This is What to Do if AMP Images Are Not Showing Up on Your WordPress Site
Building a fast, mobile-friendly website is crucial for providing a great user experience and improving your search engine rankings. One popular technique for achieving this is implementing Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) – a Google-backed open-source framework designed to serve lightweight, streamlined versions of web pages optimized for mobile devices.
While AMP can work wonders for your site's performance, it's not uncommon to run into issues, such as AMP images not displaying properly. In this article, we'll dive into the common causes of AMP image issues and provide step-by-step troubleshooting tips to get your visuals back on track.
Understanding the AMP Image Format
AMP places strict requirements on the markup and assets used on a page in order to achieve its performance goals. When it comes to images, the AMP framework mandates the use of the <amp-img>
element instead of the standard <img>
tag.
The <amp-img>
element has a few key differences compared to regular HTML image tags:
-
Size Attributes: AMP images must have both width and height attributes specified, which allows the AMP runtime to reserve the correct amount of space for the image before it's loaded.
-
Responsive Design: To make images responsive, the layout="responsive"
attribute should be added to the <amp-img>
tag. This will automatically adjust the image size to fit the user's screen.
-
Image Formats: AMP supports a limited set of image formats, including JPEG, PNG, GIF, and SVG. WebP images are also supported, but require additional configuration.
Failing to properly implement the <amp-img>
element and its associated attributes is one of the most common reasons why AMP images may not display on your WordPress site. Let's explore some other potential causes and how to troubleshoot them.
Troubleshooting AMP Image Issues
1. Verify the AMP Image Markup
The first step in troubleshooting AMP image issues is to ensure that your image markup is correctly formatted. Here's an example of a properly structured <amp-img>
element:
<amp-img src="your-image.jpg" width="600" height="400" layout="responsive"></amp-img>
Let's break down the key attributes:
src
: The URL of the image file.
width
and height
: The dimensions of the image, which must be specified.
layout="responsive"
: Ensures the image is responsive and scales to fit the user's screen.
Double-check your image markup to ensure all the required attributes are present and correctly formatted. If you're using a WordPress plugin to handle AMP implementation, make sure it's generating the <amp-img>
tags correctly.
2. Verify Image Hosting and Permissions
Another potential issue could be related to the hosting of your images or the file permissions on your server. AMP pages are served from Google's cache, so the images need to be publicly accessible and served over a secure (HTTPS) connection.
Here are a few things to check:
-
Image Hosting: Ensure your images are hosted on a server that allows public access. Images stored in a private directory or behind a login may not be visible to the AMP cache.
-
File Permissions: Make sure the image files have the correct file permissions set (typically 644 or 755) so that they can be accessed by the web server.
-
HTTPS: Confirm that your images are being served over HTTPS. AMP pages require secure connections, so any HTTP-based image URLs may cause issues.
You can use online tools like AMP Test or PageSpeed Insights to validate the accessibility and security of your AMP content, including images.
3. Troubleshoot CDN and Cache Issues
If your images are hosted on a Content Delivery Network (CDN) or your WordPress site has caching enabled, it can sometimes cause problems with AMP image display.
Here's what to check:
-
CDN Configuration: Ensure your CDN is properly configured to serve AMP-compatible image formats and that the URLs match the AMP image markup.
-
Cache Invalidation: If you're using a WordPress caching plugin or server-side caching, make sure the cache is being invalidated correctly when you update or add new images. This will ensure the AMP cache is refreshed with the latest content.
-
CloudFlare: If you're using Cloudflare as your CDN or DNS provider, you may need to adjust your Cloudflare settings to ensure AMP compatibility. This could include disabling Cloudflare's "Rocket Loader" feature or configuring the correct Cloudflare settings for AMP.
Consulting your CDN or caching plugin's documentation, as well as troubleshooting steps specific to your setup, can help resolve any conflicts between AMP and your existing infrastructure.
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4. Check for Plugin or Theme Conflicts
Sometimes, conflicts between your WordPress plugins or theme and the AMP plugin can cause image issues. This is especially common if you're using a plugin or theme that heavily modifies the behavior of your website's images or HTML.
To identify potential conflicts, try the following:
-
Deactivate Plugins: Temporarily deactivate any plugins that may be interfering with your AMP implementation, such as image optimization, lazy-loading, or gallery plugins. Test if the AMP images start displaying correctly.
-
Switch to a Default Theme: Try switching to a default WordPress theme (like Twenty Twenty-One) to see if the issue is caused by your current theme's custom image handling.
-
Verify Plugin Compatibility: Check the documentation or support forums for your AMP plugin to ensure it's compatible with your other plugins and theme. Outdated or incompatible plugins can often cause AMP-related problems.
If you find a specific plugin or theme causing the issue, you'll need to work with the plugin developer or explore alternative solutions that are compatible with AMP.
5. Validate AMP Markup with Google's Tools
Google provides several tools to help you validate and debug your AMP implementation, including the AMP Test and the AMP Validator. These tools can identify any issues with your AMP markup, including problems with image formatting and compatibility.
Here's how to use them:
-
AMP Test: Go to the AMP Test and enter the URL of your AMP page. The tool will analyze your page and provide detailed feedback on any issues it finds, including problems with images.
-
AMP Validator: The AMP Validator is a browser extension or online tool that can be used to validate the AMP markup on any web page. It will highlight any errors or warnings that need to be addressed.
By using these validation tools, you can quickly identify and fix any issues with your AMP image implementation, ensuring your WordPress site's visuals are displayed correctly on mobile devices.
Optimize Your Images for AMP
In addition to troubleshooting AMP image issues, it's also important to optimize your images for the best performance under the AMP framework. Here are some tips:
-
Use Responsive Images: Ensure your <amp-img>
elements have the layout="responsive"
attribute to automatically scale the images to fit the user's screen size.
-
Optimize Image Formats: AMP supports JPEG, PNG, GIF, and SVG image formats. Consider converting your images to these formats to ensure compatibility.
-
Compress Images: Reduce the file size of your images through compression, without sacrificing quality. Tools like TinyPNG or plugins like Smush can help with this.
-
Lazy Load Images: Implement lazy loading to only load images as they become visible to the user, further improving page load times.
By following these best practices for AMP image optimization, you can ensure your WordPress site's visuals are not only displayed correctly but also contribute to a fast, seamless user experience.
Conclusion
Implementing AMP on your WordPress site can provide significant performance benefits, but it's not uncommon to run into issues with AMP images not displaying properly. By following the troubleshooting steps outlined in this article, you should be able to identify and resolve any problems with AMP images on your WordPress website.
Remember, maintaining a fast, mobile-friendly site is crucial for providing a great user experience and improving your search engine rankings. Flowpoint.ai can help you identify all the technical errors that are impacting your conversion rates and provide AI-generated recommendations to fix them, including issues with AMP image implementation