Sustainable Web Design

Sustainable Web Design is a resource dedicated to making digital products and services better for people and the planet. It explains how thoughtful web design can reduce environmental impacts while supporting privacy, accessibility, and social well-being. The site highlights the internet’s contribution to global carbon emissions, the energy and water demands of data centers, and the wider risks of technology when it is used irresponsibly.

Its guidance is grounded in the Sustainable Web Manifesto, whose principles are clean, efficient, open, honest, regenerative, and resilient. Visitors can explore the Web Sustainability Guidelines, with practical categories covering user experience design, web development, hosting and infrastructure, and business strategy and product management. The site also curates books and other resources and introduces the W3C Sustainable Web Interest Group, a global community advancing sustainability online.

For organizations assessing their own sites, Sustainable Web Design points to free tools including Wholegrain Digital’s Website Carbon, which estimates website emissions, and Mightybytes’ Ecograder, which provides reports and suggestions for improving environmental impact.