Did you know that your website has a carbon footprint? It never even occurred to me until I read about on Instagram.
But now that I know, and now that you know, I’m going to tell you how to fix it with the best way to decrease your website’s carbon footprint.
And along with that, there are many other small things you can do to minimize your website’s carbon footprint that will also be in this article.
This post contains affiliate links meaning that if you purchase something through a link in this post I will make a commission at no extra cost to you. If you want to learn more please read my disclaimer.
How your website emits carbon
The biggest culprit contributing to carbon emissions is your website’s host.
According to Amend, written in an article by Forbes, he calculated that average websites with about 10,000 page views per month can emit around 4700 lbs of CO2.
That’s a lot. Even with the host servers reducing the amount of energy they need, the emissions are still there.
And more websites are turning up every day, by more than 400% estimation. Not to mention the carbon being emitted by the WiFi you’re using to conduct your research and run your website.
WiFi pulls power from the grid in order to work.
What you need to do to offset your website’s carbon footprint
Switch your host to a green web hosting company. Green web hosts are companies that use renewable energy to offset the carbon emissions from the running of their servers.
They do this by purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates, or RECs. I use GreenGeeks as my host provider and I love them. I have never had a problem with them, my website is fast and it hasn’t been down once.
These are generated by companies who create renewable energy sources. This ensures that there are clean energy sources powering the grid that web hosts use.
Ultimately this really is the best way to decrease your website’s carbon footprint.
It makes sure that the carbon your website is producing by running your website through these servers is offset by renewable energy sources powering it.
The great thing is that these companies buy a large percentage more RECs than the energy they use through their data centres.
This means that they not only power their own data centres with renewable energy but even offset other companies’.
Why GreenGeeks?
GreenGeeks has been a really good fit for me. They are very user-friendly, especially for beginners. I chose them because they offset 300% of what they consume with their RECs.
Since this is what my website is all about, having an eco-friendly web host that puts so much renewable energy back into the grid is perfect for what my business stands for. And for me as a first-time web owner.
Green hosts can be more expensive due to them having to pay more themselves, but GreenGeeks isn’t that expensive.
They start at $2.95 a month. Plus, you get a free domain for a year and a 30-day cash-back guarantee if you’re not happy.
They offer live chat when you need questions answered fast and they have a blog that offers tutorials and guides on how to use their services.
They even have articles that tell you how to start a blog if you haven’t yet. You can get a free SSL certificate from them too, all you need to do is ask.
They have data centres located in 5 different locations, around the US, Canada and even one in Amsterdam.
And they are compatible with WordPress, VPS, Reseller and Shared hosting. I’m not a tech person, so most of their benefits I don’t understand.
But if you want to see what they do for yourself, you can check out their website by clicking the button below.
Update: GreenGeeks has just launched their Webinar portal and they’re adding awesome tips for businesses through their webinars. It’s a great source if you need some help with your business.
Just how environmentally-friendly is GreenGeeks?
Currently, GreenGeeks is the leading eco-friendly web host. As I’ve said before, they purchase RECs that put 300% of their energy consumption back into the grid. Specifically from wind farms.
So you won’t just be neutralizing your own website’s carbon footprint, you’ll be reducing it and somebody else’s.
They are a recognized Partner with U.S. Green Power and their renewable energy that they purchase comes from the Bonneville Environmental Foundation.
A cool thing that I like that they do is giving their customers Green Hosting accreditation banners to put on their websites.
This helps spread the word about green hosting and makes visitors aware of this environmentally-friendly practice.
But it’s not all about buying RECs, their data centres are environmentally friendly because they use hardware that is energy efficient.
Having data centres spread around a few countries also helps lessen the load on the grid and energy usage.
Small things you can do on your website to decrease the carbon emissions
To make sure your server isn’t working overtime unnecessarily and pulling more energy, optimise your pictures so that they don’t cause slow loading time.
Make them smaller and use less if you can. A lot of videos and images on your site causes the servers to use more energy.
Switch your WiFi off when you aren’t using it, like when you’re sleeping. When your WiFi is on and not in use it still uses energy to be able to stay on. So make sure you save that energy for when you are using it.
Don’t keep your laptop/desktop plugged in. Even if it’s off, it still pulls electricity from the plug. Make sure you unplug it from your laptop/desktop and the wall too.
Also, try only using it when you’re doing something big like writing an article and not for small tasks.
Bigger screens use more energy. So rather use your smartphone or tablet for doing things like research and engaging on social media.
I hope this article was helpful for you and that you learned something new. The main takeaway here is that web hosts can do something about their carbon emissions. So choose one that is willing to do so.
Let me know in the comments below what steps you take to minimize your website’s carbon footprint. And also what you think of GreenGeeks.
Cheers for now,
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Related:
- How to drastically reduce your carbon footprint
- 10 Fun Facts About Earth Day
- 20 Sustainable Instagram Accounts To Follow
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