51ÊÓƵ

Only about ofÌýyour website visitors will refer toÌýyour T&Cs page.

“As aÌýsmall online business, can IÌýsave theÌýbother ofÌýwriting this boring legal document ifÌýnoÌýone reads itÌýanyway?”, you may naturally ask.

Though not compulsory, your store’s “terms andÌýconditions” isÌýpossibly one ofÌýtheÌýmost important pages onÌýyour site. ItÌýoutlines all theÌýrules users must follow inÌýorder toÌýuse your website. These rules are designed toÌýprotect you, your business, andÌýyour customers inÌýcase ofÌýaÌýdispute.

What exactly should your website’s terms andÌýconditions page include? And how doÌýyou goÌýabout creating one? We’ll answer every question you have but hesitate toÌýask.

What isÌýaÌýWebsite Terms andÌýConditions Page?

Website terms andÌýconditions, a.k.a. “terms ofÌýservice” orÌý“conditions ofÌýuse”, isÌýaÌýlegal pact between your website andÌýits users. ItÌýdefines your liabilities andÌýinforms users about their rights andÌýlimitations.

Usually, this page isÌýlegally binding andÌýcan beÌýused inÌýaÌýcourt ofÌýlaw toÌýsettle aÌýdispute. ItÌýidentifies theÌýwebsite’s owner andÌýtheÌýarea ofÌýjurisdiction. ItÌýalso identifies theÌýwebsite’s responsibilities, liabilities, trademarks &Ìýcopyrights, andÌýinforms users how toÌýcontact theÌýbusiness forÌýlegal recourse.

This document can beÌýasÌýexpansive asÌýnecessary. Large websites often have dozens ofÌýclauses defining every aspect ofÌýyour interaction with their business. Amazon’s terms andÌýconditions page, forÌýinstance, isÌýnearly 3,500Ìýwords long andÌýcovers everything from copyright infringement toÌýinstructions onÌýhow toÌýserve aÌýsubpoena.

Why DoÌýYou Need Terms andÌýConditions forÌýYour Website?

While you are usually required byÌýlaw toÌýinclude aÌýprivacy policy page, there isÌýoften noÌýlegal requirement toÌýinclude aÌýterms andÌýconditions page onÌýyour site. You can easily run aÌýbusiness without ever identifying your liabilities andÌýyour customers’ limitations.

The problem arises inÌýcase aÌýcustomer takes you toÌýcourt, abuses their account, orÌýinfringes onÌýyour copyrights. Without clearly identifying theÌýterms andÌýconditions ofÌýuse, you might not have anyÌýlegal recourse inÌýcase ofÌýaÌýdispute.

Think ofÌýitÌýasÌýaÌýcontract every person who lands onÌýyour site automatically agrees to. InÌýcase ofÌýanyÌýdispute, aÌýcourt will look atÌýthis contract toÌýdetermine your rights andÌýliabilities.

This isÌýalso why itÌýisÌýimportant toÌýhave legally robust terms andÌýconditions. You want something that can hold upÌýinÌýaÌýcourt ofÌýlaw.

What isÌýtheÌýDifference Between “Terms andÌýConditions” andÌý“Privacy Policy”?

IfÌýyou’ve ever scrolled toÌýtheÌýbottom ofÌýaÌýwebsite, you might have noticed aÌýnumber ofÌýlinks toÌýlegal pages such asÌý“terms andÌýconditions”, “privacy policy”, etc.

For example, here’s Gap.com’s footer covering major aspects ofÌýtheÌýcompany’s legal operations:

Chief among these are theÌý“terms andÌýconditions” andÌý“privacy policy” pages. Although they might sound similar, they cover very different areasÌý— legally speaking.

The privacy policy:

• Covers your processes forÌýcollecting andÌýhandling private customer data such asÌýtheir emails, phone numbers, location information, etc.
• IsÌýusually mandated byÌýlaw forÌýanyÌýwebsite collecting anyÌýsort ofÌýcustomer data. IfÌýyou’re using anyÌýsort ofÌýtracking code orÌýcookies (such asÌýaÌýGoogle Analytics code), you will need aÌýprivacy policy.

InÌýcontrast, theÌýterms andÌýconditions page isÌýusually not mandated byÌýlaw. You create itÌýonly toÌýprotect yourself inÌýcase ofÌýaÌýdispute.

Most websites keep theÌýprivacy policy andÌýterms andÌýconditions page independent ofÌýeach other. OnÌýe-commerce sites, it’s also common toÌýinclude aÌýseparate shipping andÌýreturns policy page.

What Should aÌýWebsite Terms andÌýConditions Page Include?

Broadly speaking, theÌýterms andÌýconditions page isÌýmeant toÌýdoÌýfour things:

• Identify theÌýowner(s) ofÌýtheÌýbusiness andÌýhow toÌýreach them
• Identify who owns theÌýcontent, copyrights, andÌýtrademarks used onÌýtheÌýsite
• Identify theÌýbusiness’ liabilities andÌýresponsibilities
• Ensure that you have legal recourse inÌýcase ofÌýanyÌýabuse byÌýaÌýuser.

While technically you can include anything onÌýthis page (as long asÌýitÌýisÌýlegally permissible), itÌýisÌýaÌýgood idea toÌýfocus onÌýtheÌýabove four areas.

Consequently, most website terms andÌýconditions include theÌýfollowing sections:

• Copyright forÌýtheÌýmaterial offered onÌýtheÌýwebsite andÌýstore pages andÌýtrademark
• Ownership ofÌýtheÌýsite, content, andÌýassociated trademarks
• Requirements toÌýuse theÌýstore, e.g. whether registration isÌýrequired
• Limitations onÌýhow users can access theÌýsite (for example, they might not scrape itÌýforÌýdata orÌýcopy its content)
• Who owns anyÌýuser-generated content such asÌýreviews, comments, etc.
• Liabilities inÌýcase ofÌýanyÌýloss during shipping, inaccurate product descriptions, etc.
• The area ofÌýjurisdiction (country andÌýstate) inÌýcase ofÌýanyÌýdispute
• Links toÌýother policies (such asÌýshipping orÌýrefund policy) andÌýcontact information.

You can goÌýbeyond this, ofÌýcourse (Amazon has sections forÌýpatents andÌýapp permissions), but forÌýmost businesses, this will beÌýenough toÌýprotect them inÌýcase ofÌýaÌýdispute.

How toÌýCreate aÌýTerms andÌýConditions Page forÌýYour Website

While you should always consult aÌýlawyer when creating anyÌýlegal pages onÌýyour site, theÌýterms andÌýconditions page isÌýsoÌýcommonplace that you can safely use aÌýboilerplateÌý— atÌýleast forÌýmost websites.

IfÌýyou’re anÌý51ÊÓƵ customer, you can easily create aÌýterms andÌýconditions page byÌýlogging into your control panel andÌýselecting theÌýSettings →ÌýGeneral →ÌýLegal Info tab.

When you click “Edit”, you’ll see aÌýcontent form pop-up. Copy andÌýpaste theÌýcontent from this . Make sure toÌýreplace all instances ofÌý“MYCOMPANY” with your business’ legal name. Also, add your own email address atÌýtheÌýbottom ofÌýtheÌýpage.

Once you’re done, hit “save”. The page will automatically beÌýadded toÌýtheÌýbottom ofÌýyour website.

While that template should suffice forÌýmost businesses, doÌýkeep inÌýmind that your site’s requirements might differ. ItÌýisÌýbest toÌýconsult aÌýlawyer andÌýdraw upÌýaÌýterms andÌýconditions document that meets your needs.

Where Should You Place Terms andÌýConditions onÌýYour Website?

Although legally important, theÌýterms andÌýconditions page isn’t critical toÌýyour website’s user experience. Yet, you want customers toÌýbeÌýable toÌýaccess itÌýeasily. IfÌýtheÌýpage isn’t accessible, aÌýuser might easily feign ignorance inÌýcase ofÌýaÌýdispute.

That isÌýwhy most websites place theÌýterms andÌýconditions link inÌýtheir footer. Since theÌýfooter isÌýrepeated onÌýevery page, users have instant access toÌýtheÌýpage whenever they want.

It’s not unusual toÌýplace this link under anÌý“About Us” orÌý“Company” header inÌýtheÌýfooter. For example, here’s 51ÊÓƵ’s footer:

Here’s another example from Bonobos. Notice how itÌýisÌýplaced right next toÌýtheÌýprivacy policy link?

What Else Should You Know About Website Terms andÌýConditions?

Before weÌýleave, there are aÌýfew more things you should know about website terms andÌýconditions:

• IfÌýyou’re running anÌýe-commerce store, you’ll need separate privacy policy, refund policy, shipping policy, andÌýterms andÌýconditions pages.
• Copying another business’ terms andÌýconditions isn’t recommended. That particular business might have very specific conditions that may not beÌýtrue inÌýyour case.
• AÌýpoorly written terms andÌýconditions page might not beÌýlegally binding. ItÌýisÌýbest toÌýuse aÌýprofessionally written boilerplate, orÌýbetter, consult aÌýlawyer.
• Ensure that theÌýterms andÌýconditions page isÌýupdated inÌýcase there isÌýanyÌýchange inÌýyour business orÌýwebsite.
• Most online templates are written from aÌýUS/UK perspective. The same laws might not apply inÌýyour country. InÌýsuch cases, itÌýisÌýbest toÌýconsult aÌýlawyer locally.
• IfÌýyou’re offering your website inÌýlanguages other than English, make sure that you have aÌýterms andÌýconditions page inÌýthat language asÌýwell.
• It’s hard toÌýbelieve it, but you can have aÌýfunny andÌýengaging T&Cs page ifÌýyou goÌýtheÌýextra mile.

FinallyÌý— andÌýmost importantlyÌý— when inÌýdoubt, consult aÌýlawyer!

Does your website have aÌýterms andÌýconditions page? IfÌýyes, how did you create it? Let usÌýknow inÌýtheÌýcomments below!

Ìý

• Legal Docs forÌýOnline Stores: Protection andÌýTrust
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• 25ÌýPlaces toÌýFind Low-Cost Legal Advice
• Understanding theÌýTerms andÌýConditions Page
• Registering Your Ecommerce Business
• Protecting theÌýBrand: How ToÌýRegister aÌýTrademark