a smart phone and laptop both showing the same website

Phones have changed the way we think about web design overall for mobile optimization. A website must be responsive, meaning it will adapt and resize based on any sized device. Once, long ago in the 90s and early 2000s, websites were primarily designed for the one browsing device: computers with keyboards, mice, and square or horizontal monitors. (Need a blast from the past? Here’s the original 1996 Space Jam website still live.) Websites still need to work on computers, but many now browse the internet with their phones. As a result, websites need to be optimized for mobile devices to look good, load quickly, and be responsive. Smaller, vertical touch screens, specific operating systems, and cellular data bring different design considerations than mouse and keyboard. To provide an ideal experience for your users and potential customers/clients, you need a website optimized for mobile.

The Importance of Mobile Optimization

You probably use a smartphone to browse the internet all the time. When you’re working, walking, chatting, or just bored. You and everybody else. Touchscreen smart phones have completely changed internet browsing over the last 15 years by providing constant easy access. Today, over 62% of website traffic comes from mobile devices, and over 92% of users access the internet with a mobile phone. Similarly, 83% of the world’s population has a smartphone, nearly double the number of households with a computer. Many only ever access the internet and your business through a mobile device.

Those numbers alone prove mobile optimization is crucial for your business’ website. Most users are likely visiting with their phone. It only becomes more important when considering that the third most common task on mobile devices, right behind playing games and listening to music, is browsing social media. Since 55% of consumers discover new brands on social media which they primarily browse on their phones, most new potential clients or customers are first visiting your website with a mobile device. Their first experience with your website should be a painless one to give them a proper impression. Mobile optimization is also important for current and returning users. 55% of users also use their phones to make online purchases. An optimized website ensures they have a seamless experience and are more likely to buy from your business and return.

Mobile Optimization Tips for Your Website

There’s a lot that you can do to optimize your site, and you may not be a web design wizard. That’s why Rosewood has some easy tips to help you start thinking about optimizing your website for mobile users. 

  1. Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Tool – Google has made a convenient and simple tool that tests how mobile-friendly your website is. It will quickly help you discover any issues in your mobile optimization. Enter your URL or even the website’s code, and the tool will crawl your entire website for several minutes. The tool will then list any issues in your site’s mobile optimization. Google regularly crawls websites for mobile optimization itself, ensuring they should be populated on mobile searches.
  2. Design “Mobile First” – When creating a new site or redesigning your old one, it’s a good practice to design a website that prioritizes mobile use over desktop computers. Many users discover businesses and browse the internet with only a mobile device. Mobile sites can still function on a desktop, but a site designed primarily for computer use can leave mobile users frustrated with a dysfunctional site. When designing, think about small screen sizes and clean aesthetics.
  3. Create a responsive website – A responsive website is one that adjusts to a device’s screen. Smartphones have a variety of screen sizes. To accommodate these different screens, websites scale up or down. A responsive website will keep elements visible and text readable as it scales. Many modern web design platforms include responsive functions or plugins to easily make your site response. They also allow you to view your site as it would appear on mobile devices.
  4. Easy Visibility – Ensure all the essentials to navigate your site, like menus, search bars, buttons, and any text are immediately visible on a small screen. This will also make them easy to interact with on a touchscreen, the primary way users will interact with your site on a mobile device. If users need to zoom in on your site to hunt down information or touch the right element, they are far more likely to become frustrated and leave.
  5. Reduce the File Size of Your Images – Users hate loading times and big images are often the guilty party, especially when users are on slower internet or data connections. Resizing or compressing your photos reduces file size so they load faster on slower connections. 
    1. Resizing means reducing the overall resolution of the image to make it smaller. It only wastes data for an image that never displays large than 400 pixels wide to be loaded at 4000 pixels. Cutting down on that extra resolution, will shorten its load time. Be careful to not reduce the image below its display size, or it will lose quality as it stretches. You can resize multiple photos simultaneously with Bulk Resize.
    1. Compression is an alternative to resizing that keeps photos the same resolution and instead reduces the file size by using math to simplify data. It isn’t magic though, and too much compression can also jeopardize quality. Use Batch Compress to compress photos in batches.
  6. Pop-ups For Mobile – Every website has at least a few pop-ups to get a user’s attentions. However, they can be more obstructive and disruptive on mobile device screens than desktop browsers. You can try removing pop-up elements altogether to create a more seamless browsing experience, placing the elements on the site. If you are using pop-ups, use only a few and ensure they only cover a small portion of the screen and are easy to close. 

Your Digital Space

You know all too well that your website is essential for your business. It’s how people discover, learn about, contact, and purchase from you. It’s your storefront or office on the virtual streetside and just like in a physical location, you want to ensure customers have a painless, seamless, and pleasant experience. Optimizing your website for mobile with these tips is a great start to ensure your potential customers or clients are less likely to leave frustrated. Curious about other ways to update your site’s mobile optimization? Maybe you think it’s time for a redesign? Rosewood’s website design team will be happy to help. 

Finger about to tap on a touchscreen smartphone
A graphic of a man sitting on a stool taking a photo of a women. These will be used to update the website photos.

You only get one chance to make a good first impression with your customers, which is why it’s so important to put the time and effort into updating your website. If you haven’t reviewed your website photos recently, we highly recommend doing as soon as possible. Keep reading to discover the top reasons to update your website photos to keep attracting new customers to your site.

Make a Great First Impression

When someone visits your website for the first time, you only have a few seconds to make a good impression. Outdated images can completely wreck your chance of converting a browser to a customer. This is why you always need to offer high-quality and up-to date-images that are reflective of your current branding and your current products. If you haven’t replaced your images for years, it may be time to make some updates!

Your Website Photos Should Evolve With Your Business

No business should stay in the same place year after year. When you still have the same images up on your site that you did two or three years ago, it’s clear to customers that you haven’t improved your offerings or your products during this time. Your website needs to show growth and evolution, so make sure you keep updating it with images of recent events and changes within your business. Brand photography and videography services can help you to show a clear tone or message through each image on your site, which is important for consistency and to continue evolving your business.

Keep Your Clients Up to Date With Current News and Events

A picture is worth a thousand words, so it’s the best way to keep your clients informed about the changes within your company. Adding new pictures each week or month shows them the recent activity within your business, and can show off your employees’ achievements and the customer service you offer. You could even feature images of happy customers, showing how dedicated you are to offering the best service or product possible to them. A quick and easy way to do this is linking your Instagram to your website so it is seen as a gallery! 

There’s nothing worse than landing on a website which doesn’t look like you’ve spent any time or effort on it recently, so make sure you take some time out in the upcoming weeks or months to update your site as needed.

These are just a few of the top reasons to keep your website photos updated. Your website is an online storefront for your company, and you need to do all you can to stay ahead of your competition. When comparing two different businesses to purchase a product or service from, you’ll find that the images on your site could be the one thing that stops someone from choosing you in the future. If you need help updating your site this year, get in touch with our team today. We have a team of photographers and videographers with a wide range of specialties.

Graphic of a yellow letter inside of a yellow circle. The background is dark blue with light blue spades. The graphic is for Tips on Fundraising Promotional Emails

Fundraising promotional emails are a way to help secure more support for your organization. However, for them to be effective, you need to have a strong email marketing strategy ready to go. Today we’re going to share our top tips for fundraising promotional emails! These will help to increase both your click-through and conversion rates.

1. Write a Catchy Subject Line

The first thing that anyone sees when they receive an email is the subject line. It’s important to make sure it creates an impact on the recipient. In fact, research shows that a third of email recipients will base their decision to open your email on what the subject line says. Keep the subject line of your fundraising promotional emails short and concise with about 60 characters of interesting content for best results.

2. Create a Captivating Email Body

To keep the attention of the recipient of your email, make sure you write a professional email body which is free from typos and grammatical errors. Make sure you format and space the paragraphs in a way that makes it easy for someone to skim through the writing.

3. Responsive Emails

Nowadays, the majority of email recipients use a smartphone or tablet to read their emails. For that reason, you need to use responsive emails, which will be customized for the device that it’s received on. You will miss out on so many potential donors when you don’t format your fundraising promotional emails in this way.

4. Colours, Fonts, and Images

The fonts, colours, and images that you use in your fundraising promotional emails can help to increase brand recognition. However, you need to keep things very professional and on-brand while also offering high-quality images that can be viewed on any device.

5. Add Your Company Logo

Make sure you always include your company logo in your fundraising promotional emails. This should be placed in the top right corner of your emails, which will help to build brand identity and increase trust with your online charitable gaming or other types of fundraising.

6. Finish With A Clear CTA

No email is complete without a clear CTA! You should offer a button to help learn more about your organization or support your fundraising efforts. Without this, all of your hard work in creating a high-quality fundraising promotional email will be wasted.

7. Add an Unsubscribe Link and Contact Email

An unsubscribe link is critical for emails today. This will help you to remain in compliance with data protection laws around the world. You also want to ensure your email recipients have a way to get in touch with you, which makes them more likely to support your efforts in the long run.


Fundraising promotional emails are a great way to connect with your audience and supporters. By following the tips we’ve shared above, you can ensure you write a captivating email that will be opened each and every time. Contact us today for further assistance with your fundraising efforts or to discuss how we can help your company this year.