Something that is often overlooked is the importance of creating a great user experience. That doesn’t just mean providing great content; it also means creating a great website.

That means a website that loads quickly, looks great on mobile (remember, this is the future of Google), and is easy to navigate. If your website looks outdated, loads slowly, or is unsecure, visitors will be put off from using your site.

Moreover, Google will see these metrics and will recommend your site less often. That’s why Google now has several tools and methods to test the quality of website UX.

Google PageSpeed Insights is an essential site that lets you enter your URL and then provides a score based on how quickly your site loads. If your site loads very slowly, it will significantly harm your ranking. The good news is that the site also provides several actionable and bespoke tips that you can use to speed up your pages.

Some common tips include:

• Switch to a faster server to improve server response time. That’s right: invest in your business!
• Remove unnecessary plugins and widgets – less is definitely more.
• Compress your images.
• Update your version of PHP.

Here are some more general tips for creating a responsive site that people trust and enjoy spending time on:

• Use WordPress. There is simply no reason not to use it, as it is the most popular content management system/site building on the web (powering ¼ of websites) and is also completely free and easy to use.
• Get an SSL certificate. If you want people to buy through your website, you don’t want Google to tell them that your site “is not secure.” Once you’ve done this, you’ll have HTTPS:// by your URL, which improves confidence and significantly boosts conversion rates.
• Pay for a WordPress theme. This is another essential investment. You can install it easily (and it’s much cheaper than hiring someone to build something bespoke), and you’ll also find it is more unique and better-made than all the free options.

You also need to ensure that your site is mobile-friendly. This means it should load well on mobile devices, adapt to different screen sizes, and not feature old-fashioned features like "mouseovers" (since you cannot detect someone "hovering" their finger over a button!). Once again, Google comes to the rescue with their Mobile-Friendly Test website. The easiest way to implement a responsive website design with touch-friendly buttons is to use a ready-made, premium WordPress theme!