Web development has changed markedly in the past few years with lots of frameworks aimed at speeding up page load times & generally making pages perform better on mobile devices.
However, not much has really changed to make Web pages mobile friendly, they usually look like a miniature versions of a standard Web page on a mobile device. To improve matters, Amp.dev has built a compact, functional HTML framework, which they’ve called Web Stories, & much like “Stories” on well known social networks, these Web pages load as a complete click through user experience.
Web Pages loads super fast on mobile devices & combines full page background imagery with bit sized text (which is usually less than 10 words in length). Each page contributes an “episode” to the “story” & can also include video, superimposed images, audio & animation. This format is much better suited to mobile devices & engages the user, without boring them, meaning that website owners will probably experience a much lower bounce rate than ever before.
To make their platform accessible to the general public, Amp.dev have developed a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, which facilitates a drop-and-drag style of page building that anyone should be able to grasp. For different types of requirements Amp.dev has developed a variety of pre-built templates, for instance, they have a specific template for news stories & another for e-commerce. These templates, although formulated, are super flexible & allow users to personalize them to their specific brand by choosing from a series of available fonts, background colours & so forth. Amp.dev has teamed up with UnSplash to provide users with a library of royalty free images, illustrations & videos, which they can add to their web pages.
Amp.dev’s platform is entirely open source so developers can download & use it to build unique Content. However, there’s even more…Web Stories have a plug-in for most well-known website builders, including WordPress & Magento, to name but two. Another impressive offering is the “Single Page” templates which are aimed at launching advertising campaigns for e-commerce, these templates offer the facility to include affiliate links, so users can set them up to earn money.
Web Stories can be built directly in the browser, so users can develop their pages on site & download a .zip file that they can transport to any system.
Image credit: Web Stories
