Purpose

The present study is motivated by the increasing ecological impact resulting from the energy consumption of the internet, i.e., the large number of websites. Sustainable web design, the reduction of data volume, the optimization and compression of website elements as well as ecological hosting, can not only reduce the ecological footprint, but also improve the technical performance and user experience of websites.

Design

Against this background, a mixed-methods research approach is developed combining expert interviews and a discrete choice experiment. Based on the results of a literature analysis and the expert interviews, five attributes are deduced for the design of this study’s choice cards.

Findings

A fast loading time of websites turns out to be particularly decisive and users will perceive the company or brand and the quality of their products or services more positively. The probability of a purchase also increases. In addition, communication measures of sustainable web design practices in the form of sustainability seals, the disclosure of hosting using green electricity and the provision of transparent information about corresponding sustainability efforts also have a positive impact on users. Their use and implementation significantly increase the probability of a positive perception, quality assessment and purchase decision on the user side.

Originality

The stufy is the first to consider the topic of green and sustainable web design from a consumer-centric perspective. It also focuses on the effects of the adoption of green practices and does not recapitulate the status quo, considering multiple aspects of website design in the context of a sophisticated discrete choice experiment. Finally, it determines which characteristics of green website design actually communicate sustainability best.