Which of the sentences is correct?

It would be better if you told them before they came to know it from others.

Or

It would be better if you tell them before they come to know it from others.

In my opinion, if in the first part of the sentence, the past of will i.e would is used then the rest part of the sentence should also be in the past. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks in advance.

Solution 1:

It depends on the tense of the message you want to convey. If you mean to advise the person about an action he/she is yet to perform, go with all present like -

It would be better if you tell them before they come to know it from others

If it is about telling someone about something they should have done in the past, go with the past counterpart -

It would have been better if you had told them before they came to know it from others