Taking Steps Towards Sustainable Web Design

Throughout our B Corp journey, we have worked to improve our sustainable web design practices and minimise the carbon footprint of both the websites we develop and our own. In this blog post, we’ve created a list of actionable ways to not only enhance user experience but also contribute to a more sustainable digital environment.

UX and Sustainability 🤝

The user experience (UX) and sustainability of your website are often related. Improving your user journey not only improves the overall UX but also reduces the carbon emissions generated by your website. A simple tweak, such as consolidating multiple landing pages into one, can significantly enhance user experience while lowering your website’s environmental impact at the same time.

Lowering Page Weight for a Lower Carbon Footprint 📉

Reducing the weight of your web pages is a crucial step towards a greener website, and you can do this in a few ways. Avoid using any unnecessary big videos. When adding images to your website, ensuring they are a smaller file size will lower your page weight, and we recommend using .webp image files over .png using a free tool called Squoosh. Doing this not only enhances the user experience with a faster loading speed but also decreases the carbon emissions associated with website usage.

Remember, as your website attracts more visitors, the carbon footprint increases. Even with a smaller audience, optimising your page weight remains important in minimising environmental impact.

“We’re passionate about sustainability in the design team, and we’re always researching new ways to lower the environmental impact of the things that we make. This includes things like low carbon web design practices and our carbon literacy certification.” – Tom Ayling, User Experience Designer at Hiyield

Sustainable Hosting 🌱

Choosing a sustainable hosting provider is a significant step towards having a greener website. Currently, seven of our existing clients’ websites are hosted in data centres powered by 100% renewable energy. We know we have a way to go to improve this, so we have made a pledge that all new WordPress websites we host are automatically put on to this provider, with a goal to transition 80% of existing clients’ sites to this by the end of the year. By making a conscious choice in hosting, you directly contribute to reducing the environmental impact of digital infrastructure.

Advocacy, Conversations, and Continuous Learning 📚

Sharing knowledge and raising awareness plays a crucial role in fostering a greener planet. Engaging others in sustainable practices and advocating for eco-friendly initiatives are essential steps. To further our commitment to sustainability, our design team has initiated a book club, and are currently reading “Sustainable Web Design” by Tom Greenwood. The team are able to explore ways to make our practices more sustainable and contribute to a more sustainable digital world

We are also now part of Design Declares, a group of designers making a commitment to ‘reimagine, rebuild and heal our world’. Being a part of this group gives our design team a community to learn from and share knowledge with.

Taking the Leap Towards a Sustainable Website 🌿

We hope these actionable steps inspire you to reduce the carbon emissions of your website. Want us here at Hiyield to help reduce your website’s carbon consumption for a greener world? Get in touch today to start your journey.