Disabling AMP in WordPress has two separate jobs: stop WordPress from generating or serving AMP pages, and decide how existing AMP URLs should respond. For a site that is keeping its regular pages, disable the active AMP implementation, remove AMP references from canonical pages, and redirect each retired AMP URL to its matching non-AMP URL with a 301 or 302 response.
What “disable AMP” actually involves
AMP can continue to affect a site after a plugin is deactivated if old /amp/ (or another plugin-specific) URLs remain discoverable. Treat the change as two related migrations:
- Generation and serving: stop the installed plugin or CMS integration from producing AMP responses.
- Retired URL handling: choose whether each old AMP address redirects to its normal page, returns a 404, or is removed along with the normal page.
Google’s removal procedure covers the second part as well as the canonical signals. It does not promise a fixed date for recrawling or removing AMP results. Google Search Central’s AMP removal guidance is the reference for the HTTP and linking behavior.
Before changing anything: identify the implementation
Find the active plugin and mode
In WordPress, open Plugins → Installed Plugins and identify which AMP extension is active. If the installed extension is the official AMP WP plugin, review its documented controls and operating mode. WordPress.org support guidance distinguishes Standard, Transitional, and Reader modes; URL behavior and available settings can differ by mode and by plugin version. Treat forum instructions as mode-specific guidance, not as universal rules for every AMP extension.
Record a few representative AMP addresses before making the change: a post, a page, a category or archive, and any custom route your site uses. The exact suffix or query pattern is plugin-dependent.
Disable AMP generation
Use the installed plugin’s control first
Use the plugin or CMS setting that turns off AMP, then deactivate or remove the extension only after confirming what it does to existing routes. The AMP WP plugin listing documents its own settings and developer hooks; other plugins may use different controls.
Developer-level AMP WP filter
For AMP WP, the plugin listing documents the amp_wp_amp_version_exists filter. Returning false prevents an AMP version from being considered available for the current request:
add_filter( 'amp_wp_amp_version_exists', '__return_false' );This is a request-level generation/availability control, not a URL migration. It does not by itself create redirects for old AMP addresses, remove canonical-page links, or define whether a retired URL should return a 404.
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Confirm that each regular, non-AMP URL still loads normally. On those canonical pages, remove the corresponding rel="amphtml" link when the AMP version is being retired. That link tells crawlers that an AMP counterpart exists; leaving it in rendered HTML can continue to advertise a version you no longer serve.
Inspect the rendered page source, not only the WordPress editor, because a theme, SEO plugin, cache, or server integration may add the link.
Choose a response for every retired AMP URL
| Desired outcome | Response for the old AMP URL | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Keep the normal page and preserve the old visitor path | 301 or 302 redirect to the matching canonical non-AMP URL | Use when an equivalent regular page remains available. Google specifically recommends configuring a redirect from the removed AMP page to its canonical non-AMP page. |
| Make the AMP address inaccessible | 404 Not Found | Use when the AMP URL should no longer be accessible on any platform and there is no destination you want visitors to reach. |
| Remove both AMP and regular versions | Remove the content and return an appropriate error response | Reserve this for intentional removal of the entire page. Google warns that users can encounter an error while Googlebot discovers that both versions are gone. |
When a matching page exists, do not send every AMP URL to the homepage. A route-specific redirect preserves the closest destination and avoids turning unrelated old links into a generic landing page.
Implement redirects at the right layer
WordPress-level rules
A redirect plugin such as Redirection can manage individual mappings or patterns. WordPress.org support guidance also mentions server-level rules and asking the hosting provider, so select the layer that matches your access and the way the AMP extension formed its routes. Plugin instructions are not interchangeable: verify the actual pattern generated by your installation.
Server or host-level rules
Host or web-server rules can handle redirects before WordPress loads, which is useful for a large set of retired URLs. The syntax and location depend on the server and hosting platform; obtain the provider’s documented method rather than copying a rule intended for a different stack.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Verify the migration before relying on search engines
- Test representative AMP addresses. Request old post, page, archive, and custom-route examples. Confirm the HTTP status is the one you selected and that the final destination is the corresponding canonical URL.
- Check redirect chains. The AMP address should reach the canonical page without unnecessary intermediate redirects or a loop.
- Inspect canonical HTML. View the rendered source of several normal pages and confirm that retired AMP counterparts are no longer advertised with
rel="amphtml". - Test caches and mobile requests. Clear or bypass page caches and check more than one user agent if your host or CDN applies device-specific behavior.
- Review Search Console. Google recommends watching the AMP status report for the indexed-AMP trend to decline. Discovery and removal are not necessarily immediate, so use the report and live URL checks rather than a promised timetable.
Common failure modes
The plugin is off, but AMP URLs still return pages
A second AMP extension, theme integration, cache, or server rule may still be serving the route. Recheck active plugins and inspect the actual response headers and HTML for a sampled URL.
Every old AMP URL lands on the homepage
Replace the broad fallback with one-to-one mappings wherever the corresponding canonical page still exists. Keep a homepage fallback only when no relevant destination can be identified.
Canonical pages still advertise AMP
Remove the generated rel="amphtml" output from the responsible plugin, theme, or template, then purge caches and inspect the final source again.
Search Console still lists AMP errors after the change
That report reflects Google’s crawls and index state, not only the current plugin setting. Continue serving the selected redirects or 404 responses consistently and monitor the trend; Google does not specify a universal removal interval.
Quick Recap
Recommended sequence for most WordPress sites
- Identify the AMP plugin, its mode, and the URL patterns it created.
- Disable AMP generation using that implementation’s documented control.
- Keep the regular canonical pages available.
- Remove
rel="amphtml"from canonical-page output. - Redirect each retired AMP URL to its matching canonical URL with a 301 or 302, unless the correct outcome is a 404.
- Test statuses, destinations, source HTML, caches, and representative route types.
- Monitor Search Console’s AMP status report as Google recrawls the site.
Official references
- Google Search Central: How To Remove your AMP Pages From Search
- AMP WP plugin listing
- WordPress.org support: deactivate plugins and not lose indexing
- WordPress.org support: AMP remove
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