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How to Properly Setup Google AMP on Your WordPress Site

Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on WPBeginner. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations. Learn more about Editorial Process.

Do you want to set up Google AMP on your WordPress site?

AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages and is a way to make your website load faster on mobile devices. Fast-loading websites offer a better user experience and can improve traffic.

In this article, we will show you how to set up Google AMP in WordPress.

Google AMP for WordPress

What Is Google AMP?

Google AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages. It is an open-source initiative supported by technology companies like Google and Twitter. The goal of the project is to make web content load faster for mobile users.

For many mobile users, reading on the web is often slow. Most content-rich pages take several seconds to load despite all efforts taken by site owners to speed up their websites.

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) in search and browser view

Google AMP uses minimal HTML and limited Javascript. This allows the content to be hosted on Google AMP Cache. Google can then serve this cached version to users instantly when they click on your link in the search results.

It is very similar to Facebook Instant Articles. However, Instant Articles are limited only to Facebook’s platform, more specifically to their mobile app.

Google AMP is platform-agnostic and can be used by any app, browser, or web viewer. Currently, it is used by Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, and others.

Pros & Cons of Google AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages)

SEO experts claim that Google AMP will help your WordPress website rank higher in Google and improve the user experience for mobile users on slow internet connections. However, there are several challenges for website owners, bloggers, and marketers.

AMP uses a limited set of HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. This means you can’t add certain widgets and features to your mobile AMP website. This limits your ability to add smart email optin forms, Facebook Like buttons, and other dynamic scripts.

While Google AMP supports Google Analytics, it initially didn’t support many other analytics platforms, but this has improved. Advertising options are also limited to a select few platforms.

Despite its limitations, Google is pushing AMP pages by giving them a boost in mobile search. If a significant chunk of your traffic comes from mobile searches, then you may benefit from adding AMP support to improve and maintain your SEO.

However, there have been a few complaints about Google AMP by bloggers.

First, Alex Kras claims that you can potentially lose mobile traffic if you enable Google AMP. Read the article thoroughly because that’s a huge problem. And despite what the Google Tech Lead for the AMP project has said, there aren’t any good solutions that address the issue, in our opinion.

Secondly, Terrence Eden highlights the difficulties of switching back from Google AMP should you change your mind in the future. We don’t believe this is a major issue because you can do a 301 redirect, which several have pointed out in the comment section of his blog posts. Nonetheless, it is something you need to think about.

For the reasons above, we are not switching WPBeginner to Google AMP.

However, since several of our readers asked about how to set up Google AMP in WordPress, we have created a step-by-step process on how to set up Accelerated Mobile Pages in WordPress.

Video Tutorial

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If you don’t like the video or need more instructions, then continue reading.

Setting Up Accelerated Mobile Pages or AMP in WordPress

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the AMP plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you can head over to the Appearance » AMP page to see how your site looks on mobile devices using AMP.

Settings page for WordPress AMP plugin

You can change the header background and text color on this page. The header background color you choose will also be used for links.

The plugin will also use your site’s icon or logo if your theme supports it. See our guide on how to add a favicon or site icon in WordPress for detailed instructions.

Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save’ button to store your changes.

Now you can customize your AMP pages using plugins. For example, you can add related posts, footer widgets, and even social media icons to your AMP pages.

However, you will need to validate your AMP pages after you install any addon plugins.

You can now visit any post on your website and add /amp/ to the end of the URL like this:

http://example.com/2016/10/my-blog-post/amp/

This will show you a stripped-down AMP version of the same post.

AMP mobile preview

If you view the source code of the original post, you will find this line in the HTML:

<link rel="amphtml" href="http://example.com/2016/10/my-blog-post/amp/" />

This line tells search engines and other AMP-consuming apps and services where to look for the AMP version of the page.

Troubleshooting

If you see a 404 error when trying to view the amp version, then here is what you need to do.

Visit the Settings » Permalinks page in your WordPress admin and click on the ‘Save Changes’ button.

Remember, don’t change anything here. You just need to press the ‘Save Changes’ button. This will refresh your website’s permalink structure.

Viewing Accelerated Mobile Pages in Google Search Console

Want to know how your Accelerated Mobile Pages are doing in Google Search? You can easily check this using Google Search Console.

Log in to your Google Search Console dashboard and then click on Search Appearance » Accelerated Mobile Pages.

Accelerated mobile pages in Google Search Console

Don’t worry if you don’t see your AMP results right away. It may take a while for Google to index your Accelerated Mobile Pages and then show data in Search Console.

Getting Accurate Analytics on AMP Pages

One of the major issues with AMP is that it can skew your Google Analytics data. Visitors to your AMP pages aren’t tracked accurately and can even be double-counted.

For the most accurate analytics, we recommend using MonsterInsights. It’s the best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress.

The MonsterInsights AMP addon will automatically fix your tracking so that you get the real stats on your visitors.

We hope this article helped you learn how to set up Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) in WordPress. You may also want to see our guide on how to speed up your website or our expert picks for the best email marketing services to grow your business.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. See how WPBeginner is funded, why it matters, and how you can support us. Here's our editorial process.

Editorial Staff

Editorial Staff at WPBeginner is a team of WordPress experts led by Syed Balkhi with over 16 years of experience in WordPress, Web Hosting, eCommerce, SEO, and Marketing. Started in 2009, WPBeginner is now the largest free WordPress resource site in the industry and is often referred to as the Wikipedia for WordPress.

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Reader Interactions

87 CommentsLeave a Reply

  1. Syed Balkhi says

    Hey WPBeginner readers,
    Did you know you can win exciting prizes by commenting on WPBeginner?
    Every month, our top blog commenters will win HUGE rewards, including premium WordPress plugin licenses and cash prizes.
    You can get more details about the contest from here.
    Start sharing your thoughts below to stand a chance to win!

    • WPBeginner Support says

      That would be a personal preference question, we would recommend taking a look at the pros and cons we state at the start of this article.

      Admin

  2. Sohail Ahmad says

    Hi, I don’t know which one is better for my WordPress basic or advance in the amp.
    can you give me any suggestion about it?

    • WPBeginner Support says

      That would be a personal preference question. For questions about the plugin in its current state, we would recommend reaching out to the plugin’s support.

      Admin

  3. wishlovequotes says

    Hello Admin
    am facing amp issues with my site
    i have tried all i know but not working because the errors keep increasing on my search console
    i really need help because my site ranking and traffic is affected

    • WPBeginner Support says

      It would depend on the specific errors you are seeing on your site for what would be the issue

      Admin

  4. mreshane says

    As i can see why ‘wpbeginner’ didnt take the step to use AMP on they site, look at all the comments, i think that is why.

    Still got error and bugs to clear, unfortunately i was trying to find solutions for using AMP but after all the comments here, i’ll take back my step … It’s not worth yet but for the Accelearating pages let just use cached plugins for now.

    Until all quite good and no more trouble using AMP i will rewrite my step but for now, lets just stay low.

    Thank you WP Beginner for the articles, it helps.

    • WPBeginner Support says

      You’re welcome, we also mention the reasons we did not add amp at the start of our article as well :)

      Admin

  5. Apoorv says

    ‘The site is experiencing technical difficulties.’

    This is what I’m seeing when I’m opening the amp version of my site.

  6. Akash Gogoi says

    I got frustrated because I was finding not solution before reading your article. Thanks for your help.

  7. firstfly says

    it’s very interesting, Thanks for sharing a valuable information to us & Knowledgeable also, keep on sharing like this.

  8. Alison Wright says

    HI I wondered have you now started using AMP for your own site or is it still best avoided? Love to know your view.

  9. Mohsen \hefni says

    Hello WP Beginner

    Thanks for your wonderful effort, really you gave mt a lot of help.
    Unfortunately, I couldn’t enable AMP for my website.

    Thanks

    • WPBeginner Support says

      If the method in this article isn’t working then you would want to reach out to the AMP plugin’s support and they should be able to help troubleshoot the issue :)

      Admin

  10. Aakash says

    Hey Wpbeginner Can you plz make a guide on how to place ads in amp wordpress websites ?

    Thank you for sharing your Information :-)

    • WPBeginner Support says

      We will certainly look into updating the article as we are able and as it is needed :)

      Admin

  11. Subodh Gupta says

    Now Google AMP showing image size error.

    Image size is smaller than recommended size. Images should be at least 1200 pixels wide.

    That huge. What’s wrong with Google AMP?

    • WPBeginner Support says

      It is a change for Google’s top stories carousel for why that size is now being requested. The AMP plugin is saying that it is receiving that error from Google and letting you know.

      Admin

  12. nack says

    how can we use wordpess theme into amp layout, because after entring amp url the page layout is not match as per our site url.

      • WPBeginner Support says

        AMP uses limited HTML, CSS, and Javascript. You would want to reach out to your theme to see if there is something that can be done to make the theme more AMP friendly.

        Admin

  13. Reja says

    Thanks for this valuable article. Not only this one, but also all of your articles are so helpful for us.

    Thanks you all.

  14. Eva Rubio says

    This is a fantastic article! The structure and detail are easy to follow and user friendly. Thanks for sharing.

  15. Friday Alex says

    Thank you for this post!

    I already activated AMP for one of my site and it is performing well but here you did not recommend it.

    Well said, on my next site I will just leave it without implementing AMP and test the two.

    Thanks from Nigeria

  16. Fred Sessoms says

    I see more pitfalls than gains in implementing AMP – particularly with a plugin. For now, I’ll follow your advice and, “not switch to Google AMP, just yet.”

  17. Amin says

    Hi, Thank you indeed for your helpful post. I have two points:

    1- Have you used the AMP yet or not? How can I be notify if you are going to use it in the future?

    2-In w3 total cache, there is an addon for AMP, is that ok?

    For me I will not install the plugin as you recommended.

    I think you can get the best ranking when you have great content, seo, good speed which can be implemented without apm.

    Thanks indeed

  18. Sarah Carter says

    I can’t seem to get AMP analytics working. the Yoast SEO tab for analytics never saves my analytics ID. Any suggestions?

  19. pratik agarwal says

    i need to know if i can add my pages in amp , currently it is just working on posts. when i type PAGE_URL/amp it takes to 404 page

  20. Mathukutty P.V. says

    What is the difference between Automatic AMP and Accelerated Mobile Pages plugin? Free site on wordpress.com is displaying theme header image and better looking in mobile with their AMP plugin,but self hosted site with AMP do not have theme header image and not looking good like free site. Why like this?

  21. zeeshan says

    i have activated amp in my wordpress .. my question is how to now that amp is working on my posts and if i build amp page except main post then what will happen ?

  22. Harold Hunt says

    I am using AMP for WP and have generated and listed some pages. Now I want to discontinue AMP. Can I just delete the AMP for WP plugin or is it a more involved procedure?
    Thanks.

  23. Ashutosh Bharadwaj says

    Hello. I have been using the AMP plugin by Automattic without any issues for the past 6 months. However we started getting AMP errors in search console that said Prohibited or invalid use of HTML Tag on 12 pages including this one

    Has anyone noticed this?

    Posted on the plugin page as well but did not get a reply.

    I hope the bug gets resolved fast as the pages have been removed from search results and have led to a loss of traffic. :(

  24. Petra Jonartha says

    AMP can not install in my wordpress
    Every time I try to install it says “installation failed: destination folder already exist” now should I do so that the AMP in wordpress can be installed??

  25. Ryan says

    Yeah I’ve been having the same issue for months. No matter what I enter in the Analytics box, it won’t save.

  26. Dishu Thakur says

    I used this plugin but i got one problem. This plugin added amp page for my home page when i tried to open that link then it will redirect it in blog amp page . How can i change it?

    • David says

      I am getting this same effect. when I go to my domain.com/amp/ It does not show home home page, but it shows blog post page. How can we change it to where it shows home page?

      • Rhett says

        Under the AMP Plugin. Go: AMP/Getting Started/Homepage then enable AMP Frontpage –> custom amp front page. Then, just below that you will select your homepage from the drop down menu.

        It should all (finally) show up on the AMP version if your homepage/front page.
        I hope that helps!

  27. Nick Patel says

    Hie Guys,

    Very informative post and WordPress is among the early supporters of Google AMP Project. Google AMP plugin for WordPress is quite useful for making the mobile web faster i.e. 4 times faster, which will be a crucial factor for enhancing user experience.
    Also, Baidu – the Chinese search engine is now supporting Google AMP project and will consider AMP sites in SERP result as Google has made it a norm for getting higher ranking on search result. Very soon others will be following the same trend and we will be witnessing Google’s footsteps.

    Thanks,
    Nick

  28. Dipendra Shekhawat says

    Great Article. Does anyone knows hoe to trigger AMP automatically when user is viewing our website on mobile device. I mean for viewing AMP pages I dont want to manually go and type /amp at the end of URL. Is there a way?

    • Eslam Tolba says

      As far as I understand, typing /amp at the end of the URL is only for testing, but the plugin already creates the AMP version of the posts and add the related HTML tag to the source code and then google will index those AMP posts and show them to mobile users

  29. Michael says

    Hi,

    Which Social Media icons plugin is compatible with your mentioned AMP plugin?

    Thanks!
    Michael

  30. Raj singh says

    AMP is not installing in my wordpress .
    Whenever I trying to install it says “Installation failed : Destination folder already exist ”

    Now what I have to do ??

  31. Sankar says

    I have use AMP on my website. But always one error detect on some posts. This is image optimization. I try to to use AMP image html code for insert image on post. But this time no image are shown. How can i fix this problem. Please help me. Thanks in advance.

  32. L. Pazzaglia says

    I WANT to switch to AMP but since many of my posts have recipes, tables and image grids none of these show up on AMP pages.

    I’d like to do AMP pages like the New York Times does, basically there is a long excerpt with a link to continue reading the story that takes you to the non-AMP page.

    Any recommendation on how to find a plug-in or how to tweak the WordPress AMP plug-in to do this?

    Thanks,

    L

  33. Allspired says

    I tried everything in this tutorial, but I still get a blank page when I input myURL/amp/ on my browser. Can you please help me out?

  34. Ashoksinh says

    Nice post,
    is anyone has tried AMP ? and is make difference in google ranking ? please tell me ?

  35. Dave Bergschneider says

    The correct way to implement AMP is to do it as apart of your theme. The AMP plugin is merely a band-aid to bridge the gap from an existing theme. AMP is so new that there’s very little examples of how to include it as your WordPress theme. I’d be interested in knowing if anyone has taken it this far yet. I’ve done some AMP development already and I find it to not be all the difficult.

    • Adjie Purbojati says

      I have trying AMP for a 5 months. And the result is amp not recommend for my site. Because amp make appearance broken. And yes, amp WordPress doesn’t not give features that we need

  36. Vikram Sarin says

    How do we make it work for woocommerce? AMP plugin throws up very basic layout of a woocommerce site with the menu also losing all its style and formatting.

  37. Chris says

    Does the AMP plugin still only work on Posts and not Pages? Has anyone found a solution that works on entire sites? Thx!

    • Ellen says

      To make it work on pages, you can use the AMP for WP plugin (this plugin requires the AMP plugin).

  38. Shaeel Iqbal says

    Hey! Thanks for this AMP WordPress. I have a question in my mid. Can i have to edit my old posts URL and add /amp at the end?

  39. Gary says

    Great article!! Do you know if it’s possible to remove the “powered by WordPress” in the footer of our post AMP page? See here >>

    Super thanks
    Gaz

  40. Francesco says

    Hi guys,
    great guide. What about when Google search console notify me invalid css stylesheet for amp page?

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