AMP Pages for WordPress – A Speedy Overview

What do heavy-hitters like Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, eBay, and Pinterest have in common?  They all use AMP, and if you have a WordPress website, you should be looking into AMP Pages for WordPress as soon as possible!  

The mobile market matters now more than ever, but you can’t just burst onto the scene without being well-equipped to deal with the specific issues and hurdles of the market. 

You can’t go to Sweden without packing a comfy & puffy winter jacket!

It’s all about translating your content into the mobile space, taking into account the context where it will be viewed and interacted with. 

To that end, AMP pages for WordPress could be the ace up your sleeve. 

AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) is a free and open-source initiative that aims to, you guessed it, accelerate the average loading speed on mobile pages. 

Speed is a crucial factor here since the probability of bounce increases 32% when page load times go from 1 second to 3. Combine that with the fact that the average load time for a page is a whopping 15.3 seconds and you can start to see the need for AMP. 

It doesn’t matter if you have a fantastic landing page or lead magnet. If visitors don’t even get to view them because your loading times are so high that they get bored, you’ll be seeing that bounce rate go sky-high and the conversion rate disastrously low. 

Still, are AMP pages for WordPress worth it?

Today we want to talk all about how to create AMP pages for WordPress, how they work and the benefits of using them, so let’s get right to it! 

Pros and Const of AMP Pages

How AMP Pages for WordPress Work

Launched in 2015 by Google, AMP basically means a simplified mobile version of your existing website page. It uses the bare minimum HTML and limited Javascript, so that the pages can be hosted on Google AMP Cache.

This allows Google to load up the cached version to your visitors as soon as they click on the search result link. You can use AMP for product pages, landing pages, news stories, you name it.

Top benefits of using AMP

  • It Improves Search Engine Ranking and offers a high chance of earning a carousel spot on a SERP (Search Engine Results Page). Google prioritizes AMP pages and speed is a leading factor in its search engine rankings, so improving it is very important.

  • It Is Free and Open-Source, thus more secure and always improving, since the code has many eyes on it at all times, looking for possible weaknesses and patching them up promptly. 

  • It Lowers Bounce Rate – On average, mobile web browsing is an activity between activities. Sure, it can end with you scrolling for half an hour, but it usually starts with someone having a few minutes to spare and wanting to check something out quickly. This is why loading times are a crucial factor. 

  • It Improves Server Performance – Since bulky elements are stripped away, your website requires less bandwidth, leading to better server performance.

  • It automatically optimizes images – When creating the AMP version of your page, all images are optimized for mobile visitors (converting them to the WebP format when needed).

How to Set Up AMP Pages For WordPress

  1. Download a Plugin – While there are many plugins available, we will use the official AMP WordPress Plugin as an example in the following. It is beginner-friendly, as it offers a guide for the available customization options. 

  2. Install and Activate the Plugin – In your Dashboard, go to Plugins -> Add New and search your desired plugin. Next, go to the “Installing Plugin” page and press the “Activate plugin” button.

  3. Tinker With the Settings – Opening up the settings, you have 3 options to customize the way your page will look. 

  • StandardYour active theme will integrate with AMP as its framework, using its templates and styles to render pages. This means your canonical URLs are AMP.
  • Transitional: The active theme’s templates are used to create both AMP and non-AMP versions of your content. Each URL has a paired AMP URL.
  • Reader: Utilizes simplified templates to create paired AMP content.  Only posts/pages will be served as AMP in this mode.
  1. Test If the Page Displays Properly – You can do this through Google’s official AMP tool

  2. Troubleshoot – If you get a “404” error, here’s what you can do. In your WordPress admin, go to Setting -> Permalinks, and press “Save Changes”. Don’t change anything, just press the button. This will refresh the permalink structure for your website. 

  3. Track AMP Pages in Google Analytics – First you need to find your tracking ID. In Google Analytics, click the gear icon. Next go to Account -> Property -> Tracking Info -> Tracking Code. Your ID should start with UA. Copy it. In WordPress, go to AMP ->Analytics and paste your code in the “Google Analytics” field. Press the “Save Changes” button. 

Potential Cons of AMP Pages & Final Words

The core principle of how AMP Pages for WordPress operate could pose a challenge to some people. It only displays cached pages, so visitors may not have access to your latest content. 

Moreover, you need to make pages lightweight enough to be eligible for distribution through the caching system. That means there is no room for dynamic scripts such as Facebook-like boxes or email opt-in forms. This poses a technical and design challenge: 

“ What do you keep in AMP pages for WordPress and how do you present them for the biggest impact? “

This is where having an expert developer in your corner to help you tackle such issues can be a huge advantage. We here at ProfitableMedia pride ourselves on our technical expertise, deep knowledge library and top-notch communication skills. 

If you wish to reach out, we would be more than happy to schedule a call with you where we can discuss all the ways in which we can help you implement AMP pages for WordPress on your own website. We will take your needs and desires and create a roadmap to achieve concrete results, scale your business and bring your vision to life! 

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PM | Marketing Specialist

Marketing tips to empower business

Camilla B. <br><span>Digital Marketing Specialist </span>

Camilla B.
Digital Marketing Specialist

Camilla works hard to ensure that the Marketing strategies and executions are on point and data-driven, not only for our clients but internally at Profitable Media as well. She’s been coming up with innovative ways to reach and engage audiences for over 8 years.

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Vlad P. Marketing Specialist at Profitable Media, LLC

Vlad Popirda

MARKETING SPECIALIST

If you’ve been swayed, convinced, or otherwise persuaded by the writing on our page or in some of our emails, chances are Vlad was the man behind it.

Be it Social Media Management, Marketing Strategy, PPC Ads, or Copywriting, you can rely on him to get the job done.

With a Bachelor’s in Marketing and a Master’s in Advertising, his life’s work is to leave this world better than he found it, and he aims to achieve that by putting his talents in the service of the right people and helping businesses make a difference in the world.

Outside of working hours, you may find him singing Britney Spears songs at karaoke nights, or exercising his creativity in varied ways, such as playing chess, designing board games, playing guitar, or playing Dungeons & Dragons with his mates.

Alisa Villanueva Account Manager at Profitable Media, LLC

Alisa Villanueva

ACCOUNT MANAGER

Alisa is the glue that brings all the parts of our operation together. The one always keeping an eye on the bigger picture. The person that makes sure that it all works smoothly and on schedule, giving everything an artistic spin and flourish with her keen eye for design.

With her background in sales, customer service and art, it’s no wonder her strength is in communicating with people, be they our customers or us, her team.

While juggling her different tasks (Project Management, Web Design, Quality Control, Customer Service), one thing never changes: she will use her artistic sense to make a project unique and she will hear out the person she is working with, understanding their needs and wishes while integrating and tying them all together to create an outstanding final product.

When she’s not tuned in to her work, you’ll find Alisa taking ordinary things and making them beautiful. In her artistic endeavors she explores many different mediums of expression, like painting, ceramics, dance, and cooking. Among these, her dancing stands out, as she is part of a salsa dance performance team, doing gigs both locally and nationally.

Her dream is to travel and explore different cultures, which she is always doing from home by cooking and trying out various cuisines from around the world.
Short Excerpt:
Alisa is the one that makes things work smoothly and on schedule, giving everything she does an artistic spin and flourish with her keen eye for design.

With her background in sales, customer service and art, it’s no wonder her strength is in communicating with people, be they our customers or us, her team.

Zach Warshawsky Chief Operations Officer at Profitable Media, LLC

Zach Warshawsky

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Zach manages the operational side of our business and coordinates all the work done by our team. He designs technical architecture and always keeps an eye towards the future, making sure his solutions are scalable. He applies his skills in all sorts of fields, such as Project and Team Management, Sales Funnels, Web Technology, Split Testing, Automation and CRM.

If there’s one trait he shares with Henry, it’s passionate problem-solving. Although he has been working for over 25 years in Sales, Marketing, Management, Team Building and Customer Service, perhaps his relevant business credentials start even earlier. At 15, he started a business selling and installing car stereo systems before he even had a driver’s license. Armed with a reseller’s permit and a passion for business, he started down the path of entrepreneurship and hasn’t looked back since.

With four amazing children and a wonderful wife in his life, his goal is set: provide the best possible life for them that he can. To that end, he works hard on helping clients scale their businesses through the use of cutting edge digital marketing tools.

His weapon of choice on this quest is not a coincidence, for his knowledge of technology is certainly top-notch. This can sometimes be a blessing and a curse however, when the Apple Genius Bar can’t solve a friend’s problem, it’s Zach’s phone that gets lit up.

To unwind, he spends time with his children, goes on weekly dates with his wife and is passionate about crafting culinary art… he unwinds and loves creating amazing home-cooked meals for his friends and family!

Henry Hamamjy Chief Executive Officer at Profitable Media, LLC

Henry Hamamjy

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

One of the two men that started it all, Henry has a knack for judging character and managing the internal structure of our team. The go-to guy for when business owners hit a roadblock, he is well known for offering unique, scalable solutions to any issue that presents itself. 

With a background in Sales, Marketing, Management, People Development and Leadership, he puts it all to good use in the service of his clients and fellow team members, helping them better themselves. 

He’s a born problem-solver, breaking any seemingly impossible task into achievable actionable items.  He has successfully helped dozens of businesses expand to the 7-8 figure level, by designing and implementing extensible, supportive and responsive infrastructure that his clients could then leverage to their fullest advantage. 

At work, he loves helping our customers make their dreams a reality, taking businesses to the next step of success, guiding them all the while. Outside of work, he enjoys a good meal with friends and a nice Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. He also likes travelling with his family and exploring different cultures and finding out more about our world. Having dreamt of becoming a soccer player when he grew up, he has since traded that sport for another, namely golf, which he partakes in whenever he gets the chance.

Little known fact, he won the Atomic Spicy Food Competition when most of the people quit after just a couple of bites. Scientists have yet to come up with an explanation.