How to run an eco-friendly and waste-free website – infographic

Waste-free lifestyle is on the rise in every aspect of life. People are becoming more environmentally conscious and make decisions based on their impact on the planet. Even though it’s not obvious at first, running a website might have a negative impact on the environment.

Eco-friendly website – infographic

We’ve prepared an infographic about the impact of ICT infrastructure on the environment together with a few tips on how small changes to your website can reduce e-waste. If there’s anything we can help you with regarding a more eco-friendly website, let us know on social media. Share your tips on how to reduce the e-waste produced by websites and let’s make the world a better place together.

Discover World With Web – an eco-friendly initiative for the Web that isn’t a popularity contest

We’re passionate about making the Web and the world a better place. That’s why we’ve created World With Web. Our team has developed an algorithm that aims to measure the actual impact of websites on the environment and provide website owners with immediate solutions.

We certify websites based on their actual impact and efforts – you won’t have to offset your carbon emissions just because your website gets a lot of traffic. Our approach focuses on long-term sustainability and promoting sustainable web development.

Infographic transcript

Eco-friendly, waste-free websites?

Putting your product or service into the online world reduces waste.

But if you think about it… the web is real, too.

Internet could account for up to 5% of global energy.

ICT infrastructure consumes 50% more energy than global aviation.

The electricity usage of the Web is roughly equivalent to the output of 30 nuclear power plants (New York Times, 2011).

“Migration of all US office workers to the cloud could save up to 87 percent of information technology energy use – about 23 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, or enough to power the city of Los Angeles for a year.” – Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory, 2013.

The influence of bad web development? Mobile sites grew 40% in size between 2015 and 2018. In the same time, desktop websites grew 10%.

Different designs for mobile devices?

“There is no Mobile Web. There is only The Web, which we view in different ways. There is also no Desktop Web. Or Tablet Web. Thank you.” – Stephen Hay on Twitter @stephenhay

Drawbacks of separate designs:

• content and URL duplication
• costly updates for separate platforms

The future approach

Design once for every device, including devices of the future. It’s cost-effective, easier to maintain, sustainable, future-proof, and causes no content duplication.

Other things to keep in mind:

1. Limit unnecessary resources
2. Pick server providers and/or parameters accordingly to your needs
3. Increase developers’ awareness
4. Improve the manufacturing processes