Powering the Future: Sustainable Web Solutions for a Digital World

In today’s world, sustainability is no longer just a consideration but a pressing necessity.

Our lives are dominated by digital connectivity and technologies. The Internet provides convenience, information, and collaboration at the click of a button. But unbeknownst to many, this digital revolution carries a hidden cost, one that has placed significant strain on our environment through escalating energy consumption.

However, at We Are HA we provide a solution with our 100% renewable energy web hosting. It’s not just about running a website anymore; it’s about doing so in a way that aligns with environmental responsibility.

Ian Hall, Founder of The Average Scientist and a client of We Are HA said, “We speak about sustainability often and now can proudly stand up and confess to be ‘eating our own dog food’. Working with We Are HA is very much a partnership. They care about their customers whilst also caring about our planet. That’s something we want to be involved with and a message we will continue to advocate for to others.”

We’re sharing 3 ways we help reduce our clients’ online carbon footprint through our web hosting solutions:

· Renewable energy web hosting

· Safeguarding websites

· Caching for faster and greener performance

1. Renewable energy web Hosting – A simple, yet big-impact solution

The internet has become the fastest-growing carbon-polluting industry on the planet and is quite literally, costing the Earth.

By 2025, the Internet is projected to consume 20% of the world’s electricity and contribute to 3.5% of global greenhouse emissions. Every click and every website visit contributes to this escalating situation.

The sheer growth of technology and the increasing volume of online data transmission have led to a surge in server requirements, subsequently elevating energy consumption.

The carbon footprint of a single server is the equivalent of driving over 18,032 miles in a car, emitting on average a staggering 7,360 kg CO2e.

This alarming reality paints a vivid picture of the environmental toll our digital lifestyles are having.

When developing a sustainable strategy, companies often overlook the environmental impact of their online presence because it isn’t known to be an issue – if you can’t see it, how can it be causing harm!?

Analysis of renewable energy has identified that supporting the use of renewables is making a crucial difference in achieving a peak in global emissions.

Opting for 100% renewable energy to power your website not only reduces emissions but also promotes the adoption and expansion of renewable energy, in our case, powering your website via wind, and hydro.

Esmond Hasting, CEO at We Are HA, elaborates on our commitment, “We aim to drive positive change within our industry. Transitioning to 100% renewable energy web hosting reduces a substantial 83.9% of a server’s lifecycle environmental impact. We provide our clients with all the resources they need to not only ensure their websites perform optimally but also significantly reduce their environmental impact. Something we are immensely proud of.”

2. Safeguarding websites: Protect your data and the environment

Cyber-attacks are a constant threat which are increasing and becoming more sophisticated all the time.

Over 47% of internet traffic is generated by bots. Of this, it is estimated that up to a third of the traffic comes from malicious bots. Malicious cyber bots are computer programmes created to spread spam, steal data, attempt to crash websites or hack website vulnerabilities leading to data breaches.

Without cyber security in place, you are in particularly high risk of hacking attempts, potential data breaches, and any resulting reputational damage.

You may be wondering how this impacts the environment.

When your website is attacked, it increases the website traffic, which of course raises the energy consumption. Websites with an average of 10,000+ page views per month create around 60kg of CO2 per year. Unnecessary access from malicious bots will only increase this amount further.

But fear not, there is a way to block these attacks. Web Application Firewall (WAF) plays a critical part of our effective security solution at We Are HA as part of our ISO 27001 security standards.

Having HA WAF protection serves a dual purpose: it automatically detects any malicious cyber activity and immediately safeguards your website, but it also minimises the needless energy consumption from malicious cyber-attacks.

3. Caching: For faster and greener website performance

Websites which use a content management system, such as WordPress or Drupal, generate pages dynamically with each visitor, a process that demands server processing for every page view.

This process is highly inefficient and escalates the energy consumption of the web server for each request made.

At We Are HA, we use HA Edge; a caching tool which not only speeds up the performance of your website but also reduces the demand on the web server, resulting in less energy consumption being used.

This popular caching technique enables frequently accessed data, such as HTML pages, to load quickly and enhance website performance.

“No one likes a slow, sluggish website! Websites need to run smoothly and quickly to provide an excellent end-user experience. HA Edge is an effective tool which not only speeds up website performance, but also reduces the pressure on the web server and the environment. For me, it’s a win-win to set our clients up with this solution as part of our service.” Explained Nick, CTO at We Are HA

Taking a step forward: We’re here to make it easy for you!

Ian Hall, Founder of The Average Scientist and a client of We Are HA said, “We speak about sustainability often and now can proudly stand up and confess to be ‘eating our own dogfood’. Working with We Are HA is very much a partnership. They care about their customers whilst also caring about our planet. That’s something we want to be involved with and a message we will continue to advocate for to others.”

The shift to 100% renewable energy web hosting is no longer about choice; it’s a responsibility. There is an urgent need for businesses to seriously reduce their online carbon footprint and play their part in working towards a cleaner, healthier planet for generations to come.

Nick, CTO at We Are HA concluded, “At We Are HA, we facilitate a seamless migration to our fully managed web hosting solutions, powered by 100% renewable energy.

We focus on tools and resources which not only speed, security, and reliability to ensure maximum performance from your website, but also to help reduce our client’s online carbon footprint.

We invite businesses to join us on this journey, where environmental responsibility and technological innovation can go hand in hand to create a more sustainable world for all.”

To find out more about sustainable web solutions and “Why we do what we do at We Are HA”, watch our video from one of our client’s, Devon Page.