Concluding my series about making our work and products more sustainable, this is an article I recently wrote on Hashnode using a collage of AI-generated images.
There is ecological, economic, and social sustainability, also known as the three dimensions of sustainability. Consequentially, sustainability implies accessibility, self-care, and a sufficient long-term business model or future planning.
This web page achieves a carbon rating of A.
Sustainable Web Development Showcase
- Kleiderordnung Berlin: sustainable fashion consultant Tina Steinke
- Kunnig Konsulting financial services by Joana Torres, Liechtenstein
- gemeva: project management for change and transformations projects
- Twisted Connection, a creative learning and development agency
- FoodTogether, a sustainable and transparent delivery service for organic food from Germany and Greece
All of the above services are provided by purpose-driven people or organizations, and the websites have been optimized for an energy-efficient ecological footprint.
When done correctly, sustainable websites look beautiful, perform well and achieve top scores in audits. But which metrics matter and why?
Sustainable Web Design and Development
While some people wonder what’s web development and whether it isn’t the same as web design, web developers have tried and struggled to define and coin their specific expertise and experience: frontend web development, full-stack web development, e-commerce, UX engineering, or creative web development - I have also been called a technical consultant, a software developer, or a web designer, an advocate for sustainable web development, emotion-driven development and devUX collaboration. But what about accessibility?
Underrated Aspects and Overlooked Synergies
Accessibility, usability, page speed, and ecological efficiency (or sustainable web development) are all underrated but very significant aspects of creating a future-proof website.
While in the US, companies have been obliged to make their online shops and websites more inclusive and accessible - obliged by law or by their sales department - many German and other European merchants and service providers haven’t caught up yet, despite the imminent EU regulations (European Accessibility Act, EAA, and the German Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz) and despite losing potential customers if they fail to make sure that everyone can use their offer.
The underrated aspects of impactful web development have the potential to open up to new customers and become more efficient, thus saving costs instead of wasting energy and money! Many existing websites have optimization opportunities like improving images and web video, increasing color contrast and readability, or focusing more on the crucial parts of the content.
Ignorance, Pragmatism, and Constant Learning
As a web developer, I have technical tools to measure and improve an existing website. As an experienced web developer, I also have a gut feeling that helps me reach our goals quite quickly after reviewing your existing website or when planning a new web project that has yet to be started.
But as an abled and privileged person, I can hardly imagine how it feels to rely on assistive technology and maybe some users get frustrated trying to use what I have built with the best of intentions. Still, I keep pushing, prioritizing the topic, learning, and getting feedback.
AI Assistance and Experiments
As an early AI experiment, the original poster image was created using AI (DALL·E 3 via ChatGPT) trying to illustrate the two sides of working sustainably and looking beyond my bubble while risking failure and frustrating real users. I replaced it with an retouched collage reuising the diligent coder on the right, my fictitious alter ego, Jengo, and a picture of myself wearing my developers-for-future strike t-shirt.
I was an early adopter and a skeptical critic of AI assistance, fascinated and disappointed, and I still am. I see AI as an overhyped technology in the hands of dubios broligarchs wasting energy for tasks where it never was the right tool in the first place. On the other hand, it democratized coding and content creation, helps to save lives in medical technology and can process large amounts of text quickly.
AI can code, but it lacks concept, quality, and long-term vision. Thus, AI-generated code is seldom sustainable and often creates a large technical debt in a short time, requiring reviews and refactoring and thus an increased total cost of ownership.
However, I'd rather do it right from the start.
Further Reading
- MDN: Introduction to web sustainability
- Blog posts tagged with “sustainability” at Open-Mind-Culture.org
- Emotion-Driven Development
- CSS is Emotional
Collaboration and Feedback
If you have feedback, if you’re looking for collaboration partners, or if you want to learn more about what I can do for you and your business, contact me via my website!
Top comments (4)
You should reference the post you did on Emotion-Driven Development.
I had already gone to google the term when I found your post.
Thanks for mentioning, and thanks for your CSS is Emotional series!
I have added both to the "further reading" recommendations.
Oh wow!
Thank you so much!
Great insights! Prioritizing accessibility and sustainable web development aligns with both user needs and ecological goals. Optimizing web performance (image compression, efficient CSS/JS) and adhering to WCAG standards not only reduces carbon footprint but also ensures inclusivity. Excited to see how tools like contrast checkers, tab-index audits, and sustainable design principles evolve to shape greener, accessible web solutions!