You must've often heard - the world of technology is ever-evolving. Well, it truly is. These technological advancements have proven to be a blessing in more ways than we could fathom. It has made our lives much more comfortable and efficient.
Today, technology has been a driving force in every industry, large and small. But, this boon comes with a cost. It has been causing an immense impact on the environment. And we are not talking about a positive impact here.
As the industries are growing, so is the energy consumption and carbon footprint. And the Coronavirus outbreak has not made it lesser. Since the outbreak, internet usage has increased exponentially, ergo increasing carbon emission. The internet contributes to 2% of the global carbon dioxide emission. You'll be surprised to know that one of the main contributors of CO2 emissions today are websites.
As of 2018, every time a web page loads, it emits 1.3 grams of CO2. There are 4.6 billion internet users worldwide and 1.7 billion active websites right now. And this number is only rising faster than you can imagine.
The good news is, more and more companies are being conscious of the impact and the amount of CO2 emission. And it's not just the Web Development companies. We are talking about businesses from almost every industry. They are trying their best to fight climate change. One such way is by creating a Sustainable Web Design.
What Is Sustainable Web Design?
Sustainable web design is a new concept that has been steadily gaining popularity over the past couple of years. It is nothing but using a few web design techniques that help reduce the carbon footprint. You design a lean and green website in hopes that it creates a sustainable digital ecosystem.
How To Create A Sustainable Website?
There are a plethora of ways you can ensure your website is sustainable and energy-efficient.
Choose an eco-friendly hosting provider who uses renewable energy to power their data centres.
Minimise the amount of data transferred while loading your webpages, reducing energy consumption.
Optimising the images, fonts, media, etc. as well as use "Lazy Load" for images and media to improve webpage loading speed.
Building a site with less number of pages.
Use web caching.
Reduce network request
Importance Of Sustainable Web Design
Decrease non-renewable energy consumption
Reduce the burning of fossil fuels
Lessen carbon footprint
Maintain a green online ecosystem
Raise awareness
All in all, minimise environmental impact
Conclusion
Ensuring your website has a sustainable web design can benefit you in various ways. It is not only great for the environment but also your website. It improves your website's performance as well as makes it more user-friendly, accessible, and well-optimised.
So, the important question here is,
Are you doing your part in controlling climate change? Is your website sustainable?
If not, it's time you build one.