Will Web Designers Save The World?

Dec 5, 2022

Newsflash! We’re still passionate about doing our bit to help transform the world wide web into a big mean green machine! You may remember our GREEN article from last year when we said that awareness is the first step in making those changes? And how the speedier your site is, the better for the environment?

Since then, we have even more tricks up our sleeves to help make your website more sustainable AND energy efficient through design and content.

Wait, what?!

Yup folks, you heard it here first: #webdesignersareecoheroes

Here’s our top 4 superpower pointers:

1. Keep ‘em on track

An efficient website may seem like a given but 61.5% of people will leave a website due to bad navigation (GoodFirms, 2021).

Make sure the user can find what they need in one click, not five, because having to take more than just one “unnecessary” step could spell disaster for your conversions and for the planet.

Not only will users be oh-so-impressed with your uber-efficient site, but will then spend less time online searching elsewhere! Which is a GOOD thing.

2. Search rule

Forget everything you ever learned through those childhood games of hide-and-seek. Now it’s time to make yourself easy to find.

75% of people never scroll past the first page of search engines (Intergrowth).

Make putting a sustainable SEO strategy in place a priority, because the quicker the search, the better the experience and the less energy consumers will use.

3. Content with your content?

Does your content tell the user what they need to know, rápido?

No-one in our “I want it all, and I want it now” society has the time or patience to search a WHOLE website for answers. Duh.

If the user needs to spend time scrolling and clicking for what they came looking for, then they will go elsewhere, resulting in a poor result for you AND extra power used online. NOOOO.

Again, the less time spent, the greener. Simples.

4. Too flashy 🌟🌟🌟

Channel your inner Marie Kondo (the goddess of organisation) and think of your website content like objects in your home. Rule: only keep and use things that have a purpose. Do high-resolution images add anything significant to your site?

No? Thank them for their existence…then be ruthless.

And while video content may be ubiquitous, have you noticed it has a dark side? If you don’t watch out, your big-file vids can s…l…o…w down your website’s performance. And this is bad, why?

Well, “the more complex a website is, the more energy it requires to load – and the greater its climate impact” (Wired, 2021).

If you can’t imagine your site without a little video-gaga action then at least make it low-res, avoid autoplay and please, think again about background music.

Save the pixel. Save the planet.

Still finding it hard to believe that your SEO-optimised site will stand out without all-singing, all-dancing flashing graphics and screeds of unfocused content?

Get in touch for a demo – let’s make your website a greener place.