Digital principles
These principles can be used at any stage of a digital project to help spark conversations and guide decision-making.
What are digital principles?
Tearfund’s digital principles are a tool to help us create better, more consistent digital experiences for our users.
They are a set of values, considerations and guidelines that act like a compass, pointing us in the right direction and providing guidance against which we
can measure our decisions.
They were created collaboratively through a series of workshops with a wide group of Tearfund staff. As a result, they are helpful for cutting through disagreements and for bringing a ‘bigger picture’ perspective to individual projects.
1. Always engaging
We emphasise quality over quantity and never produce content without a clear purpose. Copy and imagery need to be engaging and work together to present a compelling story which meets our audience where they are and inspires action.
2. Audience-focused
We constantly seek to better understand our audience so that we can communicate with them more effectively. We use the expertise of audience specialists and channel managers along with data-based research methods and tools such as user personas. This combined approach helps us to create effective user-journeys with content that speaks to our audience.
3. Build, measure, learn
We make evidence-based decisions by relying on research, testing and data insights gained from analytics tools. Once we’ve identified the problem that needs to be solved we develop a minimum viable product. We then test it and learn, iterating on it to become more effective.
4. Consistent
We follow best practice and use plain English and clear visual language throughout all of our content. There should be a consistency to all our design and copy elements, such as hierarchies, naming conventions and calls to action.
5. Less is more
We favour a ‘less is more’ approach, with content that is clear, uncluttered and never overwhelming. We eliminate distractions, and feature only the most relevant content, allowing a user to focus on what matters.
6. Inclusive, user-friendly and accessible
All of our digital content should make our diverse and wide ranging audience feel welcome. It needs to be easy to access and meaningful to engage with, irrespective of physical or mental conditions, level of formal education or background.
7. Empowering people living in poverty
We want all of our content to be empowering and inclusive for everyone, including those whose stories we are telling. We want to give our audiences heroes they can stand in solidarity with, rather than victims they need to save. Wherever possible we prioritise and include the voices of those lifting themselves out of poverty.
8. Distinctly Tearfund
Each piece of content should be recognisably Tearfund and infused with our distinctive Christian values. As well as being courageous and trustworthy, our content should foster a genuine, two-way relationship with our audience.