In many fields, ecology has become significant: food, cleaning products… However, in computing, I’m not entirely sure why, but it’s rarely discussed except at occasional conference events. When discussing eco-design—the pleasant term used for this aspect of the web—the most frequent topic is servers, focusing on the energy-intensive nature of data centers (terms like “digital sobriety” or “sustainable practices” are also common).
Being less familiar with this server-side aspect, my interest lies more in front-end development and potential evolutions in UX and Product Design practices. If you haven’t read my article on web accessibility, now’s a good moment.
The aim of this article isn’t to point fingers at user behaviors but rather to raise awareness and offer insights for developers.
Eco-design and the storage concern
First off, what exactly is eco-design? What does it entail? It’s a web-specific term referring to designing, developing, and maintaining digital interfaces to minimize their environmental impact. This doesn’t mean sacrificing user experience but rather aiming for efficiency and simplicity: fewer unnecessary requests, fewer redundant scripts, less data to load.
A fast, lightweight, accessible, and well-structured site benefits users and the planet. Every byte matters when multiplied by billions of users. And storage is the core issue.
Although data storage is less problematic today compared to a few decades ago, we still store vast amounts of data daily—somewhere, on a machine.
With digital consumption booming, it’s essential to rethink how we design online interfaces. Web eco-design isn’t just about minor technical adjustments but a global approach to creating more sustainable digital practices. Every internet action—watching videos, loading pages, sending messages—uses resources and energy. Therefore, the entire architecture of our digital products should prioritize sustainability.
Practically, this means responsible developers and designers must consider the environmental footprint of their choices. How to reduce page weight? How to optimize navigation and avoid unnecessary clicks? How to limit reliance on resource-intensive third-party scripts? Responsible development embraces minimalism without compromising user experience. By adopting sustainable practices, we can collectively reduce digital consumption while building a faster, more efficient, and environmentally friendly web.
The messaging example
The days when people primarily communicated via SMS (“Hey, sup?”) seem distant. Today, most of us use social networks (WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, TikTok, and so forth). These platforms offer:
- Read receipts
- Emoji reactions
- Easy group creation
- Customizable and appealing interfaces
- Multi-device synchronization
- International conversations
- Image/file/GIF sharing
- Voice messages
- Poll creation…
A non-exhaustive list of features explains our preference for social messaging over traditional SMS.
But it doesn’t stop there—we’ve also grown accustomed to writing short, successive messages.
This example illustrates my thought process. As I write and think, rather than pausing a few seconds before sending, I send immediately, continue reflecting, and then send additional information in a second or third message, sometimes adding a polite “please.”
Writing in fragments is common, especially among online PC gamers chatting in MMORPGs.
If you’re not tech-savvy, you might not immediately see the problem compared to the following example:
It’s simple: as explained above, memory is the issue. One message equals one stored line in a database. Sending 4 messages instead of 1 means 4 times more storage—actually, even more, since each message also stores emoji reactions, multi-device synchronization, and other background processes.
For context, a WhatsApp text message is 1,000 times heavier than an SMS, and a one-minute WhatsApp voice message is 100,000 times heavier. Unlike SMS, stored only on our and the recipient’s phones, WhatsApp messages can be stored indefinitely in the cloud.
It makes one think twice about sending five one-minute voice messages to a friend… and from a developer’s viewpoint, it makes me reflect.
Why not merge messages sent by the same user within a minute into one, using line breaks to maintain readability and flow? It’s a simple tweak that doesn’t cost much.
The email example
A common anecdote says an email lingering in our inbox for a year equates to keeping a low-energy bulb on for an hour.
It sounds minimal. But multiply it by numerous unread emails, and it becomes clearer. 200 emails for 1 year equal 200 bulbs lit for 1 hour. Multiply by ten million people, and it starts resembling Versailles.
Indeed, cleaning our overloaded inboxes is a start. Thankfully, spam folders automatically clear emails after 15 days.
When shopping, we’re often asked if we prefer paper receipts or email invoices—the convenience usually favors email. However, an email typically includes attachments, making it three to four times more energy-intensive than a simple receipt thrown into recycling.
It’s challenging to constantly declutter our inboxes without becoming obsessive.
Ideally, invoices would only be sent upon request, or generated via lighter, temporary links or QR codes. Keeping grocery receipts beyond 48 hours is typically unnecessary.
Developers should also question email relevance. Is it essential to send emails for every notification (“new comment,” “new document added”) if they’re often unread?
The social media post example
Another puzzling scenario involves social media posts, particularly Facebook’s “memory” feature reminding us of past events. Great when it’s family photos; pointless when it recalls irrelevant posts.
Besides my apparent enthusiasm for cinema 15 years ago (if you don’t understand french, you don’t miss anything…), these trivial posts have been stored worldwide for years. Each stored post includes likes, comments, and likes on comments.
Will this data matter in 70 years? No. Is knowing who liked a 15-year-old post essential? Probably not—we could just keep the total like count.
The same applies to YouTube. Some videos are timeless, but most cover news or sports results, quickly losing relevance.
Who’d watch a five-year-old reaction to Game of Thrones episode 3, season 7? Nobody. Similarly, who cares about a 2018 video on PSG’s latest Ligue 1 victory five years later?
My developer instincts suggest adding code to automatically delete most data after two months unless users request otherwise. Like Snapchat, where content is temporary and users choose what’s permanently stored.
Why don’t companies act?
Considering company perspectives, I wondered why they avoid deleting data. Firstly, perhaps they believe users always need access to their history, viewing storage as financial, not ecological. Secondly, and significantly, they likely store data to sell or repurpose it later. Even a 15-year-old cinema preference remains relevant for targeting.
However, we could simplify this by creating standardized user profiles instead of excessive data storage.
Lessons learned
This article doesn’t intend to judge user habits. Avoiding social networks or reacting with emojis less often might feel antisocial. Digital technology indeed brings comfort: leisurely reading messages, sending audio notes or GIFs—it’s part of our daily lives.
If I’ve slightly raised awareness of these practices’ energy footprints and digital consumption’s impact, I’ve achieved my goal. Beyond individual actions, developers can contribute by discreetly and effectively optimizing interfaces. Who would notice if an “OK” sent in 2014 disappeared? Yet billions are unnecessarily stored today.
No, I’m not advocating abandoning GIFs or voice messages—I use them just as much. But integrating sustainable considerations into our technical choices gradually moves us toward a more responsible internet.
Because coding for tomorrow means thoughtfully managing today’s resources.
