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Did you know that your website has an impact on the planet?

Whether it is for ecological philosophy or for your green corporate image, you need to consider the impact of your website on the planet.

Indeed, your website, like all websites, has a significant impact on the planet.

It is not something you imagine at first sight sitting behind your computer screen or smartphone. But a website consumes much more energy and resources than you might imagine. With a website carbon footprint calculator, you can get an idea of this impact.

Taking this into consideration and implementing actions for the planet can greatly improve your public image. This will allow your brand or company to stand out.

What are the impacts of your website on the planet?

Indeed, if you have not done anything in this direction, your site has little reason to be ecofriendly.

Indeed, owning and distributing a website increases your carbon footprint. A simple evaluation on a site carbon calculator shows it.

But how can a simple website be harmful to the planet if nothing is done?

Significant consumption of energy

Indeed, for a website to be accessible to everyone and especially all the time, it is necessary that it is stored on a datacenter. The latter never stops. It's like leaving your computer on all the time, it's not great for the environment and it's not very ecological indeed.

Moreover, when a visitor comes to your site, exchanges take place with the server that hosts your website. These interactions increase the power consumption. The impact is more important if the exchanges are multiple.

Of course, you can retort that your site is only one among others and that the consumption is therefore minimal.

This is partly true. But when no one comes to all the sites during off-peak periods. The balance is negative. Test with a carbon emission calculator per website.

So it is indeed a global problem that must be solved at the source. And one of the sources is you and your website.

Remember these edifying figures. The whole of the internet in the world consumes more than the United Kingdom. Yes more than a whole country!

And that's not all, internet is ranked 12th in the ranking of causes of global pollution.

Considerable CO2 emissions

Indeed, the consequence of over-consumption of energy is a significant emission of CO2. This is a major concern because it is the main cause of global warming. Look at the impact of large websites with a carbon footprint calculator.

In the next few years, Internet use could account for 3 to 5% of global CO2 emissions.

Right now, you're telling yourself that your small site is just a grain of sand compared to the whole. A grain of sand perhaps, but some sites consume much more than others and are more like pebbles.

A tool to measure your site's carbon impact

Your site is a polluter is a fact. But to determine how much, there is a tool to calculate the carbon impact of your site on the planet.

You can go to https://plantmyforest.com/calculator/website and just enter its web address.

The site will perform different calculations depending on how fast and smooth your site is.

Then, you will have the result and especially a good or bad opinion according to the most polluting criteria of websites.

Classically and on average, a website produces about 1.76 grams of CO2 per page and per visitor. So depending on the size of this site and the time the visitor will spend to find the essential information, the impact will be more or less important.

Test your site on this website carbon emissions calculator and you will see if it is a good student for the planet.

 

What can you do next to reduce the impact of your website on the planet?

Of course, you need your website for your communication or to sell products if it is a commercial website.

So the radical solution to remove your website is not the right one. Especially since your competitors won't do it.

Fortunately, there are multiple actions to limit the impact on the planet.

Like the majority of large groups trying to green their image, you can take action.

First, calculate the carbon footprint of your website.

Use a green hosting center

Indeed, the first choice you can make for the planet is to choose a host that is powered by renewable energy.

New datacenters are emerging. Indeed, Microsoft, for example, is experimenting with them under water to limit the cost of cooling. Google is also looking for the best way to limit its impact. It is even exhibiting their solutions.

Thus, the impact is less, because consumption is optimized with green energy.

Improve the speed and fluidity of your site

It's an evolution in web development. Indeed in a concern of energy saving, it is good that a site is fast. Thus, the visitor consumes less and the datacenter also.

There are also today possibilities of codes which limit the exchanges with the server while increasing the fluidity and the speed of a site. It is a gesture for our planet.

Make a few changes and use the carbon emissions calculator for your website, you will be surprised.

Optimize advertising on your site

Some sites display a lot of advertising. The more there are, the greater the impact.

It is therefore essential to optimize the scripts of these ads to limit exchanges with the advertisers' servers.

Compress files

It also improves the download speed for files you offer.

Thus the download time is reduced compared to a large file. This very simple action reduces the exchange with the server and therefore its consumption.

If all sites performed this action, the datacenter consumption would be considerably reduced. The carbon calculator for your website will show you how much.

Optimize your images and videos 

The images do not need to have the same resolution as on a big screen, especially if they are small. Sometimes we forget to reduce their size, their weight. This action has no change for the web visitor, but a big impact on the loading of web pages and therefore for the planet.

Your site will become good for the planet. You know what to do. 

But that's not all, there are also things you can do in your life or in your company's life.

For example optimize your cloud, free up memory in your mailbox, improve your computer power usage.

Many solutions exist, but it's not enough that they exist. You have to act!

The first action that will put your foot in the door is to go through the carbon emissions calculator for your website.