diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+## 2.9.10
+
+* Drop GHC-7.8 and older (pre-AMP) support
+* Generalise type-signatures to require only `Applicative` or `Functor`,
+  when that's enough
+
 ## 2.9.9
 
 * Add `commuteHtmlT` to commute `HtmlT m a` into `m (HtmlT n a)`.
diff --git a/benchmarks/IO.hs b/benchmarks/IO.hs
--- a/benchmarks/IO.hs
+++ b/benchmarks/IO.hs
@@ -3,12 +3,13 @@
 
 import Lucid
 import Criterion.Main
+import Control.Applicative (Applicative)
 import Control.Monad (replicateM_)
 import qualified Data.Text.Lazy as LT
 import Control.Monad.Trans.Reader (runReader)
 import Data.Functor.Identity (runIdentity)
 
-lotsOfDivs :: Monad m => Int -> HtmlT m ()
+lotsOfDivs :: (Applicative m, Monad m) => Int -> HtmlT m ()
 lotsOfDivs n = body_
   $ replicateM_ n
   $ div_ "hello world!"
diff --git a/lucid.cabal b/lucid.cabal
--- a/lucid.cabal
+++ b/lucid.cabal
@@ -1,8 +1,16 @@
 name:                lucid
-version:             2.9.9
+version:             2.9.10
 synopsis:            Clear to write, read and edit DSL for HTML
-description:         Clear to write, read and edit DSL for HTML. See the 'Lucid' module
-                     for description and documentation.
+description:
+  Clear to write, read and edit DSL for HTML.
+  .
+  * Names are consistent, and do not conflict with base or are keywords (all have suffix @_@)
+  .
+  * Same combinator can be used for attributes and elements (e.g. 'style_')
+  .
+  * For more, read <https://chrisdone.com/posts/lucid the blog post>
+  .
+  See the "Lucid" module for more documentation.
 homepage:            https://github.com/chrisdone/lucid
 license:             BSD3
 license-file:        LICENSE
@@ -13,7 +21,7 @@
 build-type:          Simple
 cabal-version:       >=1.8
 extra-source-files:  README.md, CHANGELOG.md
-tested-with:         GHC==7.4.2,GHC==7.6.3,GHC==7.8.4,GHC==7.10.3,GHC==8.0.2,GHC==8.2.1
+tested-with:         GHC==7.10.3,GHC==8.0.2,GHC==8.2.2,GHC==8.4.1
 
 library
   hs-source-dirs:    src/
@@ -22,7 +30,7 @@
                      Lucid.Base
                      Lucid.Html5
                      Lucid.Bootstrap
-  build-depends:     base >= 4.5 && <5
+  build-depends:     base >= 4.8 && <5
                    , blaze-builder
                    , bytestring
                    , containers
diff --git a/src/Lucid.hs b/src/Lucid.hs
--- a/src/Lucid.hs
+++ b/src/Lucid.hs
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@
 -- input_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 -- @
 --
--- And some attributes share the same name as attributes, so you can
+-- And some elements share the same name as attributes, so you can
 -- also overload them as attributes:
 --
 -- @
diff --git a/src/Lucid/Base.hs b/src/Lucid/Base.hs
--- a/src/Lucid/Base.hs
+++ b/src/Lucid/Base.hs
@@ -106,47 +106,41 @@
   hoist f (HtmlT xs) = HtmlT (f xs)
 
 -- | @since 2.9.7
-instance (a ~ (),Monad m) => Semigroup (HtmlT m a) where
-  (<>) = liftM2 mappend
+instance (a ~ (),Applicative m) => Semigroup (HtmlT m a) where
+  (<>) = liftA2 (<>)
 
 -- | Monoid is right-associative, a la the 'Builder' in it.
-instance (a ~ (),Monad m) => Monoid (HtmlT m a) where
-  mempty  = return mempty
-  mappend = liftM2 mappend
+instance (a ~ (),Applicative m) => Monoid (HtmlT m a) where
+  mempty  = pure mempty
+  mappend = liftA2 mappend
 
 -- | Based on the monad instance.
-instance Monad m => Applicative (HtmlT m) where
-  pure a = HtmlT (return (mempty,a))
+instance Applicative m => Applicative (HtmlT m) where
+  pure a = HtmlT (pure (mempty,a))
   {-# INLINE pure #-}
 
-  f <*> x = HtmlT $ do
-    ~(g, f') <- runHtmlT f
-    ~(h, x') <- runHtmlT x
-    return (g <> h, f' x')
+  f <*> x = HtmlT $ mk <$> runHtmlT f <*> runHtmlT x
+    where mk ~(g, f') ~(h, x') = (g <> h, f' x')
   {-# INLINE (<*>) #-}
 
-  m *> n = HtmlT $ do
-    ~(g, _) <- runHtmlT m
-    ~(h, b) <- runHtmlT n
-    return (g <> h, b)
+  m *> n = HtmlT $ mk <$> runHtmlT m <*> runHtmlT n
+    where mk ~(g, _) ~(h, b) = (g <> h, b)
   {-# INLINE (*>) #-}
 
-  m <* n = HtmlT $ do
-    ~(g, a) <- runHtmlT m
-    ~(h, _) <- runHtmlT n
-    return (g <> h, a)
+  m <* n = HtmlT $ mk <$> runHtmlT m <*> runHtmlT n
+    where mk ~(g, a) ~(h, _) = (g <> h, a)
   {-# INLINE (<*) #-}
 
 -- | Just re-uses Monad.
-instance Monad m => Functor (HtmlT m) where
-  fmap = liftM
+instance Functor m => Functor (HtmlT m) where
+  fmap f = HtmlT . fmap (fmap f) . runHtmlT
 
   (<$) = fmap . const
   {-# INLINE (<$) #-}
 
 -- | Basically acts like Writer.
 instance Monad m => Monad (HtmlT m) where
-  return = pure
+  return a = HtmlT (return (mempty,a))
   {-# INLINE return #-}
 
   m >>= f = HtmlT $ do
@@ -155,7 +149,10 @@
     return (g <> h,b)
   {-# INLINE (>>=) #-}
 
-  (>>) = (*>)
+  m >> n = HtmlT $ do
+    ~(g, _) <- runHtmlT m
+    ~(h, b) <- runHtmlT n
+    return (g <> h, b)
   {-# INLINE (>>) #-}
 
 -- | Used for 'lift'.
@@ -186,9 +183,9 @@
 -- | @since 2.9.9
 instance MonadWriter w m => MonadWriter w (HtmlT m) where
     tell             = lift . tell
-    listen (HtmlT x) = HtmlT $ liftM reassoc $ listen x
+    listen (HtmlT x) = HtmlT $ fmap reassoc $ listen x
       where reassoc ((a, b), c) = (a, (b, c))
-    pass (HtmlT p)   = HtmlT $ pass $ liftM assoc p
+    pass (HtmlT p)   = HtmlT $ pass $ fmap assoc p
       where assoc (a, (b, c)) = ((a, b), c)
 
 -- | If you want to use IO in your HTML generation.
@@ -285,12 +282,12 @@
            -> result        -- ^ Result: either an element or an attribute.
 
 -- | Given attributes, expect more child input.
-instance (Monad m,f ~ HtmlT m a) => Term [Attribute] (f -> HtmlT m a) where
+instance (Applicative m,f ~ HtmlT m a) => Term [Attribute] (f -> HtmlT m a) where
   termWith name f = with (makeElement name) . (<> f)
 
 -- | Given children immediately, just use that and expect no
 -- attributes.
-instance (Monad m) => Term (HtmlT m a) (HtmlT m a) where
+instance (Applicative m) => Term (HtmlT m a) (HtmlT m a) where
   termWith name f = with (makeElement name) f
   {-# INLINE termWith #-}
 
@@ -339,24 +336,20 @@
        -> a
 
 -- | For the contentless elements: 'Lucid.Html5.br_'
-instance (Monad m) => With (HtmlT m a) where
-  with f =
-    \attr ->
-      HtmlT (do ~(f',a) <- runHtmlT f
-                return (\attr' ->
-                          f' (unionArgs (M.fromListWith (<>) (map toPair attr)) attr')
-                       ,a))
-    where toPair (Attribute x y) = (x,y)
+instance (Functor m) => With (HtmlT m a) where
+  with f = \attr -> HtmlT (mk attr <$> runHtmlT f)
+    where 
+      mk attr ~(f',a) = (\attr' -> f' (unionArgs (M.fromListWith (<>) (map toPair attr)) attr')
+                        ,a)
+      toPair (Attribute x y) = (x,y)
 
 -- | For the contentful elements: 'Lucid.Html5.div_'
-instance (Monad m) => With (HtmlT m a -> HtmlT m a) where
-  with f =
-    \attr inner ->
-      HtmlT (do ~(f',a) <- runHtmlT (f inner)
-                return ((\attr'  ->
-                           f' (unionArgs (M.fromListWith (<>) (map toPair attr)) attr') )
-                       ,a))
-    where toPair (Attribute x y) = (x,y)
+instance (Functor m) => With (HtmlT m a -> HtmlT m a) where
+  with f = \attr inner -> HtmlT (mk attr <$> runHtmlT (f inner))
+    where
+      mk attr ~(f',a) = (\attr' -> f' (unionArgs (M.fromListWith (<>) (map toPair attr)) attr')
+                        ,a)
+      toPair (Attribute x y) = (x,y)
 
 -- | Union two sets of arguments and append duplicate keys.
 unionArgs :: HashMap Text Text -> HashMap Text Text -> HashMap Text Text
@@ -400,7 +393,7 @@
 -- the lower-level behaviour.
 --
 renderBST :: Monad m => HtmlT m a -> m ByteString
-renderBST = liftM Blaze.toLazyByteString . execHtmlT
+renderBST = fmap Blaze.toLazyByteString . execHtmlT
 
 -- | Render the HTML to a lazy 'Text', but in a monad.
 --
@@ -409,7 +402,7 @@
 -- you're interested in the lower-level behaviour.
 --
 renderTextT :: Monad m => HtmlT m a -> m LT.Text
-renderTextT = liftM (LT.decodeUtf8 . Blaze.toLazyByteString) . execHtmlT
+renderTextT = fmap (LT.decodeUtf8 . Blaze.toLazyByteString) . execHtmlT
 
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- Running, transformer versions
@@ -490,36 +483,37 @@
 makeAttribute x y = Attribute x y
 
 -- | Make an HTML builder.
-makeElement :: Monad m
+makeElement :: Functor m
             => Text       -- ^ Name.
             -> HtmlT m a  -- ^ Children HTML.
             -> HtmlT m a -- ^ A parent element.
 {-# INLINE[1] makeElement #-}
-makeElement name =
-  \m' ->
-    HtmlT (do ~(f,a) <- runHtmlT m'
-              return (\attr  -> s "<" <> Blaze.fromText name
-                              <> foldlMapWithKey buildAttr attr <> s ">"
-                              <> f mempty
-                              <> s "</" <> Blaze.fromText name <> s ">",
-                      a))
+makeElement name = \m' -> HtmlT (mk <$> runHtmlT m')
+  where
+    mk ~(f,a) =
+      (\attr ->
+        s "<" <> Blaze.fromText name
+        <> foldlMapWithKey buildAttr attr <> s ">"
+        <> f mempty
+        <> s "</" <> Blaze.fromText name <> s ">"
+      ,a)
 
 -- | Make an HTML builder for elements which have no ending tag.
-makeElementNoEnd :: Monad m
+makeElementNoEnd :: Applicative m
                  => Text       -- ^ Name.
                  -> HtmlT m () -- ^ A parent element.
 makeElementNoEnd name =
-  HtmlT (return (\attr -> s "<" <> Blaze.fromText name
-                          <> foldlMapWithKey buildAttr attr <> s ">",
+  HtmlT (pure (\attr -> s "<" <> Blaze.fromText name
+                        <> foldlMapWithKey buildAttr attr <> s ">",
                  ()))
 
 -- | Make an XML builder for elements which have no ending tag.
-makeXmlElementNoEnd :: Monad m
+makeXmlElementNoEnd :: Applicative m
                     => Text       -- ^ Name.
                     -> HtmlT m () -- ^ A parent element.
 makeXmlElementNoEnd name =
-  HtmlT (return (\attr -> s "<" <> Blaze.fromText name
-                          <> foldlMapWithKey buildAttr attr <> s "/>",
+  HtmlT (pure (\attr -> s "<" <> Blaze.fromText name
+                        <> foldlMapWithKey buildAttr attr <> s "/>",
                  ()))
 
 -- | Build and encode an attribute.
diff --git a/src/Lucid/Html5.hs b/src/Lucid/Html5.hs
--- a/src/Lucid/Html5.hs
+++ b/src/Lucid/Html5.hs
@@ -15,14 +15,12 @@
 -- Elements
 
 -- | @DOCTYPE@ element
-doctype_ :: Monad m => HtmlT m ()
+doctype_ :: Applicative m => HtmlT m ()
 doctype_ = makeElementNoEnd "!DOCTYPE HTML"
 
 -- | @DOCTYPE@ element + @html@ element
-doctypehtml_ :: Monad m => HtmlT m a -> HtmlT m a
-doctypehtml_ m =
-  do doctype_
-     html_ m
+doctypehtml_ :: Applicative m => HtmlT m a -> HtmlT m a
+doctypehtml_ m = doctype_ *> html_ m
 
 -- | @a@ element
 a_ :: Term arg result => arg -> result
@@ -37,7 +35,7 @@
 address_ = term "address"
 
 -- | @area@ element
-area_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+area_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 area_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "area")
 
 -- | @article@ element
@@ -57,7 +55,7 @@
 b_ = term "b"
 
 -- | @base@ element
-base_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+base_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 base_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "base")
 
 -- | @bdo@ element
@@ -73,7 +71,7 @@
 body_ = term "body"
 
 -- | @br@ element
-br_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+br_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 br_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "br")
 
 -- | @button@ element
@@ -97,7 +95,7 @@
 code_ = term "code"
 
 -- | @col@ element
-col_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+col_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 col_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "col")
 
 -- | @colgroup@ element
@@ -145,7 +143,7 @@
 em_ = term "em"
 
 -- | @embed@ element
-embed_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+embed_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 embed_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "embed")
 
 -- | @fieldset@ element
@@ -205,7 +203,7 @@
 hgroup_ = term "hgroup"
 
 -- | @hr@ element
-hr_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+hr_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 hr_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "hr")
 
 -- | @html@ element
@@ -221,11 +219,11 @@
 iframe_ = term "iframe"
 
 -- | @img@ element
-img_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+img_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 img_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "img")
 
 -- | @input@ element
-input_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+input_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 input_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "input")
 
 -- | @ins@ element
@@ -237,7 +235,7 @@
 kbd_ = term "kbd"
 
 -- | @keygen@ element
-keygen_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+keygen_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 keygen_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "keygen")
 
 -- | @label@ element or @label@ attribute
@@ -253,7 +251,7 @@
 li_ = term "li"
 
 -- | @link@ element
-link_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+link_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 link_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "link")
 
 -- | @map@ element
@@ -273,11 +271,11 @@
 menu_ = term "menu"
 
 -- | @menuitem@ element
-menuitem_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+menuitem_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 menuitem_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "menuitem")
 
 -- | @meta@ element
-meta_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+meta_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 meta_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "meta")
 
 -- | @meter@ element
@@ -317,7 +315,7 @@
 p_ = term "p"
 
 -- | @param@ element
-param_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+param_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 param_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "param")
 
 -- | The @svg@ attribute.
@@ -369,7 +367,7 @@
 small_ = term "small"
 
 -- | @source@ element
-source_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+source_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 source_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "source")
 
 -- | @span@ element or @span@ attribute
@@ -441,7 +439,7 @@
 tr_ = term "tr"
 
 -- | @track@ element
-track_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+track_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 track_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "track")
 
 -- | @ul@ element
@@ -457,7 +455,7 @@
 video_ = term "video"
 
 -- | @wbr@ element
-wbr_ :: Monad m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
+wbr_ :: Applicative m => [Attribute] -> HtmlT m ()
 wbr_ = with (makeElementNoEnd "wbr")
 
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/test/Main.hs b/test/Main.hs
--- a/test/Main.hs
+++ b/test/Main.hs
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 import Lucid.Base
 import Lucid.Bootstrap
 
+import Control.Applicative
 import Control.Monad.State.Strict
 
 import Example1
@@ -206,7 +207,7 @@
   where
     example = renderText $ evalState (commuteHtmlT exampleHtml) 1
 
-    exampleHtml :: MonadState Int m => HtmlT m ()
+    exampleHtml :: (Applicative m, MonadState Int m) => HtmlT m ()
     exampleHtml = ul_ $ replicateM_ 5 $ do
       x <- get
       put (x + 1)