2.23 Reduce the impact of downloadable and physical documents
Reduce the need for physical documents as much as possible by allowing the saving of well-labeled, optimized digital downloads and having a print style sheet.
Criteria
- Printed documents: Machine-testable
Design your process to reduce the need for paper documents. Where the production of paper documents is essential, it should be designed to have the lowest impact possible. Include a CSS print style sheet and test it with different types of content. Encourage saving documents in digital formats over paper-based storage and archiving.- A Guide To The State Of Print Stylesheets In 2018
- Changing Paper Consumption
- CSS Design: Going to Print
- GR491 – 6-3044 – Paper Printing
- GR491 – 9-5076 – Ink Saving
- GreenIT – 027 – Provide a print CSS
- How to Become an Eco Web Designer
- OpQuast – 190 – The website offers styles dedicated to printing.
- OpQuast – 191 – The content of each page can be printed without printing the navigation blocks.
- Printed – Print Friendly CSS Library
- UI Tools
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 11 – Human Habitats
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 12 – Consumption & Production
- Using UX Design to Build a Sustainable Future
- Optimized documents: Machine-testable
Optimize and compress all downloadable documents. Make them available in a variety of accessible file formats.- Changing Paper Consumption
- GPF – General Policy Framework (PDF) – 4.11 – UX and UI (Inform Users)
- GPF – General Policy Framework (PDF) – 5.7 – Content (File Size Reduction)
- GR491 – 5-4052 – Downloadable Documents
- GR491 – 5-4053 – PDF Documents
- Optimizing PDFs for Web
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 11 – Human Habitats
- United Nations SDGS – Goal 12 – Consumption & Production
- Optimized delivery: Machine-testable
Avoid duplicating effort. If a document will be reused, generate and save it once on the server side for reuse, ideally on a cookie-free domain. - Labels and choice: Machine-testable
Display the document name, a summary, the file size, and the format prior to downloading. Allow users to choose the right format and language for their needs where possible. Avoid embedding documents directly; provide a link to download or view them within the browser instead.- Add file format and size to all download links and buttons
- Avoid PDF for On-Screen Reading
- How to force a file to download instead of open in the browser using only HTML
- Linking to non-HTML files
- OpQuast – 142 – The format of the files available for download is indicated.
- OpQuast – 143 – The size of the internal files available for downloading is indicated.
- OpQuast – 144 – The language of downloadable files is mentioned when it differs from the original page.
- U.S. Web Design System (USWDS) – Link
Benefits
- Accessibility
Providing a range of inclusively designed downloadable documents in a variety of formats benefits those with accessibility needs as they can choose the ideal format for their device and use case. - Environment
Reducing the need to print documents or providing a print friendly style sheet reduces emissions associated with paper, ink, and the act of printing. - Performance
Compressing or otherwise optimizing documents means they can be downloaded faster, avoiding users needing to wait to view documents prepared for offline viewing.
GRI
- Materials: Medium
- Energy: Low
- Water: Medium
- Emissions: Low