This is a guest post by Lachlan McKnight CEO of LegalVision 
.
Note: The following is not intended to be and should not be interpreted as constituting legal advice.
A website’s terms and conditions govern your relationship with visitors to your website. Even if your website doesn’t sell anything, it’s a good idea to set out what your organisation considers to be the acceptable rules of how users can access and use it.
Website terms and conditions can help ensure that your website (i) has a clear agreement in place for visitors to the website, (ii) limits what visitors to the website are able to do with the information and intellectual property on the website and (iii) minimises the risk of visitors taking legal action against you or your business as a result of their use of your website.
Here are nine of the key terms you should consider including in your website terms and conditions.
1. Ownership details
It is a good idea for your website terms and conditions to specify the URL address of the website and full details of who owns and operates it.
2. Agreement
If a visitor to your website does not agree to your rules then they should not use your website. Your website terms and conditions should state this and explain that if someone does not agree to your terms they should not continue to use your website.
3. Reference to other policies
Your relationship with visitors to your website is governed not only by your website terms and conditions, but also by any other policies of your business that are accessible on your website and which may apply when people use your website. For many businesses this includes a Privacy Policy, as websites often collect personal information about visitors to the website (for example by using cookies).
4. Cookies
Your website may be using cookies to monitor visitors’ browsing preferences, which may allow your business to store their personal information for use by third parties. If this is the case, then visitors to your website should be made aware of this in your website terms and conditions.
5. Limitation of liability
You are not likely to have information about the personal circumstances of visitors to your website or to have control over how they use the information they view on your website. As such, you probably don’t want to be held responsible if they suffer loss as a result of using or relying on any information on your website. From a website owner’s perspective it may be a good idea to consider stating in your terms and conditions that visitors use the website at their own risk. So far as is possible, you should consider expressly excluding liability and requiring website visitors to indemnify you against liability arising out of their use of your website.
6. Third party material
If your website contains third party material that is not owned by the owner/operator of your website then such material should be appropriately acknowledged on your website. Specify in your website terms and conditions that visitors to your website are not permitted to reproduce any such material without the consent of the owner of that material.
If your website contains links to other websites which are not controlled by you then it is a good idea for your website terms and conditions to state that those links are provided for convenience only, and do not constitute a recommendation or endorsement and that visitors to your website acknowledge that they use them at their own risk.
7. Consequences of use
Your website terms and conditions should require visitors to your website to only use your website for lawful purposes and remind visitors to your website that unlawful use of your website could give rise to an offence or claim being made against them.
8. Amendment
Most websites are constantly being updated and the material on them changed. Your website terms and conditions should highlight this and explain to visitors that the content of your website, including the terms and conditions, may change without notice and that their continued use of your website will be deemed acceptance of those changes.
9. Refund Policy
If you sell goods or services through your website, you will need to ensure that you provide a refund policy to your customers. This could be included in the website terms and conditions.
Ensuring that you provide your customers and visitors with a complete and well thought out set of website terms and conditions is important. Perhaps it’s time to take a read of yours today!
About the Author:
Lachlan McKnight is the CEO of LegalVision. For more information visit www.legalvision.com.au .
