The Importance of Sustainable Web Design in a Growing Digital Culture

Welcome back Jori Hamilton with her latest contribution to 21st Century Tech Blog. Today, Jori writes about sustainability in a subject area you may never have considered: web design. Please let me know what you think through your comments.

The Internet may seem simple when we hook up to it in our homes, but in reality, the websites we frequent are often powered by massive data centres that require non-stop electricity and excessive amounts of energy. On the one hand, the energy being used limits the potential for data loss and potentially creates a better user experience. But the downside is, the more energy we consume, the worse for our planet.

There is good news: we can cut down on energy usage through sustainable web design. So let’s talk about the why and how to incorporate environmentally friendly design into your website development plans.

How Much Energy is Being Used?

It is not always easy to comprehend the effort and energy that goes into surfing the Internet daily. The reality of what’s behind your queries and clicks is an infrastructure of website hosting data centres housing hundreds of servers and dedicated database computer systems that hold the information and back it up all over the Internet. 

The energy required to run these data centres is gargantuan, equalling more than 90 billion kilowatt-hours annually. Producing that much energy requires powerplants that more often than not are burning coal, the fossil fuel identified at the latest COP26 climate conference as being the chief contributor of greenhouse gas emissions responsible for atmospheric warming. The amount of energy used by data centres today is equal to the power production of up to 34 coal-burning thermal powerplants. And some experts say that is a low estimate.

Why so much energy? Our ability to access our favourite sites instantly is one of the reasons. The massive amounts of energy to keep Internet sites accessible are harming the planet. But it doesn’t have to be this way if computer programmers and software designers can change their approach to coding webpages by implementing best sustainability practices. 

Reducing Website Size

Sustainable web design is about cutting out the fluff so computers don’t have to use more energy than required to allow users to acquire the information they want. A simple example, web designers need to think about images placed on a site. If large and detailed they slow down webpage load times, and that makes a computer draw more energy. Some sustainability rules, therefore, to follow:

1. Instead of filling pages with images, think about where they are really necessary and put only the most important on your site.
2. Reduce image resolution to load quicker.
3. Use the “lazy load” option for images. That way they only load when a user scrolls down to find them.
4. Videos are big energy consumers and although an important marketing tool, use them only when necessary. At a minimum, turn off autoplay so a video doesn’t load to play unless a user chooses to watch it.

Profit is Important

While environmental sustainability is the subject of this posting, there is a silver lining to implementing sustainability website practices. It’s profitable.

Smart design adds to the appeal of your site as online shoppers navigate it. So look at your navigation scheme and consider how to cut away items that make it harder for users to find what they need faster. You’ll save energy and increase levels of customer retention.

Poorly designed websites mean viewers look elsewhere. When thinking about the customer experience, consider the number of clicks to get to information customers value most. The rule of thumb is a customer should find what he or she needs in three clicks or less. Consider adding a search bar to find information faster because they save both time and energy.

And as a web designer, jumping on the sustainability wagon at this point can only lead to more positive outcomes for your business. As more companies and consumers think about their environmental impact, and climate change, the Internet and its infrastructure are being looked at with greater scrutiny. So now is the time, if you already have the skills, to feature them predominantly in your resume, because sustainable design is likely to be highly sought after in the 21st century.