Understanding the hidden carbon footprint of the digital world.
What is eco web design?
Training, workshops, and expert advice for businesses, charities and organisations.
Eco web design
Building a website is complicated enough. Is your domain name suitable? Have you got your branding right? Does it have all the functions? Is it easy to use? So why bring sustainability into this?
Did you know your website creates emissions and has a carbon footprint? A poorly designed webpage can churn out tens of grammes of CO2 equivalent (CO2e) with every click. In fact, the size of web pages has more than doubled over the past decade.
If your page produces just 2g of CO2e per view and gets 10,000 monthly page views, you're looking at 240kg CO2e per year. That's about the same as driving from Land's End to John O'Groats and back in an average car!
By cutting that down to 0.8g per view, you'd see a 60% reduction in emissions. And the bit that gets everyone? Search engines will prioritise your pages, your customer gets there quicker, and this translates to more sales. Still not sold? Just read that bit again.
"If we built all our websites sustainably, we could eliminate as many emissions as the world's fourth biggest polluting country or the equivalent emissions of the global aviation industry!"
What is a low carbon website?
A low carbon website is defined as one that emits less than 0.8g of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per page load. Ours run 71% cleaner than the global web average, independently verified by Digital Carbon Online. A low carbon website should save energy, be hosted on green servers, reduce emissions, load quickly and be eco-friendly and accessible by design.
Why do my emissions matter?
CO2e can remain in the atmosphere for a very long time. Around 40% of CO2 emitted today will still be in the atmosphere in 100 years. About 15-30% will remain after 1,000 years.This is why reducing emissions sooner matters so much. Every step toward cutting emissions, no matter how small, has a lasting effect on climate change. The sooner you act, the bigger the positive impact.
Data centres commitment
Our Commitment to Sustainable Data Centres
Data centres already account for around 1% of total global electricity consumption, with forecasts predicting this could rise sharply. That's why we work with carefully selected data centres that prioritise sustainability.
These facilities are built using state-of-the-art efficient infrastructure, powered entirely by 100% renewable energy. With power usage effectiveness (PUE) as low as 1.05, your website is hosted with minimal environmental impact. No compromise on performance.
Why Choose Sustainable Web Design?
Sustainable websites aren't just eco-friendly, they're fantastic for your business too.
Boosted SEO
Google loves fast, well-coded sites. Trim out the sluggish elements and your website loads faster, improving your SEO and giving you a leg up on the competition.
Enhanced User Experience
A speedy, well-designed site means happier visitors. When people find what they need quickly and easily, they're more likely to engage, leading to more enquiries or sales.
Wider Audience
A low carbon website built to WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility standards works for everyone, including the one in four people in the UK living with a disability who might otherwise struggle with your site.
When we build your website, we scrutinise everything. Fonts, images, videos, hosting, text, code and more. Every element optimised for fast loading, minimum carbon output and full accessibility. Creating the right balance between your unique style and a clean, green, inclusive footprint is what we excel at!
Ready to make a change?
Chat to the Poppy Eco Hub team today to discuss your requirements!