Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Vs. Progressive Web Apps (PWA): Which One To Choose?

In the game of conversions, you either offer instant loading speed or you lose your valuable visitors to your competitors. This line perfectly sums up the current scenario where speed is the most decisive factor in getting visitors to engage with the site and eventually convert. To make matters even more competitive fo getting started with Accelerated Mobile Pagesr the website owners, newer technologies like Accelerated Mobile Pages and Progressive Web Apps are adding speed to the already fast-loading sites. A majority of web development companies have avowed to the creation of AMP pages and PWAs as the future of web browsing. But before you take a leap, here's all you need to know about AMP and PWA and which one you should choose.

Understanding AMP & PWA

Seeing the inclination of the users towards mobile phones, speed became the top priority for boosting the user experience. Many new tricks and techniques were adopted by website owners, publishers, etc., to decrease their page load time but nothing could beat the speed offered by Accelerated Mobile Pages and Progressive Web Apps. These two techniques offered the most intuitive user experience to the mobile users and are increasingly used for the same.

What Is AMP?

The year 2016 saw a number of website owners, publishers, and new portals getting started with Accelerated Mobile Pages. A brainchild of Google, this AMP project seeks to offer near-instant page loading for mobile users. Created as an open-source platform, many people believe that AMP might soon become a ranking factor for Google algorithms. This platform allows developers to build super-fast web pages that are rid of any irrelevant script and load fastest on mobile pages.

Pros Of AMP

• The AMP web pages load in no time and offer exceptional browsing experience to the visitors
• With the majority of Google algorithms designed to rank sites with mobile-first approach on top, the Accelerated Mobile Pages created by developer rank higher than other pages on mobile search.
• The ad support on Accelerated Mobile Pages if fully adaptable which means that ads that are faster to load are displayed on your site. Moreover, monetization becomes easier as ads also load instantly.
• As per a study, 77% of websites saw an increase in organic search after implementing AMP; 27.1% of them experienced increased traffic from organic searches. This means Accelerated Mobile Pages are a proven tool to boost SEO and get more traffic if used properly.
• Ranking among the top search results does not guarantee success. It is imperative for the link to get clicked by the visitors. With the thunder sign along with the AMP pages, the visitors can identify pages as fast-loading and click more.

Cons Of AMP

• The biggest con of developing AMP pages is that they do not have the much functionality that engages users like usual HTML pages.
• Tracking the activity of users on Accelerated Mobile Pages and getting insights into the user behavior becomes quite tiring with AMP. One needs to separately set up and track Accelerated Mobile Pages on Google Analytics.
• AMP pages are devoid of any fancy features that manage to keep an e-commerce visitor engages. Thus, they may be fast but not too engaging for the online buyers.

What Is PWA?

An acronym for Progressive Web Apps, PWAs offer an app-like experience to the visitors while loading like a website only. By app-like experience, it means that PWAs can easily be loaded offline without internet connectivity, can send the user push notifications, and offer access to all information and capabilities without forcing them to download and install an app.

Pros Of PWA

• For businesses that do not have the funds to develop an exclusive app can always get Progressive Web Apps.
• While users get frustrated with the regular updates that their mobile apps require, PWAs do not need any such installations and can be updated automatically
• Can be added to home screen like any other app for quicker access
• Fully-functional and seamless app-like experience without the creation of a native app
• Advanced features that keep the users interested in
• Can be used offline and on the go when the user's mobile phone is not connected to the internet.
• They have the URLs that any other website has and are indexed by Google bots and even linked.

Cons Of PWA

• While PWAs can be considered as functional as any other app, they do not have all the functionalities and native features that an app can offer
• Different devices have different compatibilities and various devices might not be supporting all the software functionalities your PWA has to offer.
• Moreover, these apps do not support all browsers and hardware functionalities as well

Which One Should You Choose?

Now that we have understood what Accelerated Mobile Pages and Progressive Web Apps are and what their pros and cons are, it is time to address the main question: Which one should you choose between the two.

• For those offering static content like news, articles, blogs, or other publishing content, AMP is the best choice due to its lightning fast speed
• Those in need of more functionalities, like the e-commerce site owners, can turn to PWAs for offering advanced features for their online store with instant loading
• When it comes to user experience, PWAs beat AMP as they have more features like an app and can engage the users through various techniques
• AMP, on the other hand, might have fewer functionalities and distractions removed from the site but they are faster to load
• Sites that are light and not filled with media content can opt for AMP as well

While there are many cases where you can choose between Accelerated Mobile Pages and Progressive Web Apps, the best tactic would be to incorporate both in combination to cater the needs and desires of all types of visitors. They can be used together in ways where AMP pages can be used in PWAs, AMP pages can attract users and then take them to the PWA, or as the entire PWA charged with the power of AMP. Whatever way you choose, your business will certainly see more engagement, visitor retention, click through, and conversions with the integration of both AMP and PWA in your digital game.