What is AMP?
Accelerated mobile page (AMP) is a user-friendly web technology with a fast and smooth loading architecture. AMP is an open-source project that was integrated by Google in February 2016.
It aims to reduce unnecessary content and functionality for ultimate and constant display. AMP saves more than 10 times data volume and rendering compared to other webs. Therefore, the user is informed of content in the shortest possible time. The three crucial elements of AMP are AMP Cache, AMP Components, and AMP HTML.
Pros & cons of AMP
Regarding speed, AMP is among the top applications with blazing-fast loading speeds. The loading acceleration helps increase traffic and user engagement on the mobile page. Therefore, AMP produces lower bounce rates compared to other web page designs.
Moreover, AMP loading time can improve SEO and keyword ranking on mobile devices. In other words, faster loading time results in a higher rank in the Google search engine. As a developer or a web owner, you can monetize directly from AMP websites. This is because the functionality of pictures and banners is improved for a high percentage of advertisement viewability.
However, AMP’s high loading speed causes some drawbacks and limitations. Precisely, AMP cannot track user activity on the pages or analyze traffic. AMP is also unsuitable for an eCommerce website as it provides no advanced features for such type of web. AMP removes other content and lazy load image functionality to concentrate solely on speed. This might eventually affect the information and transaction on your website.
What is PWA?
A progressive web application (PWA) is a web app with the experiences of a native app. It provides app-like functionalities (like push notifications, complete interface, faster transition, etc.) while allowing users to access a mobile web without an installed mobile application. Three essential components of PWA are service workers, manifest files, and a secure HTTPS protocol.
Pros & cons of PWA
On the bright side, PWA helps to increase engagement and improve the conversion rate by providing a robust experience with convenience and accessibility.
Firstly, PWA only takes up a little of your device space and mobile data since it runs on a web browser. Users don’t want to download a native app from the store when they rarely use it. In this case, a PWA can be much more convenient.
Secondly, PWA is fast loading, has functions of both a web app and a native app, and can work perfectly offline. This ability is due to the archive of HTML and CSS files with service workers.
Moreover, the expenses of building PWA cost lesser than that of other native mobile applications. Low development expenses can help developers create more businesses with multiple functions.
On the other hand, PWA has some limitations regarding integration and hardware device feature utilization. PWA still lacks many native app features. What’s more, the platform limitations have led to issues with re-engagement, hardware features and sensor access, and log and system setting modification.
Sometimes, PWA can be challenging for search engines to crawl and index your website, ultimately impacting your website ranking. However, its good user experiences can enhance your SEO performance in the long run.
PWA vs AMP: Comparison
Since we have understood the concept of AMP vs PWA, it’s time to learn about their differences to support your choice of web page solution.
| Progressive web application (PWA) | Accelerated mobile page (AMP) | |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | A web page providing the look and feel of a mobile application by using modern web capabilities | An open-source project designed to deliver fast and mobile-friendly web pages on mobile devices |
| How it is done | Coded by using JavaScript, designed like a web app with native app functions like push notification and auto-fill form fields | Scripted down non-required CSS and JavaScript for fast-loading web pages with the same user experience |
| Technology | Social Worker, Service Worker, App Shell, Web App Manifest | Streamlined CSS components and standardized JavaScript |
| Development | Application is either written from scratch or with some part of existing code | Unnecessary CSS and JS are stripped from the existing code of a web page for faster loading |
| Support | Not equally supported on all devices; does not support all hardware functionalities like Bluetooth, NFC, GPS | Supported on all devices and major browsers |
| Appearance | Looks and feels like a mobile app | Similar interface of a web page |
| Performance | Slow first delivery, but pages are cached in the background and fast experience on further click | URLs are cached by Google, fast loading for every time |
| Engagement | High engagement with app-like features | Low engagement since it doesn’t have much advanced features |
| Connectivity | Can load all the pages offline with caching by service worker | Need Internet connection to load the pages |
| Accessibility | Able to be pinned to the home screen of smartphones | Only accessible through browsers |
| User experience | Better user experience with native app functionalities, lighter size for download, and offline availability | A slightly improved user experience with faster loading than usual |
| Search Engine Optimization | No direct advantages for SEO. Can improve through boosting better user experience | Direct advantages for SEO, with favors from Google and higher chance of Click-Through Raye. Good for mobile SEO |
| Result | A website-like application with native functions and experience | A web page with fast loading speed and enhanced user experience |
| Recommended for | All sites, including eCommerce and feature-rich sites such as social media, booking platforms, entertainment sites. | Static, content-centric websites like blogs, articles, news publishing, and publications targeting a mobile audience |
| Examples | Gizmodo, The Guardian, Lancome are some of the brands that uses AMP | Twitter, The Washing Post, Tinder, Airbnb are among these 22 top brands that successfully employ PWA |
| Compare with a Website | AMP is not entirely better than a website. Improving your Core Web Vitals can bring the same performance results as using AMP | PWA is better than a traditional website. Even though it still run on a browser, it can bring better UX, engagement and work perfectly offline |
| Compare with a Native App | AMP is built within web technology and cannot be a substitute for a native app | PWA can be a substitute for a Native App. It doesn’t require downloading, takes less storage but still lacks many advanced features. |
As you can see, PWA outweighs AMP in the web world as it offers more benefits. At the same time, many have said AMP was outdated since Google implied that they would stop supporting AMP in 2021. Yet, websites that already employ AMP technology still gain good results for being a fast-load page.
Meanwhile, PWA is a relatively new concept for small and middle-size businesses. Even though top brands have used this technology for years, others hesitate. Because PWA takes more time to build, it would be abundant if your user database is not large enough.
AMP vs PWA: Can they be used together?
The answer is yes. AMP is not dying, and its architecture is solid, even without future support. Many web developers have used parts of AMP and then customized them to enhance their website performance.
First, users search for your site, and the AMP pops up. With its lightweight ability, users can access your site instantly. The PWA will ensure an app-like experience after being added to the users’ home screen. Also, you can add AMP to a small subsection of your PWA to decrease its size and make that part load faster without losing dynamic functionality.
For example, The Washington Post used AMP to increase their PWA load time by up to 90%. Wego – a travel booking company in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East, also used the same method, which gained a 20% decrease in bounce rate.
One thing to notice is that the development won’t be easy. Single-page applications use mainly CSS and HTML to limit the use of JavaScript as much as possible, while PWA is built with JavaScript.
Wrapping up
AMP vs PWA have pros & cons as well as differences in delivering web services. AMP focuses on making your page load faster, PWA aims for good user experiences. Even though AMP seems outdated, you can still consider using AMP-based technology to enhance your PWA. However, PWA can be costly at times and not suitable for small businesses. In this case, Synodus have an alternative, such as a single-page application or a basic responsive website. Before deciding, consider your needs, customers/users and resources.
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