As web technology evolves, a short loading time of a page continues to be one of the main expectations that users have. Having to wait a long time before the actual page loads can often lead to frustration and possibly even to users leaving your site for good. It is therefore important to know a way how to prevent this scenario from happening. And that is why we are now going to explain what exactly AMP is and how does it help you to increase the loading speed of your website.
What is AMP
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) is an open-source HTML framework created by Google in 2015. It provides a way to build web pages easily and with much more focus on user-experience by reducing the loading time of a webpage shown on a mobile device. According to Gizmodo, pages can load by up to 3x faster than non-AMP pages. There are currently over 1 million live websites using AMP.
More specifically, its goal is to reduce page loading time and increase the overall performance of mobile sites. As a result of this strategy, users will end up being happier, which will promote more consumption and decrease the bounce rate. This benefits both users and publishers.
Possibilities
Websites
Fast and mobile-friendly copies of non-AMP websites. They can be recognized by a lightning bolt symbol in mobile search results. Additionally, the official WordPress plugin, which allowed WordPress websites to include AMP-ready pages has been announced in 2018.
Web Stories
Formerly known as AMP Stories, create full-screen visual narratives through images, videos, GIFs, text and audio, or even animations and tappable interactions. Advertisers and publishers have an opportunity to use Web Stories in Single Page Story Ads, which are supported by Google Ad Manager and Google DV360 (Beta). These full-screen ads can be used to invite users to another page or an app with a single tap. An additional monetization option is the possibility to place links into organic story pages.
AMP Ads
Apart from being faster than regular ads, they are optimized for minimal disruption for users. Building ads in AMPHTML will make them load as fast as the content, which in turn increases viewability and engagement. As an increased safety feature, ads built in AMPHTML will not be delivered until they are validated. This ensures that the ads are free of malware.
AMP E-mail
E-mails are an essential part of everyday life both for personal and business use. AMP E-mail seeks to improve and modernize this experience through dynamic content that battles limited and static message options. Senders can now include AMP components and thus making modern app functionality available. The format allows recipients of AMP E-mail to interact with the content dynamically and directly in the message. Supported clients include Gmail, Mail.ru, and Outlook.
How does Accelerated Mobile Pages work
Simply put, the loading speed can be achieved thanks to several main actions AMP does:
Prioritizing resource loading
Before displaying a page, downloads are optimized and prioritized according to their importance. In other words, user-relevant content will be shown first, so the user can start viewing the page without waiting.
Pre-set layout
Since AMP requires custom-set properties of assets beforehand, it can predict the layout of the page in advance. This ensures, that the page doesn’t need any extra time to adapt and set a correct layout only after all assets are already loaded.
Pre-rendering
In order for AMP to not waste time rendering after the user clicks on a page, rendering is already in the process while he is still in Google’s search result page. As a result, a significant amount of loading time is saved.
For these processes to work properly, it is important for some elements in the framework like for example image tag, to be replaced by custom elements.
How to get started
Implementing AMP into your website has never been easier. All you have to do is to visit its website and you will be provided with all the information you need. Among others, there are various guides, tutorials, examples, templates, tools, and even a virtual playground where you can try out how the framework works right away. For any additional information, you can also visit their YouTube channel.
Summary
Now, that we’ve helped you to answer the question „What is AMP?“ and how can it help your website, you can also bet that we at Wiredelta are also ready to help you with providing the latest technologies and architecture solutions! In case of any further questions, don’t hesitate to contact us!
