Green Web Design: A Retrospective

How my perspective has changed on green web design over the years.

Green web design has become a hot topic over the last few years. When I started diving into the topic in 2019, information was almost non-existent.

I felt a little silly when I even Googled “green web design.” I thought, “it’s digital, so it has to be green… right?” Now, in 2023, there’s multiple books, podcasts, and courses on the topic. It’s trendy.

And while it’s good that it’s been gaining momentum, with more traction and content comes more misinformation, fear-mongering, and all the other not-so-great stuff that comes in the territory of a sustainable niche.

Today, I wanted to write to you about this topic as a whole. Instead of just redefining the topic for you and going over the most important bullets, I wanted to tell you about my journey in this space.

What I’ve learned. All the ups, the downs, the myths I accidentally perpetuated. The mistakes and embarrassing blunders I’ve made. The endless rabbit holes I’ve fallen down. And, most importantly, how all of it shaped my view on the topic.

My first thoughts: panic

“Oh my God! The Internet is killing the planet!” I screamed as I dropped my ice cream cone and ran, leaving it there to melt just like the glaciers have before them.

The first major piece of information I stumbled upon when I Googled “green web design” was that the Internet has a carbon footprint that is equivalent to that of the airline industry.

From there, I started reading about how streaming 30 minutes on Netflix was equal to driving a car 4 miles.

And about how if the Internet were a country, it would be the 6th largest polluting country in the world.

It all sounded so scary. All those Zoom calls and emails and messages we’d all been sending had apparently added up! What was I doing?!

I dropped everything and threw myself into learning how to decrease the size of my website files to lower my site’s carbon footprint.

I started my “I hate Squarespace and other website builders” phase and was adamant that hand-coding websites was the only way.

I advocated for green web hosting and switched to one as soon as I could.

I wondered if all those “thank you” emails I had been sending were necessary or if I was responsible for a ton of extra emissions.

I started creating educational content on everything that I had learned. The web’s impact on the planet seemed so huge and I couldn’t understand why more people weren’t talking about it.

I wanted to start that discourse.

But starting a conversation in a moment of panic is never a good idea. I was on mount stupid. That place in researching a topic where you think you know everything but really, you don’t know anything at all.

Ever so slowly, as I learned more and more about the web and the climate crisis, I started realizing a lot of what I was reading was incorrect information. And that the web was not polluting as much as articles had led on.

And all the pieces fall…

…right into place. Getting caught up in the climate. Sprinkles on your face. So it goes…

I started reading about how Netflix, Youtube, and even Bitcoin were not creating the emissions or climate problems that had been sensationalized.

I found an amazing debunk about how the Internet does not in fact, emit the same amount as the airline industry.

I started questioning the math behind the “if the internet were a country…” claim. (Of which I still haven’t found citations or details behind. It’s also such a shock value claim that creates panic and discourse for all the wrong reasons.)

I took a step back and reassessed a lot of what I had read and a lot of what I had believed.

Zoom calls were actually helping to eliminate emissions because we could all meet “in person” without traveling.

Website builders were not all bad. In fact, they’re easier to use, more client-friendly, and more accessible than hand-coded websites. Even if they do emit a smidgen more carbon than they need to, they’re great to use.

Sending “thank you” emails is actually incredibly important to me to make sure I express my gratitude. Whatever little carbon they emit is worth it to build great relationships.

Green web hosting was not the silver bullet it was made out to be. Most don’t even run on renewable energy and use Renewable Energy Credits to claim their “100% renewable” reputations.

And, technology keeps getting more efficient. Servers use electricity to run. Electricity costs money. Business peeps don’t like spending more money than they have to. So they try to keep energy costs down with efficient equipment. This is an accidental win for the climate, too.

While the Internet’s impact on the planet is not 0, it’s not as catastrophic as so many articles had claimed. It took a lot of pressure off what I created and it gave me a lot of freedom.

Even though the impact is not that major, there’s still good reason to use green web design principles.

Green websites…

• Load faster because they have less data to transfer between the server on which they’re hosted and the end user’s computer.

• Have better SEO because Google likes websites that are smaller and load faster as they create less frustration for users and lead to less bounces.

• Are accessible to people with disabilities (cause green web design accounts for people, too).

• Create better user experiences through well-thought out UX design.

• And, have smaller carbon footprints.

While green websites don’t save a lot of carbon, it’s still a little bit of impact. And, having your hands in lessening your impact on an individual level can help ease eco-anxiety and make us all feel a little less powerless.

But, if making green websites on our own has little impact, and can sometimes feel pointless, what if we dreamt bigger? What if we imagined a world where green web design tactics were a lot less necessary?

I scream, you scream, we all scream for renewable energy!

A sweeter future is possible if we all work together.

The main way in which the Internet impacts the planet, as far as green web design is concerned, is through electricity usage. In the US, about 60% of electricity is powered by fossil fuels, mostly coal and natural gas.

And while green web hosts can help alleviate some of this (RECs notwithstanding), they only solve half the problem: the energy for the server.

Everyone who accesses your website is going to be using different energy. You can’t control what their house is powered by just like you can’t control what kind of device they use.

To solve this, the entire electrical grid would have to be updated to be powered by renewable or low-carbon energy sources. Which is something we have to work towards anyway if we’re going to save the planet.

In taking steps to alleviate the climate crisis, we will also bring the Internet industry with us. Technology will become more efficient. Electricity will become cleaner. Emissions for the Internet will go down.

This doesn’t solve everything because the Internet also impacts the earth through mining resources, tech waste, and more (a topic for another day). But, it does illustrate how we all need to work together to push for the systemic change we need.

We don’t need to burn ourselves out trying to make our websites as small as possible to save a few grams of carbon. We can do what we can while keeping the big picture in mind.

In the grand scheme of things, we’re not going to be able to convince every web designer or business owner or DIYer to jump on the green web design bandwagon.

But we can help them accidentally make green websites if we continue to advocate for clean energy. And, on a smaller scale, we can try to convince platforms like Squarespace, Showit, Wix, and more to use green and ethical web hosting for their customers.

(A lot of website builders use Google and AWS for hosting. And both of them use RECs to get to 100% renewable energy. But I wouldn’t call Google or Amazon ethical. And RECs are not the same as using renewable energy. But I digress…)

I also understand that trying to change the entire electrical grid can seem incredibly abstract and overwhelming. It’s not something we can all do alone. It’s something that must be done together and by standing up for what we believe in.

So in the meantime, I believe we can and should continue to create green designs, make low-carbon business and personal decisions, and do what we can to help shift the culture.

In a nutshell…

Or, more likely, many nutshells because I’m not good at keeping things brief 😆

What started off as panic from shock-value headlines and exaggerated claims, has turned into a level-headed, controlled approach.

I realize now that we will not do the world or ourselves any favors by burning out from chasing perfection. Our websites and personal choices do not have to be perfect when it comes to sustainability.

I still design green websites because it eases my eco-anxiety and I know it can help snowball climate efforts by starting conversations and shifting the culture. And it can create better user experiences through strategic and accessible design.

But, just like using a reusable bag, green web design is an individualistic impact. And neither, on their own, will solve the climate crisis. Saving the planet is going to take collective action.

We need bold, systemic change.

And while that may not seem like the most empowering thing to recognize…

This realization has helped set me free. I’m not stressing about it on the daily. I can do my best without putting the whole world on my shoulders.

And while the Internet does create emissions, it also creates amazing opportunity for a lot of people. Anyone can go create a blog and share their story and perspectives.

People can connect with others from a distance and find friends they never would have before. We can feel understood from content that is created and find joy in the digital world.

The Internet is not the enemy. People who make not-so-green websites are not the enemy. We are all out here doing our best and that’s okay.

Make the small sustainable choices. But don’t panic or feel guilty when you slip up. No one can carry that weight alone. But we can all help together.

If you’re interested in learning more about green web design, I have some free (and one paid) resources for you!

The Blue Raspberry YouTube Channel: A few webinar replays to dive deeper into the topic.

7 Days to a Greener Website Challenge: 100% free! Once you sign up, each day, you’ll get a task emailed to you with a video walkthrough + PDF guide to help. Works for any website platform. DIYers and designers welcome! No coding knowledge needed.

Green Web Design Course: Learn everything from the impact of the web on the planet to how to optimize all the details on a site. With seven modules, the curriculum gives a well-rounded look at what green web design is, why it’s important, and how to implement it in your work and marketing. No coding knowledge needed. Investment: $300 USD. Payment plans available!