We strongly believe that our motivations and why we do things are just as important as what we do. It says something about the people we are, how we approach the work we do for our clients, and the kinds of organisations that will have the most productive partnerships with us. This page is a promise to those we work with and evolves with the changing landscape to reflect our ethical focus.
Everything we do is underpinned by 4 key pillars, relating to concepts we feel are more important than any others in today’s digital world.
We believe technology is a wonderful tool that can change the world for the better – it should give people a voice and help creators find their audience, not help sell your data to the highest bidder.
We also believe in technology as a power to change the way we work. We want to give people the flexibility to work around their lives. To take back control. That’s why we have policies that help the people who work for us balance their lives and don’t expect them to have to disproportionately give more than they get.
In 2023, we started promoting our ‘Free websites for good causes‘ initiative, to support organisations that have noble goals and strive to make a positive impact but, without our support, would find it challenging to fund a digital project such as a new website.
We employ a holistic and practical approach to sustainability, from our own growth strategy to our environmental impact.
Website hosting is by far the largest part of our carbon footprint, and it’s been on our radar for several years to try and reduce this. We’re happy to say that we now offer to host all our client websites using 100% renewable energy, independently verified by the Green Web Foundation. Furthermore, we’re working to migrate suitable existing client sites to this sustainable hosting.
We support making the digital world usable to the widest possible audience using rigorous WCAG accessibility standards, but in reality, our primary mission is to make the know-how, tactics, specialisms and ‘edge’ that big businesses have available to everyone else. You might be established, you might be a startup, we particularly like an underdog. So, why not do away with massive marketing outsourcing spend, we’re your friendly neighbourhood digital people, we can make it work, large or small.
We believe that the truth isn’t up for debate. We do the work, understand the numbers and know that facts are facts. We’ll tell it how it is, even if it isn’t what we know you want to hear.
Some companies talk a big game about embracing ‘noble’ ideals, or doing the right thing, but fall short of actually understanding or living their brand values. For some, it’s just words – a marketing gimmick.
We mainly want to convince you that we will be honest, reliable and deliver on what we promise, and we’ll show this through the work we do.
We believe that, unfortunately, some corners of the web are at odds with our ethical vision, so we don’t use them ourselves. These include services that have a detrimental effect on society, that divide people, spread disinformation or erode the ability to communicate and function efficiently.
We can still advise our clients who use these services, without judgement, but won’t be adopting them or working on them ourselves. Even better, we suggest more ethical alternatives.
We believe that ethical business practices start from within, and that the sustainability of a business is much more than its carbon footprint. Our long-term viability relies on our people. Becoming a Living Wage Employer is a natural extension of our commitment to fairness, integrity, and accountability. By ensuring that every member of our team receives a fair wage that reflects the real cost of living, we’re not just talking about ethical business – we’re living it.
Learn more about the National Living Wage and how to become accredited.
We believe that when it comes to doing the right thing, actions certainly speak louder than words. That’s why we put our money where our mouth is and actively support or contribute to causes we see as aligned with our objectives to promote technology as a force for good, truth or privacy.
