Sustainable web design
Designs and builds websites and digital services so they use less energy and fewer resources, across design, code, hosting and strategy, without leaving people out.
What problem it addresses
Every page that loads uses energy in servers, networks and devices. Heavy images, autoplay videos or extra steps multiply that cost.
Principles
Less weight
Images, videos, fonts and code: only what’s needed, and optimized.
Short journeys
If people find what they’re looking for sooner, fewer pages load.
The whole service
Design, development, hosting and business decisions all count.
Applications in design
Use it like this
Check each page’s weight together with accessibility and performance, on new sites and existing ones.
Avoid
Adding background videos or huge images just as decoration.
Don’t fall for it
Don’t measure only page weight: hosting and what happens to data also use energy.
Connections
Authors and works
- 2021
Tom Greenwood
Wrote a practical guide to measuring and reducing a website’s impact, from images and colors to code and hosting.
- 2026
W3C, Sustainable Web Interest Group
Brings together guidelines on design, development, hosting and strategy. As of July 2026 it is a draft group note, not yet a W3C standard.
Sources
Original sources
- Greenwood, T. (2021). Sustainable web design. A Book Apart. View source: Greenwood, T. (2021)
- Dawson, A., & Newell, R. (Eds.) (2026). Web Sustainability Guidelines (WSG). Borrador de Nota de grupo del W3C, Sustainable Web Interest Group, July 29, 2026. View source: Dawson, A., & Newell, R. (Eds.) (2026)
Last reviewed: