Tom Greenwood on Building Sustainable WordPress Sites and Businesses

Tom Greenwood has had a deep and lasting impact on how I think about web design.

Tom runs Wholegrain Digital, a WordPress agency in London. Wholegrain's clients include Oxfam, Unicef, Rightmove, and some major UK non-profits. Wholegrain run their business as a force for good and their values and goals are inspiring.

I've come across Tom's efforts in three different areas:

  • He writes the “Curiously Greennewsletter where he shares thoughts and news about how the technology we build impacts the environment.
  • Tom's team built “Granola“, a high performance starter theme for WordPress.
  • Tom's agency develops WebsiteCarbon.com which helps us analyze the energy usage of web projects.

Video interview with Tom

In this interview, I talk with Tom about his environmental work, but also more broadly about building healthy, sustainable businesses. Plus, Tom recommends ways to create fast, green WordPress websites.

Here's a timeline of the video:

  • 4 mins: Discussion about B Corps.
  • 8 mins: How Tom evaluated the climate impact of his business.
  • 10 mins: Tom talks about WebsiteCarbon.com.
  • 13 mins: How Wholegrain Digital evaluates its WordPress projects.
  • 15 mins: WordPress-specific improvements we can all make.
  • 22 mins: Green WordPress hosting options.
  • 26 mins: Tips for WordPress plugin and theme developers.
  • 30 mins: Tom introduces the Sustainable Web Manifesto.

More from Tom

Tom features in our collection of WordPress environmental talks.

It's well worth checking out an interview with Tom from the BBC in a report called “Can the internet go green?

Finally, this presentation from WordCamp London answers the question, “How do you get those big name clients?”. Tom talks about how Wholegrain has attracted big name clients over the years, often defying conventional business wisdom and sales practices and instead following a process centred on love.


All our WordPress Interviews

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