As a Nottingham-based web design agency, we’re passionate about creating high-performing, great-looking websites that are not only user-friendly, but also environmentally friendly. We believe great design should be accessible to everyone while doing our bit for the planet. That’s why we’re committed to making sustainable choices in our studio, and we’re excited to share how we’re bringing this vision to life!
What is Sustainable Website Design?
Sustainable website design refers to the practice of designing and developing websites in a way that minimises environmental impact. This includes optimising site performance to reduce energy consumption, using lightweight code, hosting on renewable energy servers, and designing with longevity in mind.
What is Accessible Web Design?
Accessible web design, on the other hand, ensures that digital content is usable by everyone, including people with disabilities. This means designing with considerations like screen reader compatibility, proper colour contrast, keyboard navigation, and clear content hierarchy. Accessibility is not only a best practice, it’s a legal and ethical obligation in many regions.
The internet is a one of the world’s fastest-growing sources of emissions, and we’re proud to be part of the solution. Our commitment to sustainable website design and accessible web design focuses on four key areas:
- Efficient Design and Coding: Energy-efficient, lightweight websites with high performance.
- Green Hosting: A type of hosting that uses only 100% renewable energy.
- Sustainable UX: Thoughtful designs that prioritise accessibility while cutting digital waste.
- Website Carbon Monitoring: Tracking and optimising sites for a lower carbon footprint.
By making smarter design choices, we’re definitely reducing our impact while delivering high-quality digital experiences. Our goal is to ensure that every project we undertake combines aesthetic appeal, performance, and environmental responsibility.
Our Commitment to Digital Sustainability
We’re super proud to have achieved an excellent low-carbon WordPress website, designed with efficiency and sustainability in mind. There are various tools available to assess your website’s environmental impact, such as Ecograder, the Website Carbon Calculator, and The Green Web Foundation. Our site scores exceptionally well on Website Carbon, producing minimal CO₂ emissions per page view.
By using lightweight code, optimised performance, and green hosting, we’ve created a website that aligns with our commitment to reducing digital carbon footprints. We continuously refine our processes to meet the highest environmental standards and lead by example in our industry.
At the same time, we strongly believe that digital experiences should be inclusive. Our approach embraces accessible web design, ensuring that the websites we build are usable and welcoming for everyone, regardless of ability, device, or connection speed.
Looking Ahead: Our Sustainability Goals
Our commitment to sustainability goes beyond our own website; we’re dedicated to helping our clients achieve low-carbon scores too. We make sure every website we build is optimised for minimal environmental impact without sacrificing performance. By adhering to best practices in efficient coding, eco-friendly hosting, and sustainable design, we’re delivering websites that are future-ready in every sense.
The following are Studio Seventeen’s future goals:
- Continue reducing our studio’s overall energy consumption.
- Ensure all client websites are hosted on 100% renewable energy servers.
- Work with sustainable suppliers to align our entire process with our values.
- Advocate for greener web design across the industry, encouraging others to adopt sustainable digital practices.
- Believe in our values and stick to our word.
