News

AMPWPTools News to Know Round-Up: January 2021

Like many developers, we here at AMP WPTools are closely watching the news as the debut of Google’s Page Experience update draws nearer. Of course we also realize that not everyone has the time to discover and consume every article published on the matter. With that in mind, we’ve combed through the previously month’s batch of news to highlight the top developments, insights, and commentary items you should know about.

In this round-up, we’ll be featuring the top news items related to AMP, Core Web Vitals, and WordPress from January 2021:

Correlation Between Core Web Vitals and AMP – AMP Developers Blog

Aside from the involvement of Google, the connection between Core Web Vitals and AMP may not be obvious to some. However, upon further inspection, there is significant overlaps. Most importantly, AMP could provide an easy solution to developers aiming to meet Core Web Vitals requirements.

Chrome 88 Adds to Core Web Vitals DevTools – Search Engine Land

Last month, the Chrome browser rolled out its Chrome 88 update. Among the features included in the new version is support for CSS aspect ratio rules, which could play a role in optimizing Cumulative Layout Shift. Additionally, the DevTools function now includes an option for assessing Web Vitals performance metrics.

Google Might Not Launch The Page Experience & Core Web Vitals Label/Icon In Search – Search Engine Roundtable

One of the ongoing discussions that occurred since Google first announced its Page Experience update is whether or not the search engine would employ an icon to denote which sites had met their Core Web Vitals metrics. In fact, Google even tested one such badge late last year. Despite that, it seems that no final decision about the matter has been reached.

Google: All Core Web Vitals May Need to Be Met For Ranking Boost – Search Engine Journal

Core Web Vitals are comprised of three key metrics: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). While developers may have hoped that improvements in any of these measurements would give them an advantage in Google rankings, it seems that this won’t necessarily be the case. According to Google’s John Mueller, sites will need to meet all three Core Web Vitals element requirements in order to see a positive effect on rankings.

Use AMP Components Everywhere – Announcing Bento Developer Preview – AMP Developers Blog

Addressing one of the top requests from AMP developers, The AMP Project recently announced the arrival of Bento AMP. Using this toolbox, developers can test out AMP elements on otherwise non-AMP pages. Currently, some of the experimental elements include galleries, social share features, date countdowns, and more.

WordPress Powers 39.5% of All Websites – Search Engine Journal

The popularity of the WordPress platform only continues to grow. According to new data, WordPress now powers 39.5% off all websites — up from 35% last year. What’s more, the platform WordPress is utilized by 64.1% of sites that use a content management system at all.

How Google Core Web Vitals Measures a Digital Customer Experience – CMS Wire

Finally, for those in need of a refreshed on Core Web Vitals and Google’s Page Experience update, this article should serve as a quick primer as we await more news in the coming months.