AMP Plugin Version 1.2 Release

Alberto Medina | | AMP Plugin

The official AMP plugin is an extension to the WordPress platform which plays three main roles:

  1. It automates large parts of the AMP content generation process in WordPress, by integrating into the standard content creation mechanisms.
  2. It provides tools and guidance to support developers on the parts that need to be done manually.
  3. It acts as a monitor and enforcer to maintain AMP compatibility as sites evolve.

The capabilities of the AMP plugin enable you to build first-class AMP experiences without compromising the fidelity of your content or surrendering the flexibility of the WordPress platform. We have just released version 1.2 of the plugin, which comes loaded with a wide range of improvements to make AMP content generation even easier in WordPress.

The v1.2 release incorporates the notion of AMP experiences which are:

  • AMP Website: using AMP as the framework for your WordPress-powered site
  • AMP Stories: storytelling, the WordPress way!

AMP Stories is a new open-web format that allows web content creators to build fast-loading, full-screen experiences. With stories, you can easily create visual narratives, enhanced with engaging animations and tappable interactions. Stories can be shared and embedded across the web without being confined to a closed ecosystem or platform. And AMP Stories offers a robust set of advertising opportunities for advertisers and publishers to reach a unique audience on the web with immersive experiences. To learn more about AMP Stories, check the docs in amp.dev, and check some cool examples of AMP Stories from publishers such as The Telegraph, Washington Post, and CNN.

Version 1.2 of the AMP plugin comes with a Gutenberg-based AMP Stories editor, which allows you to add AMP Stories to the repertoire of experiences you can offer to your readers. You can share them individually, take advantage of new features of Google Search related to the discovery and displaying of Stories, and you can use them to enhance the standard content you create for you WordPress site.

AMP experiences for WordPress-powered websites has also been improved across several areas. Some of the main highlights are:

  • Themes and Templates: The template modes have been rebranded to better capture their role in the AMP experiences you create; formerly known as Native, Paired, and Classic the modes are now respectively known as Standard, Transitional, and Reader. In Standard mode, AMP is used as the framework of your site, meaning that all your site can be served as AMP (no paired URLs). In Transitional mode, AMP is served in tandem with the non-AMP version of your site, enabling you to progressively make your site fully AMP compatible. And in Reader mode, AMP is served also in tandem with the non-AMP version of your site (paired), but unlike Transitional the underlying theme of your site is not used and instead simplified templates are used to provide a baseline AMP experience. You can also now freely change between these modes, regardless of what your theme declares support for.
  • Editor Improvements: New warning when the featured image is too small for Google Search’s requirements, and better block-level warnings.
  • Validation: Updates to the AMP spec, and the exclusion of the admin bar for validation purposes.
  • CSS Handling: Better tree shaking and stylesheet prioritization for smarter excess CSS exclusion
  • Developer Improvements: A complete refactor of the plugin’s JavaScript code, and improvements to the architecture.

These are just some of the additions to the plugin. For details on all the changes in the release, please see the 1.2.0 release notes.

All in all we are very excited about this release for many reasons. Looking forward to hearing about the AMP experiences you build using the plugin. You can provide feedback via the AMP plugin support forum, or file any issues you encounter via the plugin Github repository. Let us know your thoughts!