AMP – Accelerated Mobile Pages
Another approach for mobile websites is to convert your standard or responsive website to the AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) standard. This is an open source enterprise aimed at making the web perform best on all mobile devices. AMP websites are consistently fast, beautiful, and high performing across devices and distribution platforms. This is important when considering that even one second of loading time is enough to distract users. There is a proven relationship between a long loading time and bounce rate of users: the longer it takes, the more users abandon your page. A study also shows that the performance of your website affects the behaviour of users: 40% of users leave a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.
AMP websites also look good on desktop devices, although not all the functionality that is possible on standard or CMS-based websites is available. It’s up to you to decide if you want a standard website with AMP pages for mobile users or if you want an AMP website only.
Here are some characteristics and pros and cons of AMP websites:
Characteristics of AMP websites
AMP returns to the main purpose of a website: minimal effects and extra focus on content. AMP reduces external JavaScript and uses inline CSS to boost the page performance. It was founded on the initiative of many publishers and technology companies and is supported by Google. As such it profits fully from Google’s increasingly mobile-focused search algorithms and SEO criteria. Its goal is to improve the mobile experience and thus your AMP website will have better Search Engine Result Page (SERP) ranking especially on searches on mobile devices. Google also provides a free cache for your AMP pages, thus making the loading times even faster.
Advantages of AMP websites
The principal advantage of AMP is that it speeds up page loading. As there are no useless elements to slow them down, AMP web pages are lean, slick, and fast. Users relish on pages that don’t make them wait, so AMP essentially guarantees that your site attracts more visitors.
Another advantage is that it improves mobile ranking. Though AMP is not yet a ranking factor, it has a positive influence on mobile ranking due to its faster load time. If Google begins prioritizing AMPs, as it might do soon, it will have even more of a positive effect on SERPs.
Finally, the user experience on mobile devices is better. Regardless of the type of network the (mobile) user is connected to, the web pages load quickly and cleanly, and slick user interface is pleasant to interact with.
Disadvantages of AMP websites
The main disadvantage of AMP websites is a direct result of the main feature of AMP: the limited instruction set. There is only a limited number of JavaScript commands, HTML tags, and CSS elements available for AMP. This means that many functions that can normally be implemented on a standard website are not available with AMP. This is especially true for interactive or app-like websites with complex user interactions.
Another disadvantage comes from Google caching, although it may make your web page load faster. Since your web pages are served from the Google cache rather than your website, the latter may lose SERP authority as it is less frequently accessed. Furthermore, the dependency on Google is potentially problematic. Although AMP is an open source project with a huge development community, it is totally clear that the project is conducted in the interest of Google, the company who controls the direction in which the project is heading.
We are here to help you making the right decision for your website
As you can see, there are several factors to consider. The principal one is making sure your website attractive to users in terms of loading time, presentation, user friendliness, and content. Maybe an AMP website is best for you, or maybe a responsive website is a better solution. It depends on the purpose, the specifics, and the users of your website.
We would be happy to help you decide what type of website is best for your project. We are experienced in techniques as well as all other aspects of website design, creation, functionality, and implementation. Consequently, the next step may be to contact us for independent and free advice.