# AMP

AMP, Accelerated Mobile Pages, is an open framework launched by Google in 2015 for pages that load almost instantly, using a restricted subset of HTML and JavaScript and a cache served from Google’s domain. Since June 2021 it is no longer required for anything in Search. For a product site in 2026 there is no reason to add it.

Updated 2026-09-15 · Source: https://porteur.ai/glossary/amp

## What changed in 2021

AMP was required for the Top Stories carousel on mobile until June 2021, when Google made any page eligible on page experience grounds. The requirement was the reason most publishers adopted it; when it went, adoption fell.

- Top Stories now accepts any page that meets the page experience criteria.
- The AMP badge disappeared from results in 2021.
- Most publishers who used it have removed the second version of their pages since.

## What it cost the sites that used it

| Cost | What it meant in practice |
| --- | --- |
| A second version of every page | Two templates to build, test and keep in step |
| A restricted subset of HTML and JavaScript | Components that had to be rewritten in the AMP way |
| A cache on Google’s domain | Analytics, consent and branding all needed special handling |
| Canonical pairs | Every AMP page pointing at the real page, and vice versa, forever |

## What to do instead

The outcome AMP promised is a page that paints quickly on a phone. A well-built page reaches it without a second version.

- Serve HTML that already carries the content, so nothing waits for a script.
- Keep the Core Web Vitals in the good range: Largest Contentful Paint up to 2.5 s, Cumulative Layout Shift up to 0.1, Interaction to Next Paint up to 200 ms.
- Self-host fonts and load only the faces used above the fold.
- Cut the third-party scripts, which are usually the largest single cost on a small site.

> If you inherit a site with AMP pages, removing them is a migration: redirect the AMP URLs to the canonical pages and check the pairs are gone from the markup.

## Questions

### Is AMP still relevant in 2026?

For most sites, no. Google removed the AMP requirement for Top Stories in June 2021 and the badge with it. A fast, ordinary page is eligible for everything AMP was.

### Does AMP help rankings?

Not in itself. Speed and page experience are signals, and AMP was one way to be fast. The signal is the speed, not the framework.

### Should I remove AMP from an existing site?

Usually yes, once the ordinary pages are fast. Treat it as a migration: redirect the AMP URLs to the canonical pages and remove the pairing tags.

### What replaced AMP for Top Stories?

Nothing replaced it. Since June 2021 any page can appear in Top Stories if it meets Google’s news and page experience criteria.

### Is AMP the same as a Progressive Web App?

No. AMP is a restricted page format for speed; a Progressive Web App is an installable web app with offline behaviour. They solve different problems.

## Read next

- [Core Web Vitals](https://porteur.ai/glossary/core-web-vitals): Core Web Vitals are Google’s three field speed and responsiveness metrics. See their thresholds, lab versus field, how to read them, and what to fix.
- [Mobile-first indexing](https://porteur.ai/glossary/mobile-first-indexing): Mobile-first indexing means Google uses your mobile page to crawl, index and rank. Here is what it hides on desktop-only pages and how to fix it.
- [Mobile-friendly](https://porteur.ai/glossary/mobile-friendly): What mobile-friendly means after Google retired its test, how to check with Lighthouse and Core Web Vitals, and fixes for small sites.
- [Mobile page speed: the version of your site that Google reads](https://porteur.ai/guides/mobile-page-speed): Run a mobile page speed test the way Google reads your site. See field vs lab, why phones are slower, the key fixes, and how to verify on a real device.
- [Does page speed affect SEO? What Google has said and what the data does](https://porteur.ai/guides/does-page-speed-affect-seo): Yes, speed affects SEO, but only at Core Web Vitals’ Good thresholds. Here is what Google measures, what the data shows, and what to fix first.
- [Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)](https://porteur.ai/glossary/largest-contentful-paint): Largest Contentful Paint is when the biggest element appears. Aim under 2.5 s. See how to measure it, usual causes on small sites, and quick fixes.
- [Core Web Vitals for a product site: the three numbers](https://porteur.ai/guides/core-web-vitals): The product founder’s guide to LCP, CLS and INP: what Google measures, why phones decide the pass, common causes, and how to test and fix.

The free check measures how your home page loads on a phone and names what to fix first, in about thirty seconds. Free check: https://porteur.ai/