Last Updated on August 22, 2026 by Status.net Editorial Team

A practical approach that works well for founders and leadership teams building or refreshing their values:

• Start with real moments, not abstractions. Look back at decisions the company made under pressure. When a customer complained, when a launch failed, when a competitor undercut pricing. The instincts that guided those moments often point to the values already at work.
• Involve people outside the executive team. Customer support reps, engineers, and community moderators see the day-to-day friction points that leadership sometimes misses. Their input keeps values grounded in reality rather than aspiration.
• Limit the list to five or six values. Long lists dilute focus and become difficult for employees to recall. Most online companies that succeed with their values keep the list short enough that a new hire can repeat it after one training session.
• Pressure-test each value against a real business tradeoff. If a value cannot help someone decide between two reasonable options, such as whether to ship a feature early or wait for more testing, it probably needs sharper language.
• Write values as verbs or clear behaviors when possible. “Customer obsession” or “move fast” gives employees more direction than a single word like “excellence,” which can mean almost anything depending on who reads it.

Common Core Value Categories for Online and eCommerce Companies

Even though every company’s exact wording differs, most successful online businesses draw their values from a handful of recurring themes. Reviewing these categories can help a founder or HR leader identify gaps in their own draft list.

Customer Obsession and Trust

Online companies rarely get a second chance with a frustrated customer, since a bad experience is often just one click away from a competitor’s site. Values built around listening to customers, resolving issues quickly, and protecting their data show up across ecommerce and social platforms alike.

Speed and Iteration

Digital products change quickly, and companies that value shipping, testing, and learning from real usage data tend to outperform those that wait for perfect solutions. This shows up in language like “bias for action” or “move fast and learn.”

Ownership and Accountability

Remote and distributed teams depend on employees who take responsibility for outcomes without needing constant oversight. Values that reward ownership tend to reduce the need for heavy management layers.

Innovation and Experimentation

Because online markets shift fast, values that encourage testing new ideas, tolerating some failure, and questioning existing processes help companies stay competitive.

Community, Safety, and Belonging

Social networks in particular rely on values that address how people treat each other on the platform. This includes commitments to safety, inclusion, and giving users a voice, which differ meaningfully from the purely transactional values that guide many ecommerce brands.

Data Privacy and Security

Companies handling payment information, personal messages, or browsing history often build a value specifically around protecting user data, since trust erodes quickly once a breach or misuse comes to light.

Examples of core values for Online Companies (Social Networks and eCommerce):

Facebook

1. Focus on impact
2. Move fast
3. Be bold
4. Be open
5. Build social value

Google

1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.
2. It’s best to do one thing really, really well.
3. Fast is better than slow.
4. Democracy on the web works.
5. You don’t need to be at your desk to need an answer.
6. You can make money without doing evil.
7. There’s always more information out there.
8. The need for information crosses all borders.
9. You can be serious without a suit.
10. Great just isn’t good enough.

Twitter

1. Grow our business in a way that makes us proud.
2. Recognize that passion and personality matter.
3. Communicate fearlessly to build trust.
4. Defend and respect the user’s voice.
5. Reach every person on the planet.
6. Innovate through experimentation.
7. Seek diverse perspectives.
8. Be rigorous. Get it right.
9. Simplify.
10. Ship it.

If you are looking for more examples of core values for different industries, check our main article here (click to open 250+ Best Core Values: Examples for 12 Industries)

Yahoo!

1. Excellence
2. Innovation
3. Customer Fixation
4. Teamwork
5. Community
6. Fun

Zappos

1. Deliver WOW Through Service
2. Embrace and Drive Change
3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
5. Pursue Growth and Learning
6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
8. Do More With Less
9. Be Passionate and Determined
10. Be Humble

Atlassian

1. Open company, no bullshit
2. Build with heart and balance
3. Don’t #@!% the customer
4. Play, as a team
5. Be the change you seek

Amazon

1. Customer Obsession
2. Ownership
3. Invent and Simplify
4. Are Right, A Lot
5. Learn and Be Curious
6. Hire and Develop The Best
7. Insist on the Highest Standards
8. Think Big
9. Bias for Action
10. Frugality
11. Earn Trust
12. Dive Deep
13. Have Backbone; Disagree and Commit
14. Deliver Results

LinkedIn

1. Our Members Come First
2. Relationships Matter
3. Be Open, Honest and Constructive
4. Demand Excellence
5. Take Intelligent Risks
6. Act Like an Owner

Spotify

1. Innovative
2. Collaborative
3. Sincere
4. Passionate
5. Playful

Infusionsoft

1. We empower entrepreneurs.
2. We listen, we care, we serve.
3. We do what we say we’ll do.
4. We practice open, real communication.
5. We face challenges with optimism.
6. We check our egos at the door.
7. We innovate and constantly improve.
8. We do the right thing.
9. We believe in people and their dreams.

Ebay

1. Deliver great customer service
2. Embrace and drive change
3. Create fun, be different
4. Be adventurous, open-minded, creative
5. Pursue growth and learning
6. Build open and honest relationships
7. Communicate!
8. Positive team
9. Family spirit
10. Do more stress less
11. Passion and determination
12. Be humble
13. Be respectful and grateful

More Core Values Examples

More core values examples: 250+ Best Core Values: Examples for 12 IndustriesSee also: 1500+ Best Company Vision and Mission Statements

Learn more:

Mission, vision, and values of a company are usually influenced by a particular leadership style. What is your leadership style? This answer can help you define the mission, vision, and core values more authentically.
Check these articles to get inspired and find your answer:

Qualities and Values of 10 Leadership Styles

These in-depth articles will provide more inspiration:

What Is Visionary Leadership? 7 Traits of a Visionary Leader
Charismatic Leadership: The Good, Bad, and Best Practices
What Is Transformational Leadership?
What Is Democratic Leadership?
What is Affiliative Leadership? The “People First” Approach
5 Main Principles of Laissez-Faire Leadership
What is Servant Leadership? 5 Must-Have Principles
What is Strategic Leadership? [Pros and Cons]

How eCommerce Core Values Differ From Social Network Core Values

Ecommerce companies and social networks both operate online, but they solve different problems, and their core values often reflect that difference.

• Ecommerce companies tend to emphasize speed of delivery, transaction trust, product quality, and customer service responsiveness. Their values often connect directly to the buying journey, from browsing to checkout to after-sale support.
• Social networks tend to emphasize community standards, free expression, engagement, and long-term user wellbeing. Their values often address harder-to-measure outcomes like how content is moderated or how user data gets used for advertising.

Companies that operate in both spaces, such as marketplaces with social features, sometimes need to balance values from both categories. When that happens, it helps to rank the values so employees understand which principle takes priority if two values appear to conflict, such as a fast shipping promise versus a careful fraud review.

Common Mistakes When Defining Core Values for Online Companies

Many companies write values that look impressive on a careers page but fail to guide actual behavior. A few patterns show up repeatedly:

• Choosing vague, interchangeable words. Terms like “excellence,” “integrity,” or “passion” sound positive but rarely tell an employee what to do differently on a Tuesday afternoon.
• Copying values from a bigger competitor. A ten-person startup adopting Amazon’s leadership principles word-for-word often ends up with values that do not match its actual size, culture, or resources.
• Writing values that leadership does not model. When executives ignore the stated values during high-pressure decisions, employees notice quickly, and trust in the values erodes.
• Never revisiting the list. A company that grows from 10 to 500 employees, or pivots its business model, often needs to revisit whether its original values still fit. Values written for a scrappy startup phase sometimes need adjustment once the company matures.
• Skipping the “how we measure it” step. Values without any connection to hiring criteria, performance reviews, or recognition programs tend to fade into background noise.

How to Bring Core Values to Life on a Remote or Digital-First Team

Online companies frequently operate with distributed or remote teams, which makes reinforcing values harder than it would be in a single office. A few approaches that tend to work:

• Bake values into onboarding. New hires who hear real stories about how a value shaped a past decision retain the message better than those who only read a slide deck.
• Reference values in performance conversations. Tying promotions, feedback, and recognition to specific values helps employees see that the words carry real weight.
• Use everyday tools to reinforce values. Some companies build value-based shout-outs into Slack channels or all-hands meetings, giving public recognition to behaviors that reflect the company’s principles.
• Hire against the values. Interview questions that ask candidates to describe a past situation related to a specific value, such as ownership or customer obsession, help filter for cultural fit before someone joins the team.
• Revisit values during major transitions. Mergers, funding rounds, and leadership changes are natural checkpoints for confirming whether the existing values still describe the company accurately.

Learn more:

How to Write Inspiring Core Values? 5 Steps with Examples

Frequently Asked Questions

How many core values should an online company have?

Most companies find that five to seven values strike the right balance. Fewer than that risks leaving out important behaviors, while more than that often becomes difficult for employees to remember or apply consistently.

Should ecommerce companies and social networks use the same core values?

Not necessarily. Ecommerce businesses tend to prioritize transaction trust, delivery speed, and customer service, while social networks often prioritize community safety, engagement, and user expression. The right set of values depends on what the business actually does for its users.

How often should a company review its core values?

Many companies revisit their values every few years or during major milestones, such as a significant growth phase, a pivot in business model, or a leadership change. Values that no longer reflect daily decision-making are a sign it is time for a review.

What is the difference between core values and a mission statement?

A mission statement describes what the company is trying to achieve, while core values describe how employees should behave while pursuing that mission. A company can share its mission publicly while using its values internally to guide daily decisions.

Can small online startups use the same core values as large tech companies?

A small startup can draw inspiration from larger companies, but copying a list word-for-word often creates a mismatch between stated values and actual company size, resources, or culture. Values tend to work best when they reflect the specific business writing them.