Web Eco-enhancement: The Principle of Progress - "Quality Improves, Quality Decay"
In the ever-evolving digital landscape, a company named Webvert emerged as a promising player, offering solutions to significantly reduce website bandwidth usage without the need for a complete overhaul. The RGESN consortium, a group of associations advocating for responsible digital practices, recognised the potential of Webvert, with specialists from various fields such as architecture, infrastructure, UX, front, and web, joining forces to collaborate with the team.
Webvert's team was small but dedicated, consisting of five individuals, including a recurring freelancer and an intern. One of the key figures in the company was a speaker who, apart from their role at Webvert, was also working on another project involving carbon tracking and continued their administrative duties at Boavizta.
The speaker was a strong advocate for green IT, encouraging developers to optimise the performance of their applications by lowering their cloud bills and urging product managers to prioritise the user's needs when implementing AI. However, the allure of AI and the economic downturn seemed to have contributed to Webvert's closure.
The company's achievements were noteworthy, with key victories such as optimising major sites like Octo, the Rouen Metropolis, and the Swiss Romande. Working with Orange for its international sites was another significant milestone for Webvert.
In an effort to promote sustainable digital practices, Webvert provided a SaaS for measuring a website's content footprint in 2024. The eRoom project, another initiative by the company, aimed to ensure software consumed 2x less resources every 2 years.
Despite these advancements, the adoption of green IT by developers remained limited, with published references lacking the necessary technical skills and not being suitable for product and development teams. Free online resources on responsible digital practices did not replace manual labour for website optimisation.
As for the company's progress and eventual closure, limited public information is available. A thorough search of technology news and company registries related to web performance startups from Webvert's active period did not yield any detailed information about its operations or the reasons for its closure.
The global votes of 2024 resulted in setbacks on ecological laws, including the disappearance of the Sustainability working group at WordPress. Despite these challenges, the speaker from Webvert remains committed to promoting responsible digital practices and helping developers adopt more scientific approaches.
In the wake of Webvert's closure, it is clear that the need for sustainable digital practices and web performance optimisation remains crucial. As we move forward, it is essential to learn from the experiences of companies like Webvert and continue to strive towards a more responsible and efficient digital future.
- The speaker at Webvert, despite the company's closure, continues to advocate for the adoption of green IT and urges developers to take a more scientific approach in their work.
- Recognizing the potential of Webvert, the RGESN consortium collaborated with the team, bringing together specialists from various fields such as environmental-science, technology, and data-and-cloud-computing.
- In an attempt to promote sustainable digital practices, Webvert developed a SaaS for measuring a website's content footprint in 2024 and launched the eRoom project, aiming to reduce software's resource consumption by 2x every two years.
- Startups like Webvert that focus on web performance optimisation and green IT practices were noticed for their achievement in reducing bandwidth usage and optimizing major sites like Octo, the Rouen Metropolis, and the Swiss Romande.
