Sustainable digital practices to make your website green
Nov 4th 2024
What is your website’s carbon footprint, and can it be improved?Wherever you stand on the scale, you can take steps to reduce that impact on the planet while also creating a much better experience for your users.From how you design to the type of content you create; small changes can lead to more sustainable online experiences.Today, we’ll dive into actionable steps you can take to make your brand more digitally sustainable—without sacrificing performance or user experience.Go green with contentSlash jargon, kill fluff, and slip into your customers’ shoes—what do you get? Content that resonates, sells, and emits less CO₂. Content that’s good for your business and the planet.But how does content online contribute to carbon emissions? Every piece of online content has to be stored, loaded, and transmitted using server power and bandwidth from data centers. The more content there is, the more energy it takes to store and deliver it.
Here are three simple ways to make the content on your website more sustainable:
- Ask yourself: Does this content address our customers' pain points, answer their questions, and add value? Remove any unnecessary content that doesn't serve a purpose—this reduces your digital carbon footprint and clears out irrelevant information.
- Have a strategic content plan: Focus on attracting the right audience to your site, not just more traffic. Less irrelevant traffic means fewer server resources used and a lower environmental impact.
- Keep it fresh: Search engines like Google prioritize regularly updated pages. By keeping your content fresh and relevant, you increase your site’s visibility while reducing the need for unnecessary pages or content.
Go green with UX
What if we told you that 70% of your customers could abandon their purchase on your site due to poor user experience (UX)? Or that every $1 you invest in UX could bring you $100 in return? That's 9,900% ROI.This simple math shows why optimizing user experience isn’t just good for your business, but also for the planet.
Here’s how to make the UX on your site more sustainable:
- Remove unnecessary features: They waste users’ time and add to the overall energy use of your site.
- Design for accessibility: Create websites that are usable for people with different abilities—whether those disabilities are permanent, temporary, or situational.
- Apply DEI principles: Incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion in your design. Respect all perspectives and avoid stereotypes.
- Simplify navigation: Make sure users can find what they need quickly. This reduces frustration and energy consumption as users spend less time navigating your site.
- Go for responsive design: Responsive design means one site that works on all devices, reducing the need for multiple versions.
- Build trust with transparency: Avoid misleading designs that frustrate users. Build trust by keeping your designs honest and open.
Go green with images & videos
You could lose nearly 50% of your website visitors if your page takes more than 3 seconds to load. That’s a huge, missed opportunity, and it also increases your digital carbon footprint.
Here’s how to optimize your images and videos on your website for sustainability:
- Choose the right image format: Use JPG for photography, SVG for icons, and newer formats like WEBP or AVIF for high-quality images with smaller file sizes.
- Optimize your images: Use tools like TinyPNG or ImageOptim to compress your media without sacrificing quality. Faster loading means lower emissions.
- Use lazy loading: Don’t load everything at once. Show images only when users scroll to them, saving bandwidth and improving speed.
- Ditch autoplay videos: Autoplay videos slow down your site and use more energy. Let users choose when to watch.
- Opt for lightweight animations: : Lightweight animations are engaging and more energy-efficient than videos.
- Set a page weight budget: Monitor the amount of data your website loads and set a budget to keep it lean. This will improve both user experience and sustainability.
Go green with site design
️Did you know that you could be increasing your website's digital carbon footprint simply by creating separate versions of the website for different devices? The solution? Responsive Web Design.With responsive design, your website automatically adjusts to different screen sizes and devices, eliminating the need for multiple layouts.
Here’s why it’s a sustainable choice:
- Less duplication of content: One version of your site serves all devices.
- Faster load times: A streamlined, responsive design speeds up load times and reduces energy consumption.
- A more efficient site: Fewer resources are required to store and load your content.
- Better for your users and the planet: Faster, leaner, and greener websites improve user experience while reducing your website’s carbon footprint.
Found our tips useful and ready to take the next step toward a greener website? Whether you’re looking for small tweaks or a complete redesign, we’re here to help guide you on your journey toward digital sustainability. Reach out to us - let’s make your website better for both your business and the planet.
Head - Content & Communication
