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Atthesame time, asaperson with adigital background, Iknow how toscope out almost anybrand forreliability with things like Wappalyzer, Alexa, SEOquake, orbyjust byknowing myway around aGoogle search.
Unfortunately, most customers who come toyour online store byclicking ads insearch engines andonsocial media have noidea who you are andhave ZERO trust inyour store. They also don’t know how tocheck your brand forreliability, andmost importantly, they don’t want towaste time trying tofigure itout.
Sohow can you earnestly andquickly persuade potential customers that you are aserious business, not an
Legal Docs forTrust
There are numerous ways tofix the
How doyou sell, why doyou sell, how doyou deliver, andwhat will happen after that? Uncovering thedetails oftheentire shopping experience (including delivery) through answering these simple questions isthekey toyour customer’s hearts. Knowing all thesteps they’ll gothrough, theconsequences oftheir purchase, andways toget through anypossible problems they might encounter gives ashopper afeeling ofsafety.
Ifweknow all theturns waiting forusalong theroad inadvance, weare more likely tomake thefirst step towards apurchase.
Agreat way formetogain trust inanunknown brand isbylooking attheir legal docs! These docs are also known aslegal pages, terms, policies, etc. But whatever thename, thepoint isthat these documents are apublic declaration made bythebrand— their obligation tocomply with alevel ofservice that will protect myrights asaconsumer.
Iknow that ifthebrand breaks its own rules, theconsequences will bedire forthem, andthey know it. This makes mefeel safe. The quality ofthelegal docs: thestructure, consistency, andeven wording reflect thelevel ofbusiness maturity andspawns thefeeling that these guys can betrusted.
Legal Docs forProtection
Mylife was akaleidoscope back intheday. I’ve worn somany hats, andone ofthem was anentrepreneur’s cap. SoIcan tell you firsthand: I’ve seen selling from themerchant’s point ofview. Itwas lots offun; anexploration filled with discovery— but sometimes itcould also bealittle stressful. There were days Ifelt like Ihad all theevil eyes onme
Fortunately, this was just anillusion. But interacting with all avariety ofregulatory services, Ilearned one thing— you have tohave all your docs inorder, nice andclean. Your ducks inarow, asitwere. Mymistake was totreat this Big Brother control ashostile tomybusiness. But infact, itwas exactly theopposite: these regulators were trying tohelp metoprotect mybusiness from fines, complaints, andeven legal action. They meant well.
The same thing happens when you start anonline store inanyniche— people begin asking questions, while theonly thing you want isforthem tobuy your products. And thesolution inthis situation is100% thesame— have all your legal docs inorder.
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Sodoyourself afavor, get your business ready inadvance. It’s not that hard, after all. We’ll show you:
Legal Documents toHave forOnline Store
Ready toroll? Alright, here’s thelist of
- Terms andConditions. Describe thelegally binding rules, terms, andguidelines that everyone has toagree with touse your website andservices.
- Privacy Policy. Describe how you collect, handle, andprocess data ofyour customers andvisitors.
- Shipping andPayment Information. Describe how you ship ordeliver your products andaccept payments fortheorders.
- Return andRefund Policy. Describe how you make thereturns, exchanges, orrefunds ifcustomers are not satisfied with their orders.
Inthis article, Idon’t want toteach you how towrite aperfect legal document. Instead, we’ve provided templates ofcommon legal documents that you can download, adapt toyour niche, andadd toyour online store (51Ƶ store, hopefully!). The templates are not universal foranytype ofbusiness, product, orniche, soyou’ll have toread them first andedit them tosuit your needs.
But inthemeantime, let’s get alowdown onsome oftheA,B,Cs oflegalease.
Terms andConditions Template
This page isalegal contract between your business andtheusers ofyour site andservices. Itclarifies theconditions ofuse andenables you toexclude users who abuse therules you’ve set, maintain your legal rights against potential abusers, andmore.
You need aclearly stated contract toprotect your website, company, andcustomers. Review your legal pages carefully before adding them.
Writing T&C foryour store, consider including information related tothefollowing areas:
- Ownership ofthesite
- Copyright forthematerial offered onthewebsite andstore pages
- Liabilities andresponsibilities ofyour business
- Requirements forusing thestore
- Notification upon modification ofterms
- Termination ofcontract
- Contact information
Learn more about theTerms andConditions Page forYour
Privacy Policy Template
This page describes how personal information iscollected, used, andshared onyour site. Add ittoyour store toencourage customers’ trust.
Consider including:
- Collecting personal information
- Sharing personal information
- Using personal information
- Customers’ rights with regards totheir personal information
- Use ofcookies
- Contact information
Learn more about How toWrite aPrivacy Policy forYour
Shipping andPayment Information Template
This page contains information foryour customers about your shipping andpayment operations. This information should vary depending onhow you source andsend products tocustomers. Asforthepayment part, itshould cover frequently asked questions about payment methods inyour store, possible commissions, currency exchange, etc.
Consider including thefollowing:
- International andlocal shipping options
- Supported shipping zones
- Shipping costs
- Policy around returns, exchanges, damages, andlost packages
- Order processing anddelivery times
- Payment options
- Payment requirements andinstructions
- Contact information
Return andRefund Policy Template
This page describes what customers can doifthey are unhappy with theproduct they received. Clear and
This policy can include:
- Damages andissues
- Exceptions like
non-returnable items oritems with return limitations - Exchanges andrefunds
- Contact information
But before writing aReturn Policy, make sure your products fall under theReturn regulation. Some products are not returnable under local laws. Usually, these products relate tohealthcare, personal hygiene merchandise, orfood. Each country has its own
Learn more about How toWrite aGood Return Policy for
InClosing
Legal documents are not anevil thing. They help you protect your business from unexpected issues that can cost you your business (or atleast abig chunk oftime better spent selling!). Atthesame time, legal documents make your business more transparent, which isahuge trust booster from your customer’s perspective.
Ifyou have hard times with legal docs, there’s anexcellent service that can generate all necessary documents based onyour business— . But it’s not free, somake sure it’s aninvestment you’re willing tomake.
Ihope you’ll put thetemplates we’ve provided togood use! tomake sure your customers feel safe. Give them areason totrust you.
Ifyou have anythoughts onmaking our notes onthesubject better, don’t you dare tokeep them foryourself! Share your ideas inthecomments below, andwe’ll update thedocuments accordingly.
- Legal Docs forOnline Stores: Protection andTrust
- How toWrite aPrivacy Policy forYour Ecommerce Store
- How toWrite anEffective Return Policy
- 25Places toFind
Low-Cost Legal Advice - Understanding theTerms andConditions Page
- Registering Your Ecommerce Business
- Protecting theBrand: How ToRegister aTrademark