What Do You Need to Legally Put on Your Website?

business online business website Feb 18, 2020

It’s difficult these days for modern businesses to succeed without having a website. Even if you’re not planning on selling products on your business’s website, there’s still certain legal requirements you need to meet. 

In this article, we’ll cover all the things you need to include on your website to ensure that you’re complying with the law.

1. The right details

First things first, you need to make sure the information you publish on your website is accurate. The same laws relating to false and misleading advertising also apply online, meaning that you can face serious penalties if you make any false claims about your business. Further, you should make sure that any details you publish about your company online are accurate, such as your ABN, company name, or office address.

2. Terms and conditions of use

As the operator of your website, you have the right to determine who can access and use your site. Most businesses consolidate their terms of use and terms and conditions into one document. Your terms of use will outline the rules for using your website and can include terms such as how you will moderate offensive content and respond to users who breach your terms of use. Your terms and conditions should include information such as your returns and exchanges policy and payment terms.

3. Privacy policy

Have you ever visited a website and noticed a pop-up box appear that asks you to agree to the site’s privacy policy? Although privacy policies have only become commonplace in recent years, there’s a good reason why. The protection of consumer data online has become a priority for many governments, leading to new laws surrounding how businesses can collect and use customer information online. Privacy policies inform visitors to a website about how their information will be collected and stored and who this information may be provided to. In Australia, businesses with a turnover of more than $3 million are legally required to have a privacy policy. Yet even if your business is smaller, you should still have a privacy policy to give your customers peace of mind and ensure that you’re complying with international laws.

4. Copyright notice and disclaimer

You’re not legally required to display a copyright notice on your website, but it’s in your best interests to do so. The content you post on your site forms part of your business’s intellectual property, which means it is worth protecting from misuse or infringement. Placing a short notice on the footer of your website asserting your copyright will inform users that you take infringement of your content seriously.

 

It’s also wise to have a disclaimer on your website, which will notify users that you cannot be held legally responsible for the content on your website. This is particularly important if your business has a blog or posts other advisory content.

Conclusion

A website is one of the most important assets your business has. Even if you don’t sell your services or products online, your website will play a key role in how you market your business and provide information to customers. In this sense, it’s important to not only with the law, but also to legally protect your business - and having the right documents is the best start.


About us:

Lawpath is Australia’s leading provider of online legal services for businesses and individuals, providing technology powered legal solutions at a fraction of the time, cost and complexity of the traditional system.

Author: Jackie Olling  - Senior Content Marketing Manager