Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
If you want to consume online information on your phone, you go straight to Google, right? What would you do if you tapped on a website and were made to wait for that page to load? If you’re anything like me you’d exit and go to the next page in Google’s list without even thinking about it.
The way that technology has advanced over the last few years means people simply don’t expect to wait longer than a heartbeat for a webpage to load; it has become natural.
Think about that from a content creator’s point of view, every time a webpage takes too long to load you lose a reader and potentially a customer. As a content creator, you simply cannot afford to lose customers that easily.
What is “Accelerated Mobile Pages”?
AMP is a set of guidelines and coding conventions using three key areas – AMP HTML, AMP JavaScript and Google AMP Cache – that aims to dramatically improve the performance of the mobile web, enhancing the user experience exponentially. These conventions aim to reward pages with rich content – including videos, graphics and animations – that load instantaneously.
Google wants the same code to work across multiple platforms and devices so that content is accessible everywhere in an instant, not limited by what device you’re using.
How does it work?
The project relies predominantly on AMP HTML, a new framework built completely out of pre-existing technologies. It allows websites to implement light-weight webpages and much more. Companies like Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn are already planning on integrating the system in the near future.
Key areas affected
Content:
The system will reward webpages with rich content, image carousels, maps, social plug-ins, videos etc.
Distribution:
The system will allow content created in any country to be accessible worldwide. A new approach to caching allows publishers to host their own content, while allowing efficient distribution through Google’s ‘High Power Caching’ system. Google also plans on offering open servers to everyone, completely free of charge.
Advertising:
Google ads currently fund other free services offered by the company, they are planning on offering a new range of ad formats in the future.
Summary for non- techies
The new AMP system plans on speeding up web browsing on mobile devices, improving load times and making websites more responsive. Overall Google plans on making web browsing on mobile devices totally seamless, vastly improving the user experience.