Facebook Messenger for iOS will also roll out support for Instant Articles in the weeks to come.
Starting Thursday, July 14th, Facebook started rolling out Instant Articles for Facebook Messenger, it’s stand-alone messaging app. The initial roll-out will start with Android devices, but the feature will be added to the iOS version of Messenger in the coming weeks.
Browsing In The Fast Lane
Google developed Accelerated Mobile Pages HTML, or AMP HTML, in order to combat the increasing number of websites which load slowly due to how many elements are present in their design.
The open AMP HTML framework enables a far more lightweight design, lessening the burden of older machines, slower connections, and generally all devices using mobile data. Many and diverse publishers, companies, and industries adopted the AMP HTML framework.
Facebook’s Instant Articles
Facebook wants to be able to accommodate its users without them having to resort to additional extensions or browsers. As part of the effort, in 2015, the company set up the groundwork for Instant Articles.
The service enables the option for publishers to have Facebook host their website. Thus, Instant Articles guarantees almost no loading times for Facebook users. Accessing Instant Articles present in a Facebook News feed does not cause the browser to separately load the website.
The company also recently broadened access to the service, giving all publishers the opportunity to use it. Websites hosted with Instant Articles prove to be a popular choice among Facebook users. The company reports an over 20 percent increase in the popularity of the fast loading sites. They are on average also shared 30 percent more often.
The Speedy Messenger
Facebook Messenger will be getting updated with the Instant Article feature. Android users will be able to quickly and easily access the hosted sites.
Links to Instant Articles on Facebook Messenger are easily distinguishable thanks to a small lightning bolt sticker visible on the upper right corner of the article thumbnail. Clicking on Instant Articles will not cause the browser app to open and instead will make the website load in the Facebook Messenger app.
Facebook Messenger currently has over 900 million active users on both Android and iOS, ensuring quite the number of pageviews for any publisher interested in Facebook’s speedy service.
Image Courtesy of Facebook.
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