Milieu of initiatives has been taken by people across the world to protect the environment, few refrain from using the plastic bags, few opt for natural agents and likewise. A host of avenues is available that can help you to reduce the carbon footprint. The world of web has also taken different steps to reduce the carbon footprint and make a positive impact on the environment. The new thing in the block in the arena of web designing is to resort to the eco-friendly ways of web designing. Well, you might be wondering why you at all need an eco-friendly web designing technique.
Effect on environment
The use of internet also has an adverse effect on the environment. Witch each second that you spend surfing the internet, twenty milligrams of carbon dioxide is emitted. If the server has to filter more data, the energy consumption for the same will also increase. Greater the volume of emission of greenhouse gases as carbon dioxide, the adverse is the effect on the environment and that in way aids global warming. Due to this reason, the web designers have taken initiatives to create sites that are eco-friendly. These green initiatives take into consideration the impact that the use of internet and other web processes on the environment.
Reduce the image size
Images and other graphics are integral part of any website, as these attract the readers to the site and helps in generating traffic. But, the images that are used in these sites aids in increasing the carbon footprints. The use of large images and the un-optimized ones are can increase the emission of carbon dioxide by almost sixty percent. To avoid this, you can use various tools and software that can help you to obtain the images at correct size and format. The use of the CSS sprites can also be a good choice in this respect.
Opt for responsive web designing
Another effective way of reducing the carbon footprint is through the user of responsive web designing techniques. With the help of this you can create sites that can be viewed across various platforms and devices, these sites also take less time to load across various devices and thus reduce the emission of carbon dioxide. With pages loading faster, it can help in conserving energy. It is also important to choose the elements that are used for designing wisely so that you can stick to the target size of these pages. It has been observed that the sites that are eco-friendly also have a good response among the users.
Reduction in HTTP request
Servers also contribute to the emission of carbon dioxide. Both the data centers and servers high amount of energy also emits the harmful greenhouse gases. If you want to reduce the same, then you can use CSS and the JavaScript files so there is a reduction in the HTTP requests. You can simplify the complex websites with the reduction in the use of the videos and images. With updated CSS, you can also convert these graphics.
Determine page size first
So, if you are planning to reduce the carbon footprint, you can initiate the process by setting a budget based on the size of the page. If the size and the weight of the page are low, there will also be a reduction in the emission of the greenhouse gases. Another step that you can take is the use of static images in the websites. Content also plays an important role in this aspect so make sure that the content is apt for the target audience. Another effective method of green web designing is optimization of the site by compressing the download. All these initiatives can help to create a positive impact on the environment.
Max Samuel is a freelance web designers and he recommends the use of green web designing techniques to reduce the carbon footprint. You can have a glance of his initiatives through click here.
