What is a sustainable website?
The art of low carbon websites
Sustainable web design is the process of creating websites that have less impact on the environment. The web pages should use less resources to load whilst still delivering a high quality user experience. There are six principles defined by the Sustainable Web Manifesto that form the basis of designing a sustainable website: Clean: The website should use hosting with a renewable energy source. The Green Web Foundation is a directory for green hosting providers. Efficient: The website should use the least amount of energy and resources possible. If your website is performing well and downloading less for pages to load, it will have consumed less energy. Open: The website should be accessible to all and allow users to have control over their data. Ethical websites should be limiting the amount of user data collected and respecting data privacy. Honest: The website will not mislead or exploit users through either its content or design. It is important that that websites are genuine and not greenwashing. Regenerative: The website should be making a positive impact on an economy focused on people and the planet. It should be supportive of sustainable business practises. Resilient: The website should be available where and when it is most needed. Ideally a sustainable website should perform well, providing a good and efficient user experience. The website should use a green hosting provider. As a design agency we aim to support businesses with a similar ethos and practise. Further Reading About Web Sustainability Guidelines: Sustainable Web Design W3C Sustainability Guidelines
Why are sustainable websites important?
Have you ever considered the carbon footprint of the internet? Digital technology (our gadgets, the internet and the systems supporting them) produces approximately 3.7% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is equivalent to the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by the aviation industry. The average website with 10,000 views a month will produce 211kg of CO2 emissions every year. This is the same as: Driving 1055km: the distance from Inverness to Plymouth. Drinking 4,220 cups of coffee. The CO2 absorbed by 11 trees a year. As a society, we are becoming more and more reliant on the internet and our gadgets. So it is important that we acknowledge the impact of the internet on the environment and act on it. References Lean ICT Report: The Shift Project Aviation Emissions: Sustainability by numbers and Our world in data Website CO2 emissions
What can I do to make my website more sustainable?
It is important to consider each element on a web page to assess its carbon output. We should be considering the role, size and impact of the elements to ensure we are making eco friendly choices. Follow this checklist for some pointers to start improving the sustainability of your website: 1. What is the purpose of the resource? Large files, such as images or videos, may bulk out your website but not add anything to the user experience. If you don't deem the resource as necessary, simply remove it. Keep in mind that sometimes decoration or breaking up large areas of content can be a reason to keep the resource. 2. Is the resource in the appropriate format? There could be a more compressed format that reduces the file size. A smaller file size means a faster load time and is kinder to the planet. 3. Does the browser know how to utilise the resource correctly? Sometimes there are hints we can add in to the HTML to inform the browser to delay loading until needed. 4. Are third party plugins required? You should take careful consideration when adding plugins to your website. You do not have control over what the third party is doing. It may not be efficient or could risk the privacy of your user. 5. Is your colour scheme eco friendly? With the popularity of OLED screens, darker colours tend to be more energy efficient. They can also have less strain on your eyes, especially for users with limited vision. 6. Are you using a green hosting provider? Many hosting providers are now using renewable energy sources and energy efficient equipment to address sustainability.
How can I test how sustainable my website is?
There are several online calculators that will predict how much carbon your web pages are emitting. They are useful in quantifying how environmentally friendly your website is. Usually, they request the URL of the web page you want tested and it returns the carbon estimates. Some examples of calculators are: The Website Carbon Calculator - it tests a single web page at a time and returns an estimate. It will also give you a rating of the carbon emissions so you can compare to the average website. Digital Beacon - again it tests a single web page and returns an estimate with a rating. It also gives you a breakdown to explain which resources are producing this carbon. If you use this tool multiple times, it will return a history to see the progress your web page is making. Eco-Friendly Web Alliance - this will not return an immediate result but you can request an audit report. The report will take a couple of days and will assess your entire website for the carbon it is producing.
The advantage of a bespoke sustainable website
Website builders often bloat projects and limit the functionality available. This leads to inefficient websites. Whereas a web designer offering a bespoke solution can optimise the performance of the website. Website builders are a great tool to use for businesses who want a quick and easy approach to building an online presence. However a developer offering a bespoke solution will be able to write an optimised website that performs better. The designer can also have full control of the user experience to ensure content is easy to find. The administrator does not need to squeeze the content into a pre existing template provided by a website builder. A bespoke website can meet the exact requirements of the business. Designers and developers have relevant experience and technical knowledge. They can use this experience and knowledge to produce a high quality sustainable website within a good timeframe.
Final Thoughts
In our technology fuelled world, sustainable web design is going to increase in importance. We need low carbon/resource intensive websites to help combat climate change. Sustainable websites can a focus on being efficient, clear and green. We are able to access how much carbon a website needs to load using online tools. This allows us to meet the principles of sustainable web design. We write bespoke websites to meet specific requirements. This allows for optimisation and focus on sustainability. We'd love to hear from you if you want to start a web project that is good for people and the planet.