Make your website super fast with AMP HTML
Everyone wants a fast website. Visitors often drop off if a page loads too slowly. AMP HTML was specifically created to make websites blazing fast, especially on mobile devices. In this article, we explain in a simple way what AMP is, why it is useful for SEO and user experience, and how you can use it yourself. You will receive clear examples and useful links.
What is AMP HTML?
AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages. It is a technology developed by Google to make mobile websites faster. It works with a special version of HTML: AMP HTML. This version has limitations, so that your pages automatically load quickly. Think of less JavaScript and a different way of displaying images.
Read more on the official AMP website: amp.dev
Why use AMP?
- Faster loading times: AMP pages load almost instantly, even on a slow internet connection.
- Better user experience: Visitors don't have to wait and stay on your site longer.
- Higher in Google: Faster sites rank better in search results.
- More conversions: Faster pages often lead to more clicks and purchases.
How does AMP work?
AMP uses a combination of techniques:
- AMP HTML: A simplified version of HTML without heavy scripts.
- AMP Cache: Google stores a copy of your page on their servers.
- Limited JavaScript: No custom scripts, only special AMP components.
Example of a simple AMP page
<!doctype html>
<html amp lang="nl">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<script async src="https://cdn.ampproject.org/v0.js"></script>
<title>My first AMP page</title>
<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.jouwsite.nl/mijn-pagina">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,minimum-scale=1,initial-scale=1">
<style amp-custom>
body { font-family: Arial; padding: 1em; }
h1 { color: #2196F3; }
</style>
<style amp boiler plate>
body{-webkit-animation:none;-moz-animation:none;-ms-animation:none;animation:none}
</style>
<noscript>
<style amp-boilerplate>body{animation:none}</style>
</noscript>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Welcome to my AMP page!</h1>
<p>This page loads super fast with AMP HTML.</p>
<amp-img src="https://www.yoursite.com/example.jpg" width="600" height="400" layout="responsive" alt="Example image"></amp-img>
</body>
</html>
AMP Limitations
AMP isn't for everyone. Here are a few drawbacks:
- Less creative freedom: You can’t use regular JavaScript.
- Extra work: You have to create a separate AMP version of your existing pages.
- Tracking is different: Analytics must be done via
<amp-analytics>components.
AMP and SEO
AMP helps with SEO indirectly. Google uses load time as a ranking factor, and AMP is super fast. Additionally, you can be visible in Google News and on mobile with an AMP label, which increases your click-through rate.
Combine AMP with Structured Data
You can combine AMP with Structured Data to get rich snippets:
<script type="application/ld+json">
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "NewsArticle",
"headline": "AMP makes your site faster",
"image": [
"https://www.jouwsite.nl/images/amp-snelheid.jpg"
],
"datePublished": "2024-10-01",
"author": [{
"@type": "Person",
"name": "Jan de Vries"
}]
}
</script>
When should you consider AMP?
AMP is most useful if you:
- Publish news articles or write blogs
- Have a large mobile audience
- Create sites where speed is critical (like landing pages)
Alternatives to AMP
As new web technologies have emerged, AMP has become less mandatory. Alternatives are:
- Optimize Core Web Vitals: Google's other way to measure speed
- Progressive Web Apps (PWA): More interaction and offline support
- Server Side Rendering (SSR): Faster rendering via frameworks like Next.js
More info about Core Web Vitals: web.dev/vitals
Implementing AMP: step by step
- Check if your current CMS (like WordPress) supports AMP plugins.
- Create a separate AMP version of your page or article.
- Use the AMP validator to check for errors: AMP Validator
- Refer from your original page with a
<link rel="amphtml" href="...">tag.
For whom is AMP less suitable?
If you have a complex webshop or interactive site with a lot of JavaScript, AMP may not be the right choice. For simple content or blogs it is ideal.
Conclusion
AMP HTML is a powerful technique to make your website lightning fast on mobile. It is not suitable for every situation, but for news, blogs and simple landing pages it can provide a better user experience and better results in search engines. Test it yourself and find out if it suits your website.
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