Building a Greener Web: Sustainable Design & Development

“If the Internet was a country, it would be the 4th largest polluter”¹

The internet has become a significant contributor to power consumption and, consequently, pollution. Therefore, it's time to adopt a more conscious approach in this area as well. The good news is that it aligns with the interests of customers anyways.

The following points address technical, visual, and social aspects of how to make your website more sustainable.

Efficient programming

Efficient programming is a critical aspect of web development that directly impacts the performance, speed, and overall user experience of a website. In today’s digital environment, where users expect fast and seamless access to information, every byte of data transferred over the internet counts—not just for speed, but also for environmental impact.

Every additional byte of data requires energy to be transmitted from servers to end users. This energy consumption contributes to CO² emissions, meaning that inefficient programming practices can lead to a larger carbon footprint for a website. By optimizing elements such as image sizes, minimizing HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and implementing other best practices, we can significantly reduce the amount of data that needs to be loaded, thereby not only improving performance but also lessening the environmental impact.

Green Hosting

When selecting a web hosting provider, the focus is on their use of renewable energy. Instead of just offsetting CO² emissions through carbon credits or reforestation, priority is given to hosts that run on green energy from the start, using sources like wind, solar, or hydroelectric power. This choice significantly reduces the environmental impact of websites, supporting a more sustainable internet infrastructure. By opting for a host powered by renewable energy, businesses can align with environmental goals, enhance their ethical branding, and contribute to a greener digital economy. We use https://www.thegreenwebfoundation.org/ to check if a hoster uses green energy.

Accessibility

The concept of website accessibility is a broad and vital topic that encompasses ensuring that all users, regardless of their physical abilities, cognitive skills, or technological limitations, can fully engage with a website's content and functionality. Accessibility goes beyond mere legal compliance; it’s about fostering inclusivity and creating a user-friendly environment for everyone.

Honesty

We firmly reject the use of dishonest practices such as clickbaiting or dark patterns to manipulate user behavior. These practices not only damage the user experience but also undermine the integrity of the relationship between the website and its audience. Users should feel confident that their interactions with a website are transparent and that they are in full control of their decisions.

Open Source

We believe in the use of open-source software and are committed to supporting its community. Open-source software embodies the principles of transparency, collaboration, and shared innovation, allowing developers from all over the world to contribute, improve, and freely distribute software that benefits everyone.

Supporting the open-source community means more than just using its products; it involves actively participating in its growth and sustainability. This can include contributing code, reporting bugs, providing documentation, or financially supporting the projects and developers who maintain these tools.

Conclusion

Sustainable and ethical web design and development practices benefit not just the planet and society, but also our clients. By enhancing performance, building customer trust, and setting a positive example, we create a win-win scenario for everyone involved.

Sources:
¹ ITC's total emissions from a 2021 study by Freitag et al. compared with fossil CO2 emissions by country, using data from 2020 from the European Union's Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR)

Photo: Pexels/Guiirossi