Google Retires Net Mild Webpage Transcoding

Google introduced they’re retiring the seven 12 months outdated Net Mild service that optimized webpages for units on sluggish cell units and cell connections.

The official Google developer web page documentation for Net Mild Google and the related consumer agent (googleweblight) are each retired.

Google Net Mild

Launched in 2015, the aim of the Net Mild service was to make extra of the online accessible to customers in international locations with sluggish cell connections and units.

The service labored by optimizing webpages in order that downloading them used 80% much less knowledge, leading to a four-fold enhance in pace over the slower 2G cell networks.

Based on Google the service in a 50% enhance in site visitors to webpages.

Net Mild beforehand labored on Chrome and Android browsers and solely when Google detected a sluggish connection. The performance didn’t set off for desktop units or tablets, just for cell units on sluggish connections.

Google Analytics nonetheless functioned within the Net Mild optimized pages.

By way of advert serving, Net Mild optimized pages supported Sovrn, Zedo, AdSense, and Google Writer Tags.

So in concept Net Mild mustn’t have impacted advert income however somewhat elevated them since transcoded webpages acquired as much as 50% extra site visitors on the time.

The service was first launched in Indonesia after which to India.

The now deleted documentation described the performance of Net Mild:

“Google exhibits sooner, lighter pages to folks looking out on sluggish cell purchasers.

To do that, we transcode (convert) net pages on the fly right into a model optimized for sluggish purchasers, in order that these pages load sooner whereas saving knowledge.

This expertise known as Net Mild.

Net Mild pages protect a majority of the related content material and supply a hyperlink for customers to view the unique web page. “

Net Mild No Longer Wanted

Seven years later, the provision of cheap however highly effective cell units and an enchancment in cell connection speeds made the need of the service now not mandatory.

Based on Statista, 99% of cell knowledge utilization in India throughout 2021 occurred over 4G units.

In 2015 there have been solely 47 million units that have been 4G succesful in comparison with 650 million in 2021.

The Google developer documentation for Net Mild was eliminated and a be aware was added to Google’s Person Agent documentation to speak that the Net Mild consumer agent is retired.

Google’s announcement said:

“Eliminated the Net Mild documentation and retired the Net Mild consumer agent.

We launched Net Mild to allow us to serve sooner, lighter pages to folks looking out on entry-level units.

Whereas this characteristic has labored as meant and enabled broader entry to the richness of the online, elevated affordability of extra highly effective smartphones has diminished the necessity for such performance.

We stay dedicated to evolving and refining the Search expertise to fulfill the altering wants of our customers.”

Featured picture by Shutterstock/Asier Romero