The Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy are important legal documents that online businesses must have. The Terms and Conditions specify the rights and obligations of the parties in relation to the use of a website and the Privacy Policy describes the collection and use of personal information by the owner of the website, so that the the user is informed and the site owner respects the privacy rules. To prepare the Terms and Conditions and / or the Privacy Policy for your company, please follow the steps below under the appropriate title.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Understand the Terms and Conditions
Step 1. The Terms and Conditions of a company are a contract between it and its users / customers of its website
As in any contract, the terms must be clear and unambiguous, and both parties must be able to clearly understand their rights and obligations. To make it easy for your business to understand the Terms and Conditions, follow the steps below.
Step 2. Prepare a list of 'rules' relating to the use of your website and / or services
The rules will depend on the type of company website and the type of services it offers. Normally the rules include:
- Acceptable content. If you keep a site where users can post articles, comments, questions or any materials, you should consider what the law states about what is acceptable. Inform users in advance that offensive, defamatory and illegal material should not be posted on the website.
- Acceptable use. When users of a website have the opportunity to interact with others, problems can arise regarding these interactions. Consider an acceptable use clause, which describes to users what types of behavior they will not tolerate. Most of the acceptable use clauses state that users cannot harass or annoy other users, promote content that violates company policies or transmit illegal material through the site or its servers.
- Terms of payment. If you are selling products or services that require payment from users, you must specify how payments should be made (check, money order, PayPal), when payments are due, and what happens if no payment is received.
Step 3. Decide which standard clauses to include
Since the Terms and Conditions are a contract, it is possible to include some clauses of a standard contract to protect your business. Some standard clauses with example sentences include:
- Limitation of Liability. You agree that the overall liability of the Company, and the only possible compensation, with respect to any service (s) provided under this Agreement and the violation thereof, is exclusively limited to the amount paid for such services. The Company will not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages resulting from the use or inability to use any of its services, or for the cost of procuring replacement services.
- Copyright & Trademarks. The trademarks, names, logos and service marks (generically referred to as "trademarks") displayed on this site are registered and unregistered trademarks of the owner of the site. Nothing contained on this website should be construed as granting any license or right to use any of these trademarks without the prior written consent of the website owner. The written content displayed on this website is the property of their respective authors and they cannot be reproduced in whole or in part, without the express written permission of the author.
- Changes. The Company reserves the right to revise the Terms and Conditions of this Agreement at any time. Any changes will be binding and effective immediately upon posting the amended Agreement on our website. Your continued use of the site implies your acceptance of any revision of the Terms and Conditions of this Agreement.
- Applicable law. This agreement is governed in all respects by the laws of the United States of America and the laws of the state of Texas. Each party irrevocably accepts the jurisdiction of the court of federal and state courts operating in the state, as applicable, in any matter arising out of or relating to this Agreement, except, for actions necessary to enforce any order or judgment of such federal or state courts located in Texas, said jurisdiction is non-exclusive.
Step 4. Get a form or template of Terms and Conditions
You can source a model from several reputable locations, including:
- TermsFeed provides a free template generator for Terms and Conditions,
- SEQ Legal. SEQ Legal provides legal services to businesses in the United Kingdom ("UK"). It offers a free template of the Terms and Conditions on its website
- Business Link. Business Link is a UK based business consultancy firm. It offers a free template of the Terms and Conditions on its website
- Freenetlaw.net. Freenetlaw provides free legal documents and templates for use on websites by companies and individuals. You can find a free template of the Terms and Conditions on their website
Step 5. Customize the Terms and Conditions for yourself
Edit the template to include your own rules and the standard clauses you have chosen.
Method 2 of 2: Privacy Policy
Step 1. Most companies are not required by law to have a Privacy Policy
However, if you collect personal data from users, you are obliged to publish an online Privacy Policy.
Step 2. Prepare a list of information to include in your rules
This should provide basic criteria on how you can get to have personal information about a user and what you will do with it. Some common elements you may want to include in your Privacy Policy include:
- When collecting information about users. You can collect information when users place an order, sign up for an account, or log into certain areas of the site. Think of all the times you can ask users for personal information.
- What information do you collect. Do you simply ask users for their name and email address or are they required to provide sensitive information such as their phone number, address and other sensitive data?
- How you use the information you collect. Many sites use the information collected in order to make browsing the site more pleasant or to provide users with product orders. You must specify in your rules exactly how you use the information you collect.
- Whether users can access the information collected to update, correct or delete it. If users have access to the information they provide, you should describe how they can access and what changes or updates they can make.
- If you disclose the information to others and to whom. If you use a shipping company to which you provide customer names and addresses, or share user information with third parties for any reason, you must include this information in your Privacy Policy.
- If you can change the rules at your discretion. Reserving the right to change the regulation can be very important. In 2004, the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") sued Learning Gateway for unfair business practices by changing its Privacy Policy without giving notice or obtaining consent from website visitors.
- Contact information for users who have privacy questions or concerns. Any reputable site will provide a way for users to contact someone if they have any questions. You may wish to consider including contact information in your Privacy Policy for users who have specific questions regarding your company's privacy practices.
Step 3. Determine if you are legally required to provide any other specific information
Depending on who uses your websites and what type of business you do, you may need to understand specific clauses, provide certain documentation on your website, or include a specific language in your Privacy Policy. If users of the site or your company belong to any of the following groups, mandatory laws or statutes may require you to do certain things in relation to your Privacy Policy and related practices.
- Children under 13. The Children's Privacy Act makes it illegal for a website operator to knowingly collect information about children without parental consent, and requires sites that are aware of collecting information about children under the age of 13 to adopt specific Privacy Regulations. You can find the Children's Privacy Act on the FTC website
- European users. The European directive on data privacy prohibits the transfer of personal information from EU member states to destinations that do not meet the European standard "adequacy" for the protection of privacy. In the United States, the Department of Commerce has developed a set of rules, which allows US businesses to certify their compliance with European privacy laws so that they can collect information from European users. For complete information on European privacy requirements and self-certification, visit the Better Business Bureau website at
- California users. The California Online Privacy Protection Act provides rules and regulations for websites that collect and use information from California residents. The California Privacy Protection Office has published a manual to help companies understand what the law says and how to comply with it. You can find the manual online at
- Healthcare organizations. If your company provides health care services to the public, it may be necessary to develop and implement a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) privacy policy. To learn more about which subjects must comply with the Privacy and security rules and regulatory requirements, visit the U. S. website. Department of Health and Human Services at
Step 4. Get a Privacy Policy template
There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Start with a template and modify it according to your needs. Templates can be obtained from several reputable sources, including:
- TRUSTe. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit initiative that has set up a wizard that allows a website to automatically generate a privacy policy. You can find the TRUSTe privacy policy wizard at
- TermsFeed. TermsFeed has made available a free online privacy policy generator, available at
- Trust Guard. Trust Guard has created a comprehensive and reliable free privacy policy generator, which you can find at
- Live Law. Live Law provides a free web privacy model for Australian sites. This template generator can be found at
- Customize your privacy policy. Edit the privacy policy template to include the information you have listed and any clauses that are required by law.
Advice
- Remember the four key points of a privacy policy: Notice, Choice, Access and Security.
- Give flexibility to your Privacy Policy, so that you do not happen to have to violate it later. For example, arguing that you don't share user information with anyone else may be reassuring, but it is almost certainly not true. At some point, most websites need to share some kind of information about their users with someone. Consider every possibility and future needs of your company.
- Being short and sweet is best for the Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions - don't be too conversational, though, or readers won't take you seriously.
- Check your competitors' Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions before you start creating your own. Drafting of any legal document is easier if you have read one and had the opportunity to study it. Some things to look for as you go through your competitors' documents include formatting, specific clauses, and language choice.
