Creating AMP: The Best Way to Mobile-Optimized Websites?

As a website operator, you might know this problem: A slow loading time on mobile devices can lead to visitors bouncing and the conversion rate dropping. This is where AMPs come into play. The technology promises faster loading times and better visibility in Google's search results. But how does an AMP work and how can it be integrated into your own website? In this article, you will learn everything you need to know to fully exploit the potential of AMPs.

What are AMPs anyway?

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMPs) are derivatives of HTML, developed by Google to enable a faster and more user-friendly mobile web experience. In other words: AMPs are a stripped-down version of your websites, designed to work quickly and smoothly on mobile devices. Technically, they are based on a mix of HTML, JavaScript and an optimized version of CSS. The purpose of such pages is simple: AMPs reduce loading time by removing unnecessary code and other resources. 

For you, AMPs are mainly important because more and more users are surfing the Internet from mobile devices. However, slow loading times or poor user experience on mobile devices can result in your users leaving your site and switching to the competition. An AMP, which ensures faster page building, ideally contributes to the engagement of your customers and a positive user experience. 

Are AMPs and responsive design the same?

Short answer: No, AMPs and the responsive design of a website are two different things. Responsive design refers to a technique where a website is designed to look and work well on different devices and screen sizes. The website dynamically adjusts to the size of the screen and scales the content accordingly. The content and technical possibilities are identical to those of your regular website. 

AMP, on the other hand, refers to the specific version of your website that is technically based on a different foundation. A different form of HTML code is used for this. What this means in detail is explained in the next section. Although both technologies aim to improve usability on mobile devices, they are different concepts and techniques.

How do AMPs work?

From a technical standpoint, AMPs are based on a reduced version of HTML (AMP-HTML) and CSS, specifically optimized for mobile devices. Let's take a look at what exactly this means and what opportunities and limitations come with it: 

• AMP-HTML: AMP-HTML is a reduced version of HTML. This form of markup language contains special AMP tags that define the structure and design of the page. AMP-HTML is reduced to the essentials and does not contain any unnecessary elements that could slow down the loading time. This makes the pages load quickly and efficiently on mobile devices. However, you also have fewer design options due to the reduced range of functions. 

• CSS: Also, the use of CSS is restricted with AMPs. Only a single, central CSS stylesheet can be used. Inline CSS can also be applied to your AMPs. The use of external CSS stylesheets, however, is not possible. 

Accelerated Mobile Pages technically work by using a simplified version of the HTML codebase normally used on your webpage. This reduced version is hosted on a special AMP cache server infrastructure provided by Google. When a user visits an AMP page, the page is loaded directly from Google's server infrastructure instead of from the original server of the webpage. This significantly reduces the loading time because the page is already stored on the cache server. 

Advantages of AMPs

AMPs offer several advantages for you as a website operator and for your users:

Advantages of AMPs for your users:

• Reduced loading times: AMPs are specifically optimized for short loading times on mobile devices. This allows your users to access content faster and without long waiting times.

• Better user experience: Due to the fast loading time and optimized design, AMPs provide a better user experience on mobile devices. Users can consume your content more easily and faster, leading to higher satisfaction.

• Less data consumption: The reduction of unnecessary elements and efficient data compression reduces data usage when using AMPs. This is particularly advantageous for readers with limited data volume.

Advantages of AMPs for website operators:

• Faster loading times: Short loading times have become an important ranking factor on Google. This means that thanks to AMPs, you also have the chance to achieve better positions with your site.   

• More traffic: Better ranking usually also means more clicks from your users. And more traffic is never wrong, is it?  

• Further positive effects for your ranking: For a while, AMPs were preferentially treated by Google, so you could quickly and easily achieve good rankings with them. However, these times are over since a Core Update in 2021. But that doesn't mean that AMPs can't positively influence the positioning of your pages in the SERPs. As soon as Google registers the positive user signals resulting from the fast loading times, this can still have a positive effect on your Google ranking. 

Disadvantages of AMPs

As so often in life, where there is a lot of light, there is unfortunately also shadow. Although AMPs offer many advantages for users and website operators, they also have some disadvantages that should be taken into account by you:

1. Limitations in design: AMPs set strict rules for the design of pages and the use of CSS and JavaScript elements. These limitations can lead to AMP pages being less creative and less functional than your traditional websites.

2. Limitations in user interaction: Due to the limitations, AMP pages are less interactive than your traditional websites. This can affect user experience and lead to visitors to the page interacting less or being less engaged. In the worst case, your bounce rate may even increase or the time spent decrease.

How to create an AMP

If you want to create an AMP, there are some prerequisites you should keep in mind. The following step-by-step guide shows you how to do it:

Step 1: Prerequisites for creating AMPs

Before you start creating AMPs, you should make sure you meet the following requirements:

• You need an existing website for which you want to create AMPs.

• You should have at least basic knowledge of HTML and CSS.

• You need an AMP validator to ensure that your AMPs meet the AMP specifications. If they don't, they won't be included in Google's AMP cache later. 

Step 2: Creating your AMPs

To create AMPs, you can either convert an existing page of your website into an AMP page or create a new AMP page. If you want to convert an existing page into an AMP page, you should observe the following steps:

• Copy the content of the existing page into a new HTML file

• Use the appropriate AMP-HTML tags to define the structure of the page.

• Add AMP-Components to implement additional functionalities.

If you want to create a new AMP page, you should use the AMP boilerplate as a starting point. The AMP boilerplate contains all necessary files and settings to create these types of pages. 

Step 3: AMP Validation

After you have created your AMP page, you should absolutely check its compliance with the AMP specifications. For this, you can use the AMP Validator by Google. Simply enter the URL of your AMP page and start the test. The validator checks your AMP page for errors and, if necessary, gives you advice on how to fix them.

Step 4: Publication of AMPs

After your page has been successfully validated, you can publish it. You should then ensure that your AMP page is accessible from your website and that it is labeled with the AMP label. This label is displayed in the search results and signals to your users that this is an AMP page.

Sample code for an AMP

The following screenshot shows you what the HTML code for a simple AMP page might look like:

This code contains some important features required for an AMP page, including:

• The ⚡ symbol in the html tag definition, indicating that this is an AMP page.

• The use of the viewport meta tag to optimize the display on mobile devices.

• The link to the AMP JavaScript library, which is necessary for the functionality of the AMP elements.

• The amp-img tag to display an image on the page.

Conclusion

Whether AMPs are suitable for your purposes mainly depends on what you expect from them. The fact is, however, that this type of websites no longer receives preferential treatment in ranking from Google since 2021. The other advantages - short loading times and thus possibly better evaluation by Google - still exist. But so do the disadvantages: A reduced range of functions and limitations in design options can negatively affect user experience. Therefore, you should carefully weigh whether a shorter loading time is worth the risk of an increased bounce rate and shorter dwell time.