2.21 Regularly test and maintain compatibility
Produce a regularly updated compatibility policy that details support levels, scenarios tested against, and technology used to benefit users.
Criteria
- Compatibility policy:
Establish and maintain a compatibility policy which covers current and obsolete devices and software versions, listing the supported device brands, operating systems, and browsers (including versions). Update this regularly in line with new releases.- A Framework for Evaluating Browser Support
- A modern approach to browser support
- A pragmatic browser support strategy
- Can browser choice help digital sustainability?
- Designing for different browsers and devices
- Digital sustainability audits: a de facto standard for the Internet carbon footprint
- GPF – General Policy Framework (PDF) – 1.4 – Strategy (Regular Reviews)
- GR491 – 3-3023 – Compatibility Policy
- Practical Retrofitting for Obsolete Devices (PDF)
- Resilient web design
- Tiny Screens, Big Impact
- What is resilience?
- Which are the best Android and iOS web browsers to use?
- Maintaining compatibility:
Avoid planned obsolescence. Strive to maintain compatibility for as long as possible and communicate clearly whether an update is evolutionary, as in large updates that can significantly reduce performance, or corrective, as in smaller updates that fix bugs or improve security.- A Framework for Evaluating Browser Support
- A modern approach to browser support
- A pragmatic browser support strategy
- Baseline Newly Available: Stay on Top of New Web Features
- Climate-friendly software: don’t fight the wrong battle
- Digital sustainability audits: a de facto standard for the Internet carbon footprint
- ECMAScript compatibility tables
- Ecoconception Presentation (French) (PDF)
- GPF – General Policy Framework (PDF) – 1.4 – Strategy (Regular Reviews)
- GR491 – 3-3018 – Electronicism
- GR491 – 3-3019 – The Digital Gap
- GR491 – 4-5028 – Compatibility Range
- How Far Back in Time Can I Take My Website’s Design
- JavaScript engines zoo
- Mise à jour logicielle : il est urgent de légiférer (French)
- Software Maintenance Types: Corrective, Adaptive, Perfective, and Preventive
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 1 – Poverty
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 3 – Health & Well-being
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 4 – Education
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 9 – Infrastructure
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 10 – Inequality
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 16 – Sustainable Society
- Web Almanac: Sustainability
- Web Vitals
- User constraints:
Account for potential user constraints in various scenarios to ensure compatibility. Testing should cover weak, unstable, restricted, or slow connections, Virtual Private Network (VPN) use, operating system choice or version, browser, and the device age.- AFNOR Spec 5.1.1 & 5.1.2 (French)
- Avoid obsolescence tactics
- BCD Watch
- BrowserHacks
- Browserslist
- BrowserStack
- Can I Stop?
- Cost of living: Impact of rising costs on disabled people
- CSS Triggers
- GPF – General Policy Framework (PDF) – 1.2 – Strategy (Target Users)
- GPF – General Policy Framework (PDF) – 1.4 – Strategy (Regular Reviews)
- GPF – General Policy Framework (PDF) – 2.1 – Specifications (Hardware Profiles)
- GPF – General Policy Framework (PDF) – 2.2 – Specifications (Older Device)
- GPF – General Policy Framework (PDF) – 2.3 – Specifications (Connection Issues)
- GPF – General Policy Framework (PDF) – 2.4 – Specifications (Older Software)
- GR491 – 3-3018 – Electronicism
- GR491 – 3-3019 – The Digital Gap
- GR491 – 3-3020 – Weak Connections
- GR491 – 3-3024 – Target Versions of Devices, OS and Browsers
- GR491 – 4-5028 – Compatibility Range
- GR491 – 4-5031 – Older Equipment
- GR491 – 6-3039 – Software or Hardware Configurations
- GreenIT – 002 – Accurately quantify the dimensions of features and components
- GreenIT – 4009 – Ensure compatibility with older devices and software configurations
- How can we design sustainably?
- How web bloat impacts users with slow connections
- How web bloat impacts users with slow devices
- IBM Design For Sustainability (PDF)
- Internet access, sustainability, and citizen participation
- Internet Speeds by Country 2023
- Introducing Web Vitals
- iOS 404
- Learn Testing
- List of sovereign states by Internet connection speeds
- Low- and Mid-Tier Mobile for the Real World (2025)
- Network Throttling in Chrome DevTools
- Performance Is Accessibility
- Resilient web design
- Slowfiles
- Runtime compatibility?
- Smartphone Ownership Is Growing Rapidly Around the World, but Not Always Equally
- The Carbon Impact of Web Standards (PDF)
- The Performance Inequality Gap
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 1 – Poverty
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 3 – Health & Well-being
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 4 – Education
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 9 – Infrastructure
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 10 – Inequality
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 16 – Sustainable Society
- Using UX Design to Build a Sustainable Future
- Web features explorer
- Web Platform Status
- Web Vitals
- Webhint
- Progressive Web Applications (PWAs):
Use a PWA over a native mobile application if it meets sustainability, interoperability, and compatibility criteria.- Assessing the Impact of Service Workers on the Energy Efficiency of Progressive Web Apps (PDF)
- Evaluating the Impact of Caching on the Energy Consumption and Performance of Progressive Web Apps (PDF)
- GreenIT – 4019 – Prefer PWA over native mobile applications that are similar to the website
- Investigating the correlation between performance scores and energy consumption of mobile web apps (PDF)
- PWA Builder
- Starbucks Ordering and Store Locator PWA
- The Carbon Impact of Web Standards (PDF)
- Web Almanac: Sustainability
Benefits
- Accessibility
Incorporating accessibility into early prototypes ensures it remains a priority throughout the lifecycle. Broken code can also impact assistive technologies, such as screen readers, and how they describe content to individuals with visual disabilities. Semantic code can help to deliver an equal, error-free experience to all. - Conversion
Delivering products and services that last longer and enjoy longer-lasting compatibility can increase conversion rates, due to the lower abandonment rates and a broader audience that is able to use a barrier-free version of the product or service. - Economic
Saving time and improving quality results in cost reductions, because increased stability reduces the need for refactoring. Users benefit from greater trust and potentially lower costs and maintenance fees as upgrades may not be required as frequently. - Environment
Avoiding incompatibility issues can significantly reduce e-waste, with planned obsolescence being is one of the biggest contributors to e-waste worldwide.Extending lifespans and improving compatibility within your service plan can improve sustainability and slow the upgrade cycle otherwise driven by sluggish digital experiences. - Performance
Deploying incompatible code has an energy cost. When code is non-standard, deprecated or does not work on a device, it can take additional time to render because it is usually not optimized for the environment. This puts pressure on the CPU and wastes battery. Using modern web standards will help your service run reliably in modern browsers. - Social Equity
Enhancing compatibility and longevity helps to reduce the digital divide. This can be significant in relation to income inequality, infrastructure robustness, or accessibility, for example. Broader support can therefore open your work to new markets, or extend the viability of existing access. Similarly, because progressive web applications use established web standards, they are available to more people than more cost-prohibitive closed systems.
GRI
- Materials: High
- Energy: High
- Water: High
- Emissions: High