This blog post is part of the series Sustainable Digital Habits.

As our lives and work increasingly move online, it becomes crucial to approach the internet with the same sustainable and mindful practices we apply to other aspects of life. While the environmental impact of vast data servers and the accumulation of outdated digital information often goes unnoticed, it has tangible consequences. Every action counts — and collectively, we can foster healthier digital habits that benefit both our well-being and the planet.

This series explores key strategies to enhance your online work experience while reducing your environmental footprint and supporting mental clarity.

According to Gerry McGovern (Digital is garbage)

• 90% of data is never accessed again after 90 days.
• 80% of downloaded apps are abandoned within 90 days.
• 90% of all existing data was created in just the past two years.

By understanding and addressing these patterns, we can build a more efficient, sustainable, and conscious digital environment

Your website is essential for your business, but it also consumes energy. Data centres, hosting services, and large media files contribute to carbon emissions. A sustainable website minimises its environmental impact while maintaining efficiency and a great user experience. Follow these five steps to make your website more eco-friendly.

Web hosting consumes a significant amount of energy, but some providers run on renewable energy or offset their carbon footprint. Look for eco-friendly hosting companies such as Kinsta. These providers invest in clean energy and sustainable infrastructure, ensuring your website has a lower environmental impact from the start.

Videos and large graphics take longer to load and slow down your website. Use contemporary formats like WebP rather than JPEG or PNG and compress images using the miscellaneous programs out there. Instead of hosting videos directly, think about embedding content from other websites, such as YouTube. File size reduction increases website speed and sustainability.

A more straightforward, efficient website offers a better user experience while consuming fewer resources. Select a theme that is lightweight and cut down on superfluous pop-ups, scripts, and animations. Providing a dark mode option can also aid in lowering OLED screen energy usage. Maintaining a simple and useful design promotes accessibility and sustainability.

Your website uses energy to request data from a server each time a visitor loads it. Caching minimises recurrent requests by locally storing webpage elements. By distributing data among numerous computers across the globe, a Content Delivery Network (CDN) reduces the need for energy-intensive long-distance data transfers. Websites can become more eco-friendly and efficient with the help of services like Cloudflare and Fastly.

Every component on your website, including scripts, stylesheets, and images, sends a request to the server. Minimise them by cutting off superfluous code, merging CSS and JavaScript files, and minimising redirects. Clean, effective coding techniques make your website speedier and more environmentally friendly by reducing the amount of processing power required to operate it.

A sustainable website improves performance, user experience, and environmental impact. By making these changes, you can lower your carbon footprint while maintaining a high-functioning, professional online presence. Start today and contribute to a greener digital world.

As a founder, your team looks up to you. If you prioritise digital wellbeing, they will too. Set the tone by taking breaks, respecting boundaries, and modelling healthy habits.