> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://robert.winter.ink/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Site With Less Byte
- URL: https://robert.winter.ink/site-with-less-byte/
- Published: 2020-07-17T13:09:51.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-03T06:36:01.000Z
- Description: This has started me on my own quest for a lighter footprint in my publishing platform. To that end, there is much tinkering to do.
- Author: Dr Robert N. Winter
- Tags: 100DaysToOffload, Technology, Environment, #wp, #wp-post

I have been musing on 'how I publish' a lot of late. This is in part because I am now blogging every day, but also because I am reading more of other people's blogs than I have for some time. Some of the blogs are specifically about blogging. Two of the finer examples of this genre are from [Kev Quirk](https://kevq.uk/?ref=robert.winter.ink) and [Marko Saric](https://markosaric.com/?ref=robert.winter.ink), the latter of whom is part of the brain trust behind the excellent analytics software [Plausible](https://plausible.io/?ref=robert.winter.ink).

In other cases, the bloggers may have a tech focus, but it is more how they have implemented their own publishing platforms. [Ru Singh's](https://rusingh.com/?ref=robert.winter.ink) site is one of the more beautiful and minimalist examples of the genre. [Doug Belshaw](https://dougbelshaw.com/?ref=robert.winter.ink) also has some wonderfully inventive approaches to his site design.

But I am getting ahead of myself, or rather, I am looking at the surface elements. Dig deeper, and there is another crucial element to a site: weight. Or rather, its bandwidth consumption. This moves thinking into a very rarefied atmosphere as the 'modern' web is all about features, with a general acceptance of the bloat that comes with them.

A notable exception to this rule comes in the shape of [Susty](https://sustywp.com/?ref=robert.winter.ink), which delivers WordPress in less than 7kb. Yet the reason for this act of extreme minimalism is more than geeky pleasure, as Jake Lenox explains in his [blog](https://blog.jacklenox.com/2018/06/04/delivering-wordpress-in-7kb/?ref=robert.winter.ink):

> I learnt of the colossal energy demand of the Internet. That this demand makes it the largest coal-fired machine on Earth, meaning that [its CO₂ emissions are probably at least equivalent to global air travel](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/25/server-data-centre-emissions-air-travel-web-google-facebook-greenhouse-gas?ref=robert.winter.ink). More and more people are coming online, but this coupled with the rise of [ever more obese websites](https://www.keycdn.com/support/the-growth-of-web-page-size/?ref=robert.winter.ink) means that the Internet’s energy demands are growing exponentially. Every additional byte transferred means more energy, which in most countries means more CO₂.

> It is widely accepted that we should avoid printing emails to save trees, but this leads to a false assumption that the web is a green medium. I’m afraid to say, it is not.

This has started me on my own quest for a lighter footprint in my publishing platform, while acknowledging that minimalism can be taken a step too far. For example, when it militates against the provision of an engaging experience or prevents a writer from delivering content. To that end, there is much tinkering to do. Till the next instalment.

Good night, and good luck.

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Photo by [Markus Spiske](https://unsplash.com/@markusspiske?utm%5Fsource=unsplash&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcontent=creditCopyText) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/s/photos/byte?utm%5Fsource=unsplash&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcontent=creditCopyText)

This post is day 076 of my [#100DaysToOffload](https://robert.winter.ink/subject/100daystooffload/) challenge. If you want to get involved, you can get more info from [100daystooffload.com](https://100daystooffload.com/?ref=robert.winter.ink).