Most visitor attractions today have some form of sustainability strategy, whether that’s reducing energy consumption, managing waste more efficiently or protecting local biodiversity. But there’s one area that’s still flying under the radar: your website.
Every time someone visits your website, it generates carbon emissions. In fact, the average webpage produces 0.8g of CO₂ per view. For high-traffic sites in the attractions sector that receive thousands of daily visits that digital footprint adds up, fast. In a world where guests are increasingly environmentally conscious, ignoring the carbon cost of your
digital channels is no longer an option.
Why does this matter?
Because your website is often the first and most frequent point of contact with your visitors. It plays a critical role in their decision-making, ticket purchasing and overall experience. If your online presence is sluggish, energy-intensive or poorly optimised, you’re not just losing out on conversions, you’re impacting the planet too.
The 2024 Visitor Attraction Website Survey produced by Rubber Cheese revealed a growing appetite across the sector for more responsible digital practices. Yet only a small percentage of attractions currently measure their digital carbon footprint, let alone take action to reduce it.
That’s a missed opportunity, not just environmentally, but commercially.
Small changes, big impact
The good news? You don’t need to start from scratch or compromise user experience to build a greener website. In fact, many of the changes that reduce your site’s environmental impact also improve speed, SEO, and guest engagement.
Here’s how:
Before you can improve, you need to know where you stand. Tools like Website Carbon Calculator allow you to assess your site’s emissions and benchmark against best practice.
Once you know your digital footprint, you can track progress over time and build sustainability into your wider digital strategy.
Many emissions come from unnecessarily large media files, bloated code or poorly configured hosting. Streamlining your site architecture, compressing images and using modern formats (like WebP) can significantly reduce load times and emissions.
Better still, a faster site keeps users engaged longer and that means more conversions.
Not all hosting is created equal. Eco-friendly hosting providers use renewable energy, optimise server efficiency and often have transparent sustainability reporting.
At Crowd Convert, Gullivr Web sites are hosted on cloud platforms that meet a minimum Website Carbon C rating, ensuring you start your sustainability journey with strong foundations.
It’s not just about the backend. Smart UX and content design can minimise unnecessary clicks, reduce server load and create a smoother, faster journey for your guests.
A great user experience is inherently more sustainable.
The benefits go beyond the environment
Adopting greener digital practices is not just the right thing to do, it’s also a smart business move:
Guests increasingly expect businesses, including their favourite attractions, to walk the talk when it comes to environmental responsibility. Making your website part of your sustainability strategy is a powerful way to meet that expectation.
Time to take action
Sustainability isn’t just a box to tick - it’s a mindset. By rethinking how we build and manage our digital spaces, we can align the guest experience with the values that matter most to them.
Because a great guest experience shouldn’t come at the cost of the environment.
Ready to reduce your website’s carbon footprint? Let’s talk: hello@crowdconvert.co.uk