The Problem with AMP

#1

Post by segf4ult » Tue, Jan 17, 2017, 1:51 AM UTC

Re: The Problem with AMP

#2

Post by cavemanmike » Tue, Jan 17, 2017, 2:05 AM UTC

Using https://encrypted.google.com/ to avoid AMP is a great tip. I'll be doing that, does anybody have more information on what that URL is for?

Is it possible to set it as default on iOS/Android somehow? AMP really frustratingly breaks link sharing, and I'd like to totally avoid it.

Re: The Problem with AMP

#3

Post by itcrowd » Tue, Jan 17, 2017, 2:15 AM UTC

cavemanmike wrote: post #2

Using https://encrypted.google.com/ to avoid AMP is a great tip. I'll be doing that, does anybody have more information on what that URL is for? Is it possible to set it as default on iOS/Android somehow? AMP really frustratingly breaks link sharing, and I'd like to totally avoid it.

I'm not sure there is a more natural way, but if you install DuckDuckGo as default search engine, then searches which use their !bang syntax to redirect to a Google search are via encrypted.google.com. Example:

   !g search query

Leads to https://encrypted.google.com/search?hl=en&q=search%20query

Of course, this also works if you type this query in at duckduckgo.com

Edit to add: I guess it is a matter of time before amp pages also appear on the encrypted subdomain; another incentive to switch to DDG now.

Re: The Problem with AMP

#4

Post by Spivak » Tue, Jan 17, 2017, 2:16 AM UTC

cavemanmike wrote: post #2

Using https://encrypted.google.com/ to avoid AMP is a great tip. I'll be doing that, does anybody have more information on what that URL is for? Is it possible to set it as default on iOS/Android somehow? AMP really frustratingly breaks link sharing, and I'd like to totally avoid it.

That's why I've never seen any AMP pages! I've been wondering about this forever -- I thought Google must have figured out I wouldn't want them somehow. But any Google searches I do are usually through DuckDuckGo which use the encrypted link.

Re: The Problem with AMP

#5

Post by symbolepro » Tue, Jan 17, 2017, 2:28 AM UTC

Sorry, this is a lame blog post. I did not feel any pain in using AMP powered pages.

Re: The Problem with AMP

#6

Post by freyir » Tue, Jan 17, 2017, 2:28 AM UTC

AMP is one of the most frustrating experiences I've had with Google. the fact that it's foisted on users, with no option to disable it, makes it borderline infuriating.

If you're stuck on an AMP page in your mobile browser, you can click on the browser's "Request desktop site" option to load the full page.

Re: The Problem with AMP

#7

Post by freyir » Tue, Jan 17, 2017, 2:31 AM UTC

symbolepro wrote: post #5

Sorry, this is a lame blog post. I did not feel any pain in using AMP powered pages.

You must have not wanted access to the site's full set of features, not wanted to use a mobile ad blocker, now wanted access to comments, etc. That's fine, but for many, it's an annoyance.

Re: The Problem with AMP

#8

Post by robryan » Tue, Jan 17, 2017, 2:31 AM UTC

AMP is okay for news, but terrible for other forms of content. The reddit implementation is way less usable on mobile than going to their actual site.

It also results in lower quality news appearing at the top of searches in cases where they have implemented AMP and the better sources haven't.

Re: The Problem with AMP

#9

Post by djsumdog » Tue, Jan 17, 2017, 2:33 AM UTC

I've had many of these concerns about AMP myself and have seen other posts on this before. I tend to agree with their points. If you want to optimize your mobile view, than you can do that without a Google pseudo-standard. When someone clicks on a link to your site, they should go to your site.

This wouldn't be that big a deal if Google didn't emphasize the rank of AMP pages. There aren't a lot of alternatives out there to search, and Google dominates the market in much of the world.

Re: The Problem with AMP

#10

Post by deminature » Tue, Jan 17, 2017, 2:34 AM UTC

I agree with some missing content and linking issues with reddit, however the improvement in loading time is probably 10x. I'd be interested in seeing this quantified - I didn't appreciate just how slowly reddit loaded until loading the amp version, followed by the real version. Loading the amp version on a less-than-stellar mobile connection is much preferable to the real version.