Calculate the Carbon Footprint of your website (and how to reduce).

Now, regardless of the way, everyone talks about "Global warming" and "Sustainability" "? We try to reduce the use of plastic, carry a private glass, or even turn to electric car ... But have you ever had a glimpse that I asked myself "How much is the website that we create or cares for every day? How much is the 'burden' for this world?"

Business owners, marketers, and most website developers tend to be obsessed with SEO, User Experience improvements, and adding conversion rates, but we may forget that there is "The cost that is invisible" hidden in our work is "Carbon FootPrint" or carbon footprints that are caused by the energy of the website itself.

The real problem in life

Imagine: You just launched the latest website. Beautiful design, eye -catching, Hero Banner video, 4K resolution, nonimation that flows, and images of every sharp product. You are very proud of it. And the number of visitors looks good But what you may never know is Behind those beauty Your website may be "pumping energy" from a huge server. And release carbon dioxide (CO₂) is equivalent to driving dozens of kilometers every month. The problem is ... We never "temples". We don't even know how our website "clean" or "dirty" in the eyes of this world. And the important thing is We don't know where to start "edit".

-Prompt for illustrations-

The image shows the concept of "Not visible costs" of the website, with one side being a beautiful, modern webpage The other side is a faint image. Of the power plant or power cable that is connected Convey the energy that has been used

Why did that problem occur?

Many people may wonder "The website that is just a code with pictures How can it create pollution? "The answer is simpler than you think. Every element of the website. From letters, pictures, to the JavaScript code, are all stored in "Server" located in the Data Center around the world. These servers require "electricity" to work and cool 24 hours a day, no holidays. And most electricity is still produced from the burning of fossil fuel

When someone visit your website All data will be "sent" through a complex internet network to their computer or mobile phone. The process of sending this data also uses energy. The more your website "heavy" (such as having a large picture, automatic video, or complex script), the more energy is needed to deliver and processing. Simply put:

• Large assets: Images, videos, and non -compression fonts Is the main character that makes the webpage heavy
• Bloated Code: Using too much plugin or CSS/JavaScript code Unused Causing the browser to work harder
• Excessive Requests: Every time the web has to draw information from external sources (such as Social Media Feeds, Tracking Scripts) is to use more energy.
• Data Center that uses fossil energy: your hosting service provider may still use energy from an unfriendly source of environment.

These factors combined into Carbon Footprint that we may never think about before.

-Prompt for illustrations-

The simple infographic image shows the data of data from the Data Center via the internet to the user screen. With the "lightning" or "CO₂" icon appearing in each step to convey the energy consumption

If left, how will it affect?

The ignorance of the website Carbon Footprint is not just about "beautiful world", but it has a direct impact on both the big and in your own business:

• Environmental impact: Did you know that if "Internet" is a country. This country will release the 6th largest greenhouse gas in the world! Every website that we created with this problem is more or less. Letting our website "Fat" and "ineffective" is like increasing the pollution to the world unnecessarily.
• The impact on the image of the brand: in the era when consumers (Especially the Millennials and Gen Z groups focus on sustainability and more environmentally friendly brands. Having a "world" website can become a strength and make a difference to your brand. On the other hand, the web is confiscated. "Pollotists" may negatively affect the confidence of customers.
• Direct business impact (Many people expect!): This is the most important part! Websites that have high Carbon FootPrint are usually a website that "slow" and "Ui Ai", which is directly affecting:
  • User Experience (UX): No one is waiting for the website to download for a long time.
  • Conversion Rate: The rate of order or contact has decreased significantly.
  • SEO RANKings: Google uses the speed of the website (Core Web Vitals) as one of the important factors in ranking.

Therefore, reducing Carbon FootPrint is equal that you are "Improve the website efficiency" in itself is to shoot a single gun, get three birds: good for the world, good for the image, and good for your own sales.

-Prompt for illustrations-

The 3-sided comparison image (Side-Side) on the left is the world-shaped icon, in the middle is a smile icon (instead of the user), the right icon is a rising (instead of business), linked by arrows to convey that everything is good for each other.

Is there any solution? And where should it start?

The good news is to create a web that is friendly to the world. "Can do it" and not as complicated as you think. Its key is "Efficiency", which is the same thing that we want to make a website to load quickly and do SEO. The ranking is good. We can divide the solution into 3 main parts and should always start from the first thing:

1. Measure First: You can't improve what you can't measure. The best starting is "calculation" to know how our website has Carbon FootPrint. Which we can use a simple tool like Website Carbon Calculator to see our settings
2. Improve the web performance (Web Performance Optimization): This is the most impact. Making the "light" and "faster" website is to reduce direct energy consumption. Which covers various techniques such as image compression, font management, and caching
3. Choose the Green Infrastructure: that is to choose the Web Hosting service operating with renewable energy, which we can check our service providers through The Green Web Foundation.

Starting from the "measurement" will make you see clearly where to improve. And allows you to follow up with concrete results Read more about this concept in Our sustainable web design guide

-Prompt for illustrations-

Infographic image shows 3 main steps: 1. MEASURE icon, 2. Optimize, 3.

Examples from the real thing that used to be successful

In order to be clearer I would like to lift the case of the online handmade shop named "Greencraft".

Before improvement (BEFORE): Greencraft's website is full of images of high -resolution products that are not compressed at all, there are 5 videos that play automatically, and use 5 beautiful fonts from the outside. The result is almost 8 seconds. When calculated on the Webs Carbon Calculator, it is found that releasing carbon to 2.5 grams. Rate (the rate that people press in and close immediately) up to 70%

The mission "Turn the web to save the world" (The Action): The team decided to overhaul the web performance by:

• Compressing all images: and switching to new formats like webp
• Turn off the automatic video: Change to use the user to play by themselves when interested.
• Adjust the font loading strategy: Choose only 2 types of fonts and adjust the download method to be more efficient.
• Check and move to Green Hosting: The certified by The Green Web Foundation.

After updating (After): The results are very remarkable! The new website is finished downloading within 2 seconds. Carbon footprint values ​​decreased to only 0.4 grams (decreased by 84%!) Bounce Rate reduced to 45% and more importantly, the sales increased by 15% in the following month, because the user Experience is clearly improved. Greencraft also added Badge Website ". At the end of the web Which helps to impress and confidence for customers who are environmentally conscious

-Prompt for illustrations-

The picture of the Before & After screen. The results from the Website Carbon Calculator on the left side show high CO₂ and the red/orange bar (AFTER) shows low CO₂ and is a green bar. With reduced percent numbers

If wanting to follow, what to do? (Can be used immediately)

It's your queue! Let's take action to "detox" your website to be clean and save the world with the checklist that can be used immediately.

Checklist reduction of your website Carbon Footprint:

• [] 1. Your starting fee:
  • Go to the Website Carbon Calculator.
  • Enter your website URL. And note the "Grams of Co₂ Per Page View"
• [] 2. Compression and adjustment of images:
  • Make sure that all images are adjusted to fit the fruit display on the webpage. (Do not use 4000PX images to display only 800px)
  • Use tools like Tinypng or SQUOSH to compress the file before uploading.
  • Consider using new format images like Webp or AVIF, which gives good quality but the file is much smaller. Read more at the article on our new form of our image .
• [] 3. Manage the font smartly:
  • Limit the number of fonts used as little as possible (should not exceed 2-3 forms)
  • If using Custom Fonts, you should choose a modern Format like WOFF2.
  • Study font loading strategies To prevent fonts from obstructing the display of the webpage
• [] 4 Open Cashing:
  • Catching is the user's browser. "Remember" some of the information of your website. So no need to download all the new pages every time to open a new page or come back again
  • If using WordPress, can use plugin like WP Rocket or Litespeed Cache. If you are not sure, try reading our Caching strategies.
• [] 5. Check and choose Green Hosting:
  • Take your URL to check at The Green Web Foundation to see if your current hosting "green" or not.
  • If not yet, consider the service provider that uses 100% renewable energy.
• [] 6. Tell your story:
  • After improving Don't forget to communicate with users! May create a face Sustainability Page or a small Badge at Footer to show your commitment.

-Prompt for illustrations-

Beautiful checklist images, Infographic style, which summarize all 6 steps with each icon to be easy to understand.

Questions that people tend to wonder And the answers that are cleared

Question: Just we do it alone. Will it help that much?
Answer: Help a lot! Like reducing plastic bags Every small action When combined, it will create a great change, and most importantly, the web improvement is light and faster, it also has a direct benefit to your business (both SEO and Conversion Rate). It is called two benefits.

Q: Green hosting is more expensive than general hosting?
Answer: Not always necessary. Currently, there are many good quality Green Hosting service providers at a competitive price with general hosting. Sometimes the investment is a little more worth the image of the brand and the speed that has returned.

Question: If you don't have any knowledge of code Can you do these things?
Answer: You can definitely do it! You can start with a simple matter. That does not have to mess with the code at all, such as compressing images (item 2) or choosing Green Hosting (Article 5). May have to consult an expert in which the website investment and professional improvement It is a shortcut that helps you get the best results without having a headache.

Q: When should I come to check the Carbon FootPrint of the web again?
Answer: Recommended every time after a big change on the website, such as redesign or adding new features. And should be done at least once a year To check your health and make sure that your website is still "fit" and "love the world" always.

-Prompt for illustrations-

Q&A style illustration with a question mark icon (?) And the correct mark (✓) with cartoons that show suspicious and understanding expressions.

Summary to be easy to understand + want to try to do

At this point, I believe that everyone has already seen the same image that reducing the Carbon Footprint of the website is not a distant matter or the story of the "World Conservation People", but it is the "new standard" of quality websites. Its heart is "Efficiency", which is the same goal as the web is fast, making SEO to bang, and create the best experience for users.

Changing your website to environmentally friendly Is the opportunity to enhance the brand to stand out, improve business results, and most importantly, being a part in taking care of this world for the next generation It is a decision that Win-Win-win in all dimensions.

Do not let your website be just "creator" experience, but instead "the destroyer", the environment without knowing it! It's time to take it and try to use our checklist to calculate and improve your website. "Today" and you will find that making a good website for the world. It is a good web to your own business.

If you want your website both "fast" and "love the world" but do not know how to start Let our expert team take care and improve your website! We are ready to change your website to create the best results in every dimension.

-Prompt for illustrations-

Powerful and inspiration Is a website on the laptop screen on the back, a bright green field view and wind turbine Conveys the technology that combines nature perfectly

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