At a time when respect for the environment and the reduction of energy consumption have become subjects of paramount importance, we have the right to ask ourselves if the creation of websites has a real impact on all this.
Do you know that more than 300 websites are created every minute in the world? So, is it possible to make a website more energy-efficient in order to reduce its impact on the planet? The answer is yes, so we are talking about an eco-responsible website. But what is it exactly?
What is the ecological impact of digital technology?
More than 60% of the population is connected to the Internet.
Every day, an incalculable number of websites are born. If, in everyday life, more and more people are making the effort to change their habits to preserve the planet on their own scale, on the web, it is somewhat different.
Most people are unaware of the ecological impact of digital. And yet, it is very real!
To give you an idea, digital, as a whole, is the source of 4% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. This is a substantial figure and an alarming observation when we know that greenhouse gases are one of the causes of global warming.
Reducing the environmental impact is a necessity. Each website creator should act to reduce the environmental footprint of digital through its developments.
How can we notice that a website is eco-responsible?
An eco-responsible website must meet certain codes.
It must offer the best user experience to Internet users, while using techniques to reduce the ecological impact. But concretely, what exactly is an eco-responsible WordPress site?
- A fast and easy to use site;
- An SEO agencies friendly site that meets Google’s requirements;
- A low-energy site thanks to the saving of resources;
- An effective website that goes straight to the point.
To create an eco-responsible website, it is necessary to minimize the code and optimize the visuals in order to reduce the loading time of the pages. This also involves a sleek design and ease of handling.
Indeed, a site that offers complicated navigation and whose pages take time to display is much more energy-intensive than an eco-responsible website. To summarize, an eco-responsible website must:
- be consistent with our values,
- provide an excellent user experience,
- And use the minimum of resources, from its conception to its launch.
What are the challenges of eco-responsible websites?
It must be understood that on a global scale, the simple creation of eco-responsible websites is not sufficient to significantly reduce the environmental impact of digital technology. Many other factors come into play.
Of course, you will adopt a positive approach, but you have to take the problem as a whole.
- How is the electricity used by the web developer who creates your website produced?
- How many machines and tools does he use?
And on the side of Internet users, the observation is identical!
- How many devices do they have (smartphone, tablet, computer, etc.)?
- Do they keep these devices for a long time or, on the contrary, do they change them regularly?
At the moment T, a site creator who embarks on an eco-responsible approach will have only a tiny positive impact on the environment. On the other hand, in the long term if 100, 10,000 or 1 million people adopt the same environmental approach, the benefit will become measurable.
For the planet, the eco-design of websites must become the norm, awareness is gaining ground.
Why embark on an eco-responsibility approach?
Global warming is a reality. From now on, the preservation of the planet has become an unavoidable subject.
Digital pollution is as bad as any other type of pollution. Embarking on an eco-responsibility approach is done out of pure goodness of soul or out of altruism.
A person who creates an eco-responsible website does so because he cares about the impact he can have on the environment. As more than half of the population is connected to the Internet, more and more people are concerned about the consequences they can cause to the planet because of their digital use.
In a sense, you don’t have to take an eco-responsible approach. But when everyone around you does, what will they say about you? You may not know it, but eco-responsibility is also beneficial for you.
By providing a better user experience, you will have a much better chance of converting prospects into customers. With a much faster site, you will please not only Internet users, but also Google, which is not negligible for your SEO. You will be able to reach a wider audience with your site and Internet users will be satisfied with their navigation.
💡 about 68% of Internet users leave a site when navigation is too laborious, hence the interest in improving the user experience as much as possible.
Figures not to be overlooked
As seen above, digital technology is responsible for approximately 4% of greenhouse gas emissions (including 2% for the Internet alone), but it also consumes, on its own, more than 10% of the world’s electricity! These are alarming figures that continue to increase year after year.
We really need to be aware of SEO for lawyers figures and become more respectful of the environment.
Some large companies such as Google, Facebook or Apple have become aware of this problem and have planned, in the years to come, to use 100% renewable energy.
But it’s not just big companies that need to become eco-responsible. Everyone can do it and most importantly, should do it.
The planet is suffering and if we don’t all make an effort, it won’t improve. If all the websites in the world were eco-responsible, the environmental impact would be much lower.
Therefore, if you intend to create a website or redesign your site soon, opt for an eco-responsible approach, everyone will benefit from it and the planet will thank you 🙂