Two Critical Mistakes To Avoid With Your Website
1Not being secure. OK your website will still work if your domain name is http://mywebsite.co.uk but it will struggle to appear in the Google results compared to a website which is https://mywebsite.co.uk
The difference is the S. S in a domain name is for secure. Once you did not need to have a secure website, and it worked just fine. However, Google has moved the goal posts. This is not that new and more than half the sites in the UK are secure. If yours is not visitors might well see a graphic on their screen which says
I Don’t See That Message… If you have visited the website before, that can be remembered by your device and yes YOU might not see that message, but others new to the site will almost certainly see it.
2 In 2025 Google prefers websites to work well on a smart phone. Even if you do not think that is important Google does. To reward website owners for going with this principle, the websites which do work well on mobile phones will tend to be found higher up the results page.
In the UK Google dominates internet search, with something like 90+% of searches being on Google. Therefore, if your text is very small on a mobile phone chances are Google will not be impressed nor will your users.
For Business to Business users 25% of your visitors will almost certainly be on a smartphone and if your site is Business to a Consumer 80%. Tablets are typically 1 to 5% and the balance desktop / laptop machines.
Can you check your own website independently?
Of course – https://pagespeed.web.dev/
If you put your website address into the search box and click Analyze
The results come in two formats Mobile and Desktop (There is no tablet option – only 1 to 5% of website users are on a tablet). Below is the type of numbers you might see.
Which might not look too bad if you are of a charitable nature. The Accessibility drills down into the lack of being https s for secure.
Google does focus in on the fact that the site is not https
What can the results look like if your website has been built by Website-Doctor
- Mobile all green
- Desktop all green
What does this mean in reality?
Your website comes up quickly and works on both a mobile device and desktop. The components which Google likes to see are there.
What does it take to go from average to green?
A little extra work, and a good understanding of what Google is looking for. If you are going to have a website you might as well have one which works as hard as possible to match what browsers are looking for and Google likes to present to people.
Are These 2 Suggestions New – No, In A Word
In truth not everyone who builds websites keeps their clients informed of best practice. They rely upon “trust us we have been doing your website for many years”, however, the world moves on, and a failure to move on, will almost certainly be costing you money, month in month out.
It does not have to be that way.
If you are looking to increase your visibility on the internet, social media and such like and require some help please call 0121 458 2665 or 07980 656 787 or if it is late / weekend please use our contact form, and we will call you back.