What the AMP plugin does on your site
AMP is the AMP project’s official plugin for WordPress, developed by the “AMP Project Contributors,” a group that includes Google, XWP, rtCamp and Automattic. It generates AMP versions of your pages: HTML bound by strict rules. The AMP specification allows no author-written JavaScript beyond AMP’s own components, caps page CSS at 75,000 bytes and rejects external stylesheets, except for fonts.
The plugin converts your content to AMP, strips invalid markup where it can and lists every error on the “Validated URLs” and “Error Index” screens. It offers three template modes: Standard (a single, AMP-only version of the site), Transitional (two versions of each page using the same theme) and Reader (a separate theme for AMP pages, the mode selected on install). In Transitional and Reader, a page’s AMP version is served by default at its URL followed by ?amp=1.
The plugin is free under the GPL, with no paid edition. An onboarding wizard scans your theme and plugins, then suggests the best-fitting mode. Support runs through the wordpress.org forum and the project’s GitHub repository.
When the AMP plugin still makes sense
Google says it applies the same standard to all pages, whatever technology they are built with, so AMP is not a requirement for SEO. The plugin still earns its place in a few specific cases:
- Sites whose theme and plugins are AMP-compatible: in Standard mode, a single version of the site gets AMP’s automatic optimizations, with nothing to maintain twice. The plugin’s documentation names Astra and Newspack among compatible themes.
- Sites already serving AMP pages: the plugin keeps those versions valid and flags new errors after every theme or plugin update.
- Developers building an AMP-first site: the validation tools show which plugin or theme produced each error.
It is the wrong choice if your site relies on scripts (advanced forms, page builders, sliders, booking tools): on AMP pages those scripts are removed, or the plugin that adds them is suppressed. If your goal is speed and good Core Web Vitals, a caching and optimization plugin such as LiteSpeed Cache improves your regular pages without creating a second version.
AMP plugin strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Official and completely free. Every feature ships in the wordpress.org version, with no paid tier and no account to create.
- Serious validation tools. Each error is tied to the URL, theme or plugin that caused it, and you decide whether to remove or keep the markup.
- Gradual rollout. Three modes, plus a choice of which content types and templates are served as AMP, so you can start with posts only.
- Targeted plugin suppression. An incompatible plugin can be turned off on AMP pages alone and stay active everywhere else.
Limitations
- No free-form JavaScript. Features built on scripts disappear from AMP pages or must be rebuilt with AMP components.
- CSS capped at 75,000 bytes. A heavy theme or page builder quickly goes over that limit, and the plugin then has to strip styles.
- Two versions to watch. In Transitional and Reader, every page exists in AMP and regular form, and both need testing.
- Development has slowed. Since version 2.5.0 in November 2023, only maintenance and security releases have shipped.
- Partly untranslated interface. Many settings still appear in English on sites running WordPress in other languages, such as French.
The AMP settings we recommend
All of these settings live under AMP > Settings, except the developer tools, which can also be set in your user profile.
| Setting | Recommended value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Template mode AMP > Settings > Template Modes | Standard if the site scan finds no incompatibilities, otherwise Transitional | Standard leaves one version to maintain; Transitional keeps your theme’s look when some features are missing in AMP. |
| Reader theme AMP > Settings, in Reader mode | A real theme from the list rather than the old “Legacy” templates | The plugin’s authors recommend moving away from the legacy Reader templates. |
| Serve all templates as AMP AMP > Settings > Advanced Settings > Supported Templates | Off at first, with only posts checked | You validate the simplest template first, then add pages and archives once they are tested. |
| Plugin Suppression AMP > Settings > Advanced Settings | Suppress the plugins flagged as sources of errors | They stay active on regular pages and stop breaking validation on AMP pages. |
| Redirect mobile visitors to AMP AMP > Settings > Advanced Settings > Other | On (the default) only if your AMP pages offer the same features | Otherwise mobile visitors land on a version missing useful forms or scripts. |
| Paired URL Structure AMP > Settings > Advanced Settings | Query parameter ?amp=1 (the default), unless you have a specific need | Switching structures changes the address of every AMP page search engines already know. |
| Enable Developer Tools Advanced Settings > Other, or your profile | On for whoever fixes errors, off for other accounts | Writers do not need to see validation errors in the editor and on the site. |
- Open a post with
?amp=1added to its URL (in Transitional or Reader): the AMP version should load with no missing content. - Check AMP > Validated URLs: no errors should be left to review on your main templates.
- On a phone, test a form, a menu and a share button: these are the elements most often hit when scripts are stripped.
- In Plugins, confirm you run at least version 2.5.1 if mobile redirection is on.
AMP plugin security: mobile redirection is the spot to watch
Version 2.5.1, released in December 2023, is a maintenance and security release: it fixes a reflected XSS vulnerability that affected sites with mobile redirection turned on. The fix was also backported to older branches (2.0.12, 2.1.5, 2.2.5, 2.3.1 and 2.4.3), available only on wordpress.org. A reflected XSS is exploited through a booby-trapped link: all it takes is a visitor, or a logged-in administrator, clicking it.
Updating is still what counts: turn on automatic updates for the plugin (see our guide to automatic plugin updates) and do not leave an old branch running. The plugin also adds a meta name="generator" tag to your pages that shows its version and mode: WP Masquerade Pro removes it, which makes the plugin harder for bots to spot, without replacing updates.
What WP Masquerade hides for AMP
Pro Handled by WP Masquerade Pro only
The free version does not know the traces specific to AMP: without Pro, only generator tags are removed, as for any plugin.
Free version
Handled by WP Masquerade Pro only
With Pro
- generator tag
- folder name
- tag IDs
Still visible
- CSS classes
amp-* (AMP pages)
These traces stay because the plugin needs them to work (scripts, styles, cookies) or because they come from the server.
AMP plugin FAQ
Does AMP improve rankings in Google?
Not directly. Google applies the same standard to every page, whatever the technology; AMP can only help you get fast pages, which a good cache can do too.
Is the AMP plugin paid?
No. It is free under the GPL, with no Premium version: every feature is in the wordpress.org plugin.
How is it different from AMP for WP (Accelerated Mobile Pages)?
They are two separate plugins. AMP is the AMP project’s official plugin; AMP for WP is a third-party plugin, with its own vulnerabilities and its own patch schedule.
Will my forms work on AMP pages?
Only if your forms plugin is AMP-compatible. Otherwise its scripts are stripped or the plugin is suppressed on AMP pages: test every form on the AMP version before turning on mobile redirection.