We round up some of the best examples of eco-conscious
web hosts to help you build your sustainable photo business
Choosing a green web host to make the process better for the planet(Image credit: Lucas Bieri)
A website is an important part of a photography business, but there's more to building a great photography website than just adding stunning imagery. By choosing a green web host you can make the process better for the planet, without affecting your day-to-day workload.
Building a more sustainable future for the photography industry benefits all of us, and we all have opportunities to make our photo workflow more eco-friendly. Whether you're a professional or enthusiast, finding the weak points of your business in terms of its environmental impact is useful.
Data centres account for two percent of the world’s carbon emissions – as
much as the airline industry
Trey Gardner, CEO/Founder of GreenGeeks
One area, which many photographers may not think about, is web hosting. Since it is not a direct impact of our business upon the environment, it’s easy to overlook our online exploits as damaging. Hosting many hundreds of websites is energy-hungry – but yours isn’t the only one your web host is supporting, of course.
Here, we have taken a look at the best green web hosting services for photographers – those platforms that are the most eco-conscious and allow you to run a successful photo website with a minimal carbon footprint.
“For every kilowatt-hour (kwh) of energy that iPage uses, the company purchases Renewable Energy Certificates to offset that amount with wind energy by 200 percent”.
This is how iPage describes its approach. It’s a clear statement and leaves little room for vagueness about how green the company actually is – a common issue amongst web hosts. The iPage system is also easy to use and the products are good, which adds up to true carbon-neutral quality.
GreenGeeks claims to be the world’s number one green hosting provider. It’s a confident claim, but that’s backed up by a 300 percent carbon offset standard.
This means that usage is more than carbon neutral, it’s technically carbon-reducing! The host provides features, such as WordPress integration, 24/7 tech support and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Carbon neutral for 15 years, A2 Hosting has shown commendable dedication to making moves towards eco-friendly operations. In addition to getting energy from sustainable sources, its partnership with carbonfund.org has allowed work on reforestation projects. The offering for photographers is reasonable too, providing a wide variety of choice of plans. Prices are a little higher, but you get performance-boosting features and integrated virus scanning.
Kualo isn’t as far along the path to being carbon neutral as others, but it has committed to carbon-offsetting programs and has a dedicated page that provides updates on its progress. The company uses sustainable energy sources in both the UK and the US, while its data centre facilities are rated to be as efficient as possible. It also offers a free website builder and uses a Machine Learning Firewall and malware protection.
Another hosting service that ultimately aims to obtain all of its energy from renewable sources, DreamHost has business-wide efficiency-boosting practices, from using reclaimed water for its cooling plants to in-house composting for its office kitchens. The company also invests as a partner in clean wind programs. Starting at just $1.99 per month, you can get a shared hosting plan that is beginner-friendly and – even better – if you already use a WordPress site, you can migrate it for free.
Conclusion
A website is an important part of a photography business, but by simply choosing a green web host you can make the process better for the planet, without affecting your day-to-day workload.
Lauren is a writer, reviewer, and photographer with ten years of experience in the camera industry. She's the former Managing Editor of Digital Camera World, and previously served as Editor of Digital Photographer magazine, Technique editor for PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, and Deputy Editor of our sister publication, Digital Camera Magazine. An experienced journalist and freelance photographer, Lauren also has bylines at Tech Radar, Space.com, Canon Europe, PCGamesN, T3, Stuff, and British Airways' in-flight magazine (among others). When she's not testing gear for DCW, she's probably in the kitchen testing yet another new curry recipe or walking in the Cotswolds with her Flat-coated Retriever.
