It may sound surprising, but your website could be affecting your business’s carbon footprint.
From the number of miles driven to how long the heating’s on in the office, many companies are now tracking their environmental impact. However, too often, they overlook the carbon emissions caused by their digital presence. Every click, every image loaded, and every page viewed generates a small amount of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) – and these small fractions can soon add up.
Sustainable web design isn’t just about being carbon conscious. By optimising your website, you can create a better user experience, making your site faster to load and easier to navigate.
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Browsing’s hidden carbon costs
The average website produces around 0.8 grams of CO2e per page view. For a site with an average of 10,000 monthly views, that’s a staggering 102kg of carbon emissions per year, much of which could be prevented through more efficient web design.
These emissions are produced due to how a website works. The internet runs on data centres where up to tens of thousands of computers to host companies’ online presence. Each computer requires energy to operate and to power the cooling systems that keep them running.
According to the International Energy Agency, data centres and transmission networks account for 1-1.5% of all electricity used worldwide and 1% of greenhouse gas emissions. In 2020, this resulted in around 330 million tonnes of CO2e being released – and this figure will have only grown in the years since.
Every time a website needs to load something, the data is processed by these data centres. Whether it’s generating images on a page, or confusing navigation that takes users through multiple pages, every interaction increases the amount of information that needs to be processed, and each click has a small carbon cost.
Better browsing
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to start reducing your website’s carbon footprint:
Shrink your images
Having lots of large images on its page means more data needs to be loaded. Making sure pictures are sized correctly and optimised in the right formats can help reduce energy consumption.
Smart video usage
Videos are a significant drain on bandwidth, and you should carefully consider whether they are absolutely necessary. If that video is essential, avoiding autoplay will help minimise the amount of information that is automatically loaded per page view.
Avoid custom fonts
Custom fonts can make your brand stand out – but are costly in terms of information drain. Having too many can slow down page loading, making your site take longer to navigate and requiring more energy to bring up each page.
Reduce wasted clicks
If it takes too many clicks for people to find the information they’re looking for, that’s multiple pages being loaded unnecessarily. A well-planned content strategy makes your website easy to navigate and minimises CO2e emissions.
Optimise code
Poorly written code can complicate the processes needed to load your website from the server. Often, this can be compressed to load more quickly and reduce data transfer.
Switch to more sustainable hosting
The companies that host your website need energy to run, but some choose more eco-conscious sources than others. Prioritising suppliers that choose more renewable energy can help lower your site’s overall carbon footprint.
Different by design
It’s time for a digital detox. Our bespoke solutions ensure your online presence aligns with your sustainability goals while delivering an exceptional user experience. We know there’s no one-size-fits-all approach and will work with you to create visually stunning, user-centric designs that reflect your brand’s values and commitment to the environment.
Don’t let the carbon cost of your website be overlooked. Get in touch today to see how Design by PH can help you create a website that doesn’t cost the earth.
