How to design and develop sustainable digital products?

Digital sustainability isn’t just good for the environment. It’s good for business too. Find out how to create a digital product for a better future.

Fun fact. Or maybe not so funny. Internet pollution is the world’s 7th largest polluter. Its volume is in the range of entire countries such as Germany or the UK.

Damn, when you visualize the damage caused by the Internet, it gives you the creeps. It’s easy to forget the internet is more than just some big virtual cloud. It’s a harmful titan with massive energy consumption, and it leaves a significant carbon footprint through data centres, networks, and user devices.

Luckily, there are steps we can take to reduce our carbon footprint. Whether you’re passionate about the planet or mo money, keep reading to discover why sustainable digital products are worth considering from all perspectives: business, design and development.

Challenge and opportunity

Sustainable digital products are muy importante for several reasons:

1. Ethical aspect

The planet is on f@*&ing fire. By designing and developing sustainable digital products, we can help mitigate the damage caused by technology to our environment.

2. Legal aspect

The European Union is leading the charge towards sustainable practices, and it’s only a matter of time before new and extremely strict rules become mandatory.

3. Business aspect

By reducing energy consumption and optimizing processes, you can reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Implementing sustainable practices is a big challenge that won’t happen overnight, but it’s not mission impossible. Let’s dive into the steps that designers need to take to make a digital product more sustainable.

Sustainable design

Sustainable design practices not only reduce carbon emissions. They also boost performance. Here are some web design practices that UX/UI designers can use to achieve this green feat:

1. Design for simplicity

Less time spent on finding your bearings means less energy spent during the visit. A clean and intuitive layout improves website performance, reduces the bounce rate, and decreases CO2 emissions. Wunderbar!

2. Design for accessibility

Make sure everyone can access your website, including people with disabilities. By doing this from the get-go, you create a user-friendly website that doesn't require constant tweaks and redesigns, extending its lifespan.

3. Modular designs

Use modular design with reusable and scalable components to avoid creating new products from scratch. It’s like using leftovers to make a new dish, basically.

4. Never skip leg day user research

Do your research! Avoid adding unnecessary features nobody wants, and create.the.best.user.experience.ever. Period.

5. Sustainable colors and typography

Go for color contrasts and typography that are easy on the eyes and reduce the need for additional lighting. Your users’ retinas will thank you. If you need an example, check out the website by Sustainable Digital Design.

These are just some of the practices that make your website sustainable. Remember, sustainability is an ongoing process that requires constant attention, research, and adaptation. The same goes for sustainable development.

Development perspective

Digital stuff is not intangible. Every time we check our email, browse the web or post on Twitter, we’re contributing to pollution.

Let’s take our company website as an example. It gets around 5K visitors per month, which results in a total of 189,9 kg of CO2 emissions. That’s equivalent to the carbon footprint of one household for the same 30-day time period. Yeeesh.

Bigger websites than ours have an even bigger impact, of course. And don’t even get us started on single-use pages and apps. These are like the plastic straws of the internet.

(NOT SO) FUN FACTS

90% - of data is never accessed three months after it is first stored
77% - of downloaded free mobile apps are never to be used again three days after the install
10% - of all collected data is usually analyzed by big companies
82% - of all websites on the Internet, and there is more than 925 million, are not being used at this moment

So, what can we do to bring these numbers down?

1. Optimize images and videos for faster loading

Speed matters! By reducing file size, you can make your website load faster and keep visitors engaged. And forever grateful.

2. Avoid unnecessary user tracking and data collection

Just avoid it. Why? To build trust, protect user information, and show that you’re a responsible digital business.

3. Lazy loading is the way to go!

Load images and videos on demand, cutting down initial page load time and saving precious bandwidth. It will result in a seamless user experience.

4. Set up web caching

By setting up web caching, you can serve static content faster. You can guess what the result will be, right?

5. Use open-source tools and write reusable code

Embrace open-source tools and write reusable code to save time and streamline development. Work smarter, not harder.

6. Delete unused code and refactor old code

Get rid of unused and outdated code to improve performance, make maintenance easier, and keep your website running smoothly.

7. Smooth sailing with optimized navigation

Improve site navigation to make information easy to find. It’s hard to expect high engagement and more conversions if users cannot find what they need.

8. Green web hosting

Choose a green web hosting service that uses renewable energy or energy-efficient infrastructure to reduce your website’s carbon footprint. If you’re not sure where to start, TechRadar has recommendations when it comes to the best green web hosting.

9. Green programming languages

Use sustainable programming languages, such as C, Rust, Java, Swift, Haskell, C#, Go, Dart, JavaScript, and TypeScript, and ditch power-hungry ones like Ruby and Perl.

Bye bye World Wide Waste

Even though 2 Unlimited famously declared “there’s no limit” 44 times in their iconic song, the internet does have limits, and it’s having a huge impact on the environment.

From designing for accessibility to using eco-friendly programming languages, there are tons of ways we can make the internet greener. Even if you’re not a tree hugger, these tips can help you optimize your digital products, improve user experience, and boost your bottom line.

So, say goodbye to World Wide Waste and make some positive impact on our planet and the people using our digital products.

MATEA BAJT, MARTINA NEMČIĆ, MARTINA ĐOĐO / September 1, 2023