Sustainable Web Designers

[_Scott_]

Hi there, I'm looking to speak with sustainable web design agencies about a project I've been working on. Please get in touch if that's you.
thanks
Scott

 

[WebDesires]

What do you mean by sustainable?

For example we are pretty energy efficient since we dont have offices and work from home, so no office energy or travel to and from work etc.

This makes us more carbon friendly I guess, but it is a very broad subject - which you should clarify.

Thanks

 

[antropy]

Hi there, I'm looking to speak with sustainable web design agencies about a project I've been working on. Please get in touch if that's you.
thanks
Scott

You should probably clarify what type of project because different web agencies specialise in different things. We specialise in ecommerce for example.

Paul.

 

[fisicx]

My business is sustainable. It’s kept me going for years.

 

[antropy]

My business is sustainable. It’s kept me going for years.

Is it sustainable in light of ChatGPT though?

Paul.

 

[fisicx]

Is it sustainable in light of ChatGPT though?

Don’t care right now. Im sitting in the garden having a beer. Which as ane fule kno is a vegetable. Which makes me a vegan. I think.

 

[KM-Tiger]

This thread may contain nuts.

 

[ribpx]

Hey I have a friend whos agency specialises in this longliveking.com ... his name is Rich Brassett. If you get in touch, tell him the 'other' Rich referred you

 

[makeusvisible]

Web Design agencies aren't really the right target audience you need to talk to when it comes to websites and carbon emissions.

The emissions don't come from websites, they come from computer hardware, such as servers, switches, hubs, UPSs, cooling equipment etc etc.

Any change in the carbon footprint of websites can't really be driven by website design agencies, it would be driven by data centres. There are lots of UK-based data centres that promote themselves as sustainable.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

I'm looking to speak with sustainable web design agencies about a project I've been working on

Why not tell us more here?

 

[_Scott_]

Web Design agencies aren't really the right target audience you need to talk to when it comes to websites and carbon emissions.

The emissions don't come from websites, they come from computer hardware, such as servers, switches, hubs, UPSs, cooling equipment etc etc.

Any change in the carbon footprint of websites can't really be driven by website design agencies, it would be driven by data centres. There are lots of UK-based data centres that promote themselves as sustainable.

Not quite true.

The host has a lot to do with it, but so does the design of the website.

It all comes down to the amount of data needing to be transmitted and the amount of processing required to deliver and consume the page/site.

Sites with large images, huge DOMs, redundant or inefficient code require more energy to do these things so have a bigger carbon impact.

Now you'll tell me that some hosts are running on green energy. True, but there are still caveats.

The host is one part of the equation, but so is the network and end user device.
Even still, the most hosts who say they run on green are addressing the 'process' (operational) emissions, but still don't talk about the 'embodied' emissions (which are typically 80-90% of the total footprint)

This website (websitecarbon.com) is a useful tool. If you happen to know of two different sites running on the same host, plug them both on there and you'll see they have different footprints (regardless of whether the host is on green networks or not)

To answer @Paul Kelly ICHYB 's very valid comment ...

My enquiry is because I am trying to find design and development agencies that understand this and are trying to help their clients build more sustainable sites, with data that allows them to report their footprints (for regulation, certification, client or BCorp reasons).

Why? Well, I have a tool that can do this and I'm looking for people to work with.

Oh, and way at the top of the comments, @antropy yes, you're right. My bad. In this instance it doesn't matter too much, probably what matters more is either a) how sustainable minded the owner of the website is (some business owners are trying to set good practice and leadership by minimising carbon footprints across all parts of their business) or b) whether the website owner is delivering products/services to clients in regulated sectors who have to report their 'Scope 3' emissions ... which include their suppliers' websites.

Hopefully that answers the questions above. (and prompts more??)

 

[Paul Carmen]

Not quite true.

The host has a lot to do with it, but so does the design of the website.

It all comes down to the amount of data needing to be transmitted and the amount of processing required to deliver and consume the page/site.

Sites with large images, huge DOMs, redundant or inefficient code require more energy to do these things so have a bigger carbon impact.

Now you'll tell me that some hosts are running on green energy. True, but there are still caveats.

That's very interesting & despite being green minded, I've never thought about promoting it as a benefit in that way.

We use sustainable hosting and energy, plus spend a lot of time on minimising page weight for websites; e.g. advanced image compression, bundling inline CSS, minification of scripts etc. However, this is done with page speed, usability & organic ranking in mind.

Just ran some tests and the results are good versus competitors and current sites we are rebuilding for customers. We will work on some messaging to promote this, as we should be taking responsibility for our work and minimising our impact on the climate.