Nothing has inspired innovation like speed has. The quest to get somewhere faster led to the creation of the wheel, the motorcar and the airplane. The desire to calculate faster led to invention of the abacus, and later the computer. We as a species demand instant gratification, and this reflects in every part of our life!
The internet, which is a superfast medium to connect with anyone anywhere in the world, is living testament to humanity’s love for speed. Each year our broadband connections and devices get faster and they are able to handle more and more data transfer. So it makes sense that any business owner would immediately embrace a technology like AMP which promises to drastically improve the speed of their website, right? Well, let’s find out!
First thing first – What is AMP?
AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages, and any website owner can use this method to speed up their website for any visitors they get on mobile devices. It helps create a lean and almost bare-bones version of the website that load immediately on any mobile phone, even the ones that have slow internet connections.
Why AMP?
AMP is fast. Ridiculously fast! AMP websites are also given special preference by Google in search results, so if your direct competition has an AMP website, you simply cannot afford to not follow suit.
It is a boon for user experience as it strips the webpage of anything superfluous and only leaves what the user actually wants to see, i.e. the content!
what the user actually wants to see, i.e. the content!
You get to retain your branding! A barebones design format does not mean that you can’t include your brand’s design aesthetics.
Last but not the least, AMP is an open-source project and thousands of developers from across the globe actively contribute to add new features and make existing features better and more robust. This means that as good as AMP is in its current form, it is going to get even better!
And the Downside?
There are some limiting factors that might make AMP a little less appealing to certain businesses.
The AMP version of your website would be cached by Google and served directly to the visitor. Which means if you are a publisher who uses ads on your website to make money, the number of ads you can serve on a single page are going to be reduced drastically.
However, it is important to note that with the new policies being enforced around Digital Advertising, intrusive ads are starting to get penalized. So being AMP ready can actually help your business be better prepared for the new Ad guidelines in the future!
Not to mention that while AMP might offer fewer spots for ads, your conversions actually go up as nothing distracts the user. So you might end up getting better results than before!
The Verdict?
With the exception of businesses which cannot afford to generate fewer ad-revenues, AMP is a must-have for everyone! It is fast, it is clean, and it is a sharp relief from the heavy websites that we have come to expect everywhere today.
P.S: Need an AMP website? Or perhaps you want to improve the performance of your responsive website? Here at Sterco Digitex, we understand the difference a well-made website can make to a business and our experts consistently deliver great websites to our customers that are uniquely built for their specific requirements.
We’d love to help you take your business to the next level. Just write to us in the comments below!