What makes a sustainable, eco-friendly website? While there’s no hard and fast definition, there are definitely some practices you can adopt to create a site that’s both appealing to the eye and good for the planet. In fact, depending on how far you take your efforts, your website can even qualify as green or carbon neutral—two terms that connote positive environmental impacts. How, exactly, do you go about making your website more sustainable? The following guide will show you the top ways to build a sustainable website.
10 Steps to Make a website Sustainable
Invest in the Right Hosting
The first step in creating a sustainable website is choosing the right hosting. The most important factor when it comes to hosting is speed. If your site doesn’t load fast enough, people will get frustrated and leave before seeing what you have to offer. Next, consider how much space you’ll need for your website, as well as the level of technical support you need from your host company. A quick Google search can help you find reviews and testimonials on various hosts, so that you can figure out which one would be the best fit for your needs or you can check out our web hosting page.
Implement a Caching Plugin
A Caching Plugin is an easy way to create a sustainable website. You can use the free W3 Total Cache plugin to make your site load faster and to make your server less overloaded. You will also want to implement Google Analytics into the footer of your site or get yourself an account with Piwik. Finally, we recommend choosing a web hosting company that offers green data centers for better energy efficiency.
Use an Efficient Theme
When choosing a WordPress theme for your site, make sure it uses images that don’t require high levels of image processing and graphics rendering. This will reduce the amount of electricity needed to produce your site.
Scripts
Run scripts only when you need them. In order to save energy, turn off any scripts that aren’t necessary for your site’s functionality or load time when they’re not in use.
Auto Plays
Don’t use auto-play videos or audio. Videos and audio embedded on webpages without user interaction can create unnecessary wear and tear on processors, so disable them when not in use.
Optimize site size with widgets.
Widgets like ad spaces, social media buttons, or calendars can help optimize page size by adding content that isn’t always visible on the screen but may still be accessed by scrolling down below the fold.
Compress Images and Videos
This will not only save server space but also reduce the load time for pages without sacrificing quality. The easiest way to accomplish this is by using an image optimizer like ImageOptim or EWWW Image Optimizer. You can also choose registered or free images with high quality and low size from image providers. Check out all the tips for website images here.
Optimize Server Response Time (Web Performance Optimization)
A sustainable website is one that is able to meet the needs of its visitors while maintaining an acceptable load time. There are many ways you can optimize your website’s performance. One important way is through using CSS sprites. Light images allow you to reduce the number of server requests by combining all images into a single file and loading them only once, instead of loading each individual image separately. This reduces server response time and can make your website more sustainable for all visitors, including those with slower connections or limited data plans.
Decrease Load Times by Combining Resources
In order to create a sustainable website, it is important to decrease load times by combining resources. This can be done with the help of caching, minifying and concatenating. Caching is when a file, such as an image or piece of code, is stored locally in order to avoid having the user download it again later. Minifying is compressing code so that it takes up less space without sacrificing its functionality. Concatenating means combining several files into one larger file and then delivering it via only one request. Doing any one of these three things can greatly increase your site’s sustainability without compromising its functionality.
Improve site navigation
Users will become frustrated and confused by a huge, awkward website with a muddled navigation structure. But there are other drawbacks as well. Additionally, it lengthens the time users spend navigating the website in search of the data they need.
Create a clear, logical website navigation structure and spend some time considering target personas and their demands so that visitors can easily access the content they are looking for.
How to check if a website is sustainable or not?
There are several ways to check if a website is sustainable or not. Here are some steps you can take:
- Check for a sustainability policy: Look for a sustainability policy on the website. This policy should outline the website’s commitment to sustainability and explain the steps it takes to minimize its environmental impact.
- Look for certifications: There are several certifications that websites can obtain to demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, such as the Green Web Foundation, which verifies websites that are hosted on renewable energy servers.
- Check the website’s carbon footprint: You can use online tools like Website Carbon Calculator or Carbonalyzer to estimate the website’s carbon footprint based on its size, traffic, and hosting provider.
- Evaluate the website’s design and content: Sustainable websites often have simple, minimalist designs that prioritize functionality over aesthetics. They also tend to avoid using flashy graphics or large files that increase the website’s carbon footprint.
- Look for sustainable practices: Sustainable websites often practice sustainable web development, including using efficient coding techniques, optimizing images and videos, and reducing HTTP requests.
Common issues of Sustainable Website
There are many common issues when it comes to sustainable websites.
- One of the most common is that sustainable websites are often created with little thought for the future.
- Can not be able to scale up as demand increases.
- May not be able to cope with changes in technology.
- The site may become outdated and no longer relevant.
- Another common issue is that sustainable websites can be very resource intensive. This means that they can require a lot of energy and resources to maintain, which can be a problem in the long term.
- Finally, sustainable websites can sometimes be difficult to find. This is because they are often hidden away on obscure corners of the internet, or buried under a mountain of other information. This can make it hard for people to actually find and use them.
Conclusion
The Internet is an incredible resource for information and entertainment, but it also presents some problems. One of these problems is the sheer volume of content that’s available. Too much choice can overwhelm people and drive them away from websites. To combat this issue, you should consider creating a sustainable website.