Accessibility and energy efficiency in sustainable web design : a comparative empirical study
Akhtar, Fatima (2026)
Diplomityö
2026
School of Engineering Science, Tietotekniikka
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2026052553012
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2026052553012
Tiivistelmä
Web accessibility and environmental sustainability represent two critical but often disconnected priorities in modern web development. Accessibility standards mandate inclusive design, while sustainability research highlights the growing carbon footprint of digital services. However, limited empirical research has examined how these dimensions relate within the same set of real-world websites. This study investigates the relationships between web accessibility compliance, performance behavior under different network conditions, and estimated environmental impact across six diverse websites representing news, e-commerce, and information platforms.
A quantitative comparative research design was adopted following the principles of a controlled experiment. Each website was tested under 4G baseline and simulated 3G constrained conditions. Measurements were collected using Google Lighthouse, WebPageTest, and the Website Carbon Calculator, with each website tested three times per condition. Accessibility scores remained stable across network conditions, confirming that accessibility compliance is structurally embedded and bandwidth-independent while Page load times increased significantly under 3G conditions. A strong positive correlation was observed between page size and estimated carbon emissions. High accessibility compliance did not predict environmental efficiency; the website with the highest accessibility score also had the largest page size and highest carbon emissions. The findings indicate that accessibility, performance, and sustainability are complementary but separate dimensions of web quality. This study provides empirical evidence where digital inclusion and environmental sustainability can be addressed simultaneously.
A quantitative comparative research design was adopted following the principles of a controlled experiment. Each website was tested under 4G baseline and simulated 3G constrained conditions. Measurements were collected using Google Lighthouse, WebPageTest, and the Website Carbon Calculator, with each website tested three times per condition. Accessibility scores remained stable across network conditions, confirming that accessibility compliance is structurally embedded and bandwidth-independent while Page load times increased significantly under 3G conditions. A strong positive correlation was observed between page size and estimated carbon emissions. High accessibility compliance did not predict environmental efficiency; the website with the highest accessibility score also had the largest page size and highest carbon emissions. The findings indicate that accessibility, performance, and sustainability are complementary but separate dimensions of web quality. This study provides empirical evidence where digital inclusion and environmental sustainability can be addressed simultaneously.