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!
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
-
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.
-
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.
-
Tinker With the Settings – Opening up the settings, you have 3 options to customize the way your page will look.
- Standard: Your 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.
-
Test If the Page Displays Properly – You can do this through Google’s official AMP tool.
-
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.
-
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!
