This legal document is not just helpful for large sites, but for sites of all sizes. In addition to terms and conditions for eCommerce websites with thousands of users each day, smaller sites such as personal blogs, informational pages, and professional landing pages can benefit from this agreement as well.
Is a Terms and Conditions Page Required for all sites?
Contrary to popular belief, you are actually not legally required to have standard terms and conditions for your website the way you are required to have a privacy policy. However, they are extremely helpful for aiding site owners to lay down rules for how they expect users to operate in their space. And, for letting users know the rules that the site intends to follow.
One common reason that site owners choose to include terms and agreements on their pages is that it can help to stop users from engaging in misuse and bad behavior. For example, the document can outlaw actions such as spam and posting abusive language. Website terms are also helpful in announcing declarations of ownership of certain material, and how the material is allowed to be used. Other common reasons include:
- Giving site owners the ability to restrict someone’s access to their site;
- Placing a limitation on the site and owners’ liability;
- Choosing a litigation jurisdiction and applicable law;
- Laying out the expectations of payment agreements;
- And more!
You do not need to have a custom terms and conditions agreement. However, if you do, it will put you in a better position to conduct business professionally and safely.
What Information to Include in Your Terms and Conditions
Because every type of site niche is so different, there is no one size fits all templates of terms and conditions for websites. The needs of each site will be unique. Some documents may amount to thousands of pages, while others may contain all the sufficient information in only half a simple page. This being said, there are some basic clauses that all T&Cs would be wise to include:
- Rules regarding amending the agreement;
- Length of the agreements’ survival;
- Copyright and intellectual property expectations;
- The selected jurisdiction for potential litigation;
- Any warranty disclaimers for your product or services; and
- Expected limitations on liability.
Note that just because your document contains the above provisions, it does not mean that they are set in stone. If you, for example, attempt to contract out liability that you are not legally allowed to contract out, then your provision will be invalid even if your site user signed off on it. Or, if you attempt to assume ownership rights over a piece of intellectual property that you do not, in fact, own, then you would not be able to assert these rights over someone in a court of law if they violated that clause.
Development of terms and conditions can be challenging if you are attempting to concoct them on your own without any legal experience or education. There are tons of templates that are easy to find online to get you started. Reviewing some of these templates can also give you ideas for what to include in your own document. However, it is not a good idea to just rip these guides off the internet without making any personal changes. It is likely in your best interest to obtain professional help from experienced lawyers, such as those at LEGALPAGES.pro.