AMP, also known as Accelerated Mobile Pages, is an open-source web component framework developed by Google to speed up page loading on mobile devices and to be integrated into websites. This technology was created by Google in 2015. Using AMP allows website owners to display lightweight versions of their pages from Google’s own servers, improving the searchers’ experience.
What does the AMP acronym stand for?
AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages. As the name suggests, it is a technology that speeds up mobile pages. AMP code can be easily integrated into any website. To implement the technology with any CSS, Google provides an AMP plugin that is easy to install and set up.
AMP is often called Google AMP because it was created by Google primarily to surpass Facebook Instant Articles. It copies the general idea of allowing users to open content without navigating the source website. However, unlike Facebook Instant Articles, where people read the full article within the Facebook app, Google AMP works on the open web.
AMP pages are essentially ghost versions of your website’s pages that load very quickly on mobile devices (sometimes in just a matter of seconds). These pages are cached by Google, meaning they are served from Google’s cache instead of requesting your server—this is why they load much faster than simple HTML pages.
Why should you use AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages)?
The most obvious benefit of using AMP pages is a significant speed boost. Many researchers have found that over 40% of users leave a page if it takes more than 3 seconds to load. Therefore, by making your mobile version load faster, you grab visitors’ attention and significantly reduce bounce rates.
How can you integrate AMP pages into your website?
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) work with minimal HTML and limited JavaScript. It is compatible with nearly all CSS (if you already have a working blog) by providing an easy-to-implement plugin.
How to set up Google AMP on WordPress?
As of today, any website on WordPress automatically supports AMP. All you need to do is:
Install the AMP plugin for WordPress.
Follow the provided instructions step by step.
Choose the Template Mode you want to use. First, make sure your WordPress themes support AMP.
After activation, go to your WordPress Dashboard and visit “Appearance” > “AMP” to see how your new page looks on mobile devices.
To highlight an AMP page, simply add “/amp/” to the end of the page URL.