AMP pages so that when a user requests an AMP page, the cache can quickly serve up the page from its servers. This helps to reduce the amount of data transferred between the user’s device and the server, resulting in faster page loading times.
Overall, these core components of AMP ensure that webpages load quickly and offer a smooth user experience on mobile devices.
AMP Source Code
The HTML of a website must be formatted in a certain way in order for it to be displayed using AMP. All media content such as images, videos and audio must be marked with special AMP tags such as amp-img, amp-video, amp-audio or amp-iframe. For example, an image can be inserted into the source code of a page using the following code:
<amp-img src=”image.jpg” alt=”image detailed description” height=”200″ width=”300″></amp-img>Every page must include certain tags in order to be correctly displayed with AMP technology. These tags are necessary for the page to be rendered accurately and effectively.
- Document Type: The document type must be declared as
<!doctype html>at the very top of the page.
- Top Level Tag: The page must contain either a
<html>or<html amp> tag as the top-leveltag.
- Head and Body Tag: Both the <head> and
<body>tags must be included on the page.
- Canonical Tag: A canonical tag should be included in the header, e.g.,
<link rel="canonical" href="http://www.mynormalURL.com" />
- Character Set: The character set should be declared as
<meta charset="utf-8">in the header.
- Viewport: A viewport meta tag should be added, e.g.,
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, minimum-scale=1">
- AMP CDN Reference: A reference to the AMP CDN must be included, e.g.,
<script async src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0.js"></script>
- Opacity Note: To ensure that all content is displayed correctly, a style tag should be added, e.g.,
<style>body {opacity: 0}</style><noscript><style>body {opacity: 1}</style></noscript>.
Advantages Of AMP
The following are some of the advantages of using AMP on your website:
- Faster Load Times: Since AMP is designed to be a lightweight version of HTML, it is much faster to load than regular HTML. This is especially important for mobile devices with slower connection speeds or less powerful processors.
- Improved User Experience: Because AMP is designed to be extremely fast, it provides a better user experience than regular HTML. This can lead to increased engagement, higher conversion rates, and improved search engine rankings.
- More Visibility: Google has publicly stated that they favor AMP pages over regular HTML pages in their search results. This means that if you use AMP, your pages are more likely to be seen by users than if you don’t.
- Lower Bounce Rate: The faster page load times provided by AMP can help reduce your website’s bounce rate, as users are more likely to stay on your pages for longer.
Below are the different stakeholder groups getting huge advantages from this awesome technology:
Publishers:
• Increased visibility and reach on search engines
• Improved website performance, resulting in higher CTRs
• Increased user engagement and time spent on the website
• Increased revenue from ads.
Users:
• Faster loading times for mobile and desktop users
• Improved readability and user experience
• Easier navigation and consumption of content.
Advertisers:
• Increased visibility of ads on AMP pages
• Improved ad performance due to faster loading times
• Increased relevance of ads due to better targeting capabilities.
Who Inspired Google To Create AMP?
The need for a faster mobile web inspired Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) project. As mobile usage has grown, users have become increasingly frustrated with the slow loading of webpages on their mobile devices. Google wanted to create a technology that would speed up the mobile web, so they began the AMP project.
AMP was inspired by similar technologies already in use, such as Facebook’s Instant Articles and Apple’s News app. These two services focused on providing a more streamlined experience for consuming content on mobile devices by hosting content on their own servers. Google wanted to provide a similar experience but with the content hosted on the publisher’s own website.
AMP operates on prioritizing the loading of the most important content first, allowing users to view that content quickly. To achieve this, AMP combines HTML, JavaScript, and caching. AMP HTML is a subset of regular HTML optimized for mobile devices. The JavaScript library prioritizes content loading, while the caching system ensures that the content is cached on Google’s servers, allowing it to load faster.
The inspiration for AMP has led to a technology that has been widely adopted by publishers, as it allows them to provide a more streamlined experience to their readers. It has also helped reduce the load on publishers’ servers, as Google’s caching system helps to take the strain off their servers.
