Website Terms of Use – why have them?

If you have a website, it’s a good idea to have Website Terms and Conditions, also known as Website Terms of Use.

OK, it’s undeniably going to be the dullest page on your website, but probably one of your most important.

Because your Terms of Use page sets out the rules for using your website.

It sets out the rights and obligations of the users and most importantly limits your potential liability.

While terms and conditions are not required by law, it’s still a smart thing to have them to help protect your website and its users.

Why you need them…

If you’re ever facing a legal battle, a court will look at your website terms of use to determine the contractual terms between you and your user.

If you don’t have any terms of use this makes your legal position a lot more difficult.

There are many reasons why we recommend website terms and conditions:-

To prevent abuses

Terms act as a legally binding contract between you and your users.

They set out the rules and guidelines that your users must agree to and follow in order to use and access your website.

Without them your site is open to abuse by users.

Examples of abusive users can include spamming other users, posting defamatory content, hacking or attempting to infect your website with malware.

To own your content

As the website owner, you’re the owner of your logo, content, possibly even the design of your website, and so on.

Your terms of use allow you to inform users that you are the owner of such content and that the content you own is protected by copyright.

Without such a condition, generally referred to as an intellectual property clause, you are leaving your content open to copying with little legal protection.

Of course, you can pursue a user for breach of copyright without having a specific clause on your website but boy is it easier to pursue the user where it is stated as a clear breach in your website terms of use.

To terminate accounts

Another common clause to consider is the termination clause.

This clause informs users that abusive accounts will be terminated and banned from using your service.

It would not be applicable to every type of website of course.

But if your website has a registration section (i.e. the user must register before using and/or accessing certain sections of your website) then you should consider having a termination clause.

It allows you to disable or ban the abusive users based on the activity of their accounts.

Again, there could be legal consequences for you if you disable or ban a user where you have no contractual basis for doing so.

But not when you have Terms of Use that clearly give you this right.

To limit your liability

This is a big one.

No matter what content you have on your site or the purpose of your site you really need to limit your liability in any and all circumstances.

Terms of use commonly include a warranty disclaimer that tries to limit your liability in cases where errors are found in the content presented on your website.

This kind of clause notifies users that the owner can’t be held responsible for any errors in the content presented, or for the information provided being accurate, complete or suitable for any purpose.

You may also have external links to other websites on your website.

You can choose to limit your liability for the content of other sites that are not under your control.

A disclaimer can also limit your liability where your site has a malware virus which then causes problems for the user.

This is a risk that any website owner faces regardless of the type of website you own.

This risk alone justifies having Terms of Use.

To control the governing law

If your website is operated by a registered business in Ireland but is accessed by users outside of Ireland, which most websites would be, then you need to consider what jurisdiction applies in case of a dispute.

This is covered by a Governing Law clause which clearly sets out the jurisdiction that applies to any disputes arising from use of your website.

The jurisdiction you choose should be your home country or the country in which your business is registered in.

When should you use them…

You should use website terms and conditions:

• to set out the legal rights and obligations between you and users of the website
• when the users of your website will be at least 18 years’ old
• when users of your website will visit the website, download and contribute information in a personal capacity

What’s included in website terms and conditions…

Your website terms and conditions should cover the following:

• acceptable use of the website
• prohibited use of the website
• registration, password and security
• linked websites
• availability of the website
• disclaimers and limitation of liability

While not legally necessary unless your collecting user data, it is wise to have Terms of Use for your website.

Chances are that no one will ever read them, but they will certainly come in handy should any issues arise.

You can use our website terms of use template here

Our step by step guide to setting up your website discusses everything you need to know about setting up your website, including what you need to put in place and how to keep them up to date.

For our suite of website templates visit our website hub