Websites are usually set up to provide information about your business to potential clients. One of the reasons your business needs a website is that it is a great channel for marketing your brand, the products you sell and the services you offer. Usually, you should put up content that are educative, informative and point potential customers to what your business has to offer them. You can do this by sharing content like videos, articles, photos and more.
Asides from the regular content you put up on your website, you need to pay attention to building content for your website’s legal pages.
These pages are standard pages that should be visible to anyone who visits your website. They help users understand the laws guiding their use of your website and the laws binding your website content.
Some examples are disclaimers, terms and conditions, privacy policies, cookie policies, trademarks and more.
This article will explore 6 essential legal pages for blogs and basic tips for writing them.
1. Privacy Policy
A privacy policy is a legal statement that tells your website’s visitors what information you need from them, what you intend to do with it and your plans for protecting such information. This promotes transparency in dealing with your already existing or potential customers and consequently heightens their trust in you.
In writing a privacy policy, you need to be clear about what information you need from your users. You should make them understand why you are collecting such information and what you will use the information for. In addition, it is essential that you explain the accessibility of the information collected to third parties. That way, they can decide whether or not they are willing to let out such information. Your users also need to know how they will be contacted if there are any changes made to your privacy policy in the future.
Another thing your privacy policy should contain is how you would protect users’ information in this age where cyber criminals can easily access unprotected information. Finally, your privacy policy should provide a link to your terms and conditions agreement.
2. Terms and Conditions
This is an important legal page your website should have. The terms and conditions agreement is like a contract between you and your customers to regulate their activities on your platform. Usually, a terms and conditions agreement provides rules and regulations for the use of a website. Every user is expected to read the privacy policy before using the website and its contents. If a user goes against the intention of the business, he or she would have to bear whatever consequences come with it. Usually, the terms and conditions agreement should contain a link to the privacy policy for emphasis sake.
In writing a terms and conditions agreement, it is important to first introduce the agreement briefly. Let your users know what it is all about. Next, indicate the date the agreement became effective. If there are any updates, change the date or let the user know that some changes have been made. You should also indicate the country or state where the law is binding. There are other types of information you can include in your agreement. Examples of these are restrictions to users’ activities on your website and conditions that would warrant closing users’ accounts. The link to the agreement should be at the base of your website. If people have to register or subscribe to your website or services, the form should also contain a link to the agreement.
3. Disclaimers
A disclaimer is simply a statement on your website that reduces the liability you can incur due to peoples’ use of your website. A disclaimer would be particularly important if you have a site that collects data or content from users. You may also need it if you use a lot of external links. Disclaimers are not absolute escape routes from legal actions, but they at least protect you from serious legal issues. If a visitor to your site pays attention to disclaimers, they understand the risks attached to using your website.
The major focus of disclaimers should be your content. That is because a disclaimer helps to protect your intellectual property rights such that others cannot use your content without your permission.
When writing a disclaimer, you need to spell out the rights you want to protect, for instance rights over your creative expressions like articles, videos, music, etc. Another point to note is that whether you sell tangible or intangible products or offer services, you must ensure that you issue a statement that limits the liability in your disclaimer.
Sometimes, a third party may be involved in your business. It is important to clearly state that you are not liable for their failures or misbehavior whatsoever.
You should also include links to your terms and conditions agreement and privacy policy. Having those two spread across your website’s legal pages gives room for emphasis. It is also essential that you provide your contact details so that customers can reach you in case they have any questions. Finally, ensure that your disclaimer is conspicuously positioned on your website.
4. Comment Policy
A comment Policy is s statement about how you handle comments on your website. It tells what kinds of comments are acceptable from users. While a comment policy can be a part of your terms and conditions agreement, it is more advisable to create a separate page for it. The reason is that it can be easily skimmed over when it is a part of the broader terms and conditions agreement.
In structuring your comment policy, you should state what kinds of comments you will accept and which ones you will delete. The reasons for these choices should also be spelt out. It is also crucial to note that your acceptance or rejection of comments should not be based on religious, gender or racial biases. If you are not sure about what other factors may constitute bias, seek legal counsel. In addition, your comment policy should let users know on whose discretion you will accept or delete comments. You should also specify if users can make an appeal for deleted comments.
5. Copyright Notice
A notice of copyright usually tells users that you own the content on your website and that they can only use such content with your permission. That way, users can be stay away from using your intellectual works in illegal ways. In writing a copyright notice, it is advisable to be explicit by stating how users can use the content and how they cannot. If there are content they can freely use without your permission, you should also state that clearly. But in all, ensure to state that users must give you credit for whatever content they use from your website. A copyright notice should contain the copyright symbol, the year you created the website and the name of the copyright holder.
6. Refund Policy
A refund or return policy tells customers if your business gives room for customers to return items bought. It also lets them know if you will make refunds for goods or services that consumers find unsatisfactory.
Being transparent and clear about your refund policies helps you gain customers trust because it eliminates any ambiguities in their minds. This could boost sales, as customers would most likely buy items that have refund policies than those that do not. Customers can make their purchase decisions with a clear understanding of what they are getting into.
Refund policies also protect you in cases where a customer may want to bring up legal issues when not satisfied with your products or services. In some cases, the refund policy can be a part of your terms and conditions page. Nevertheless, it is better to have it on a separate page where users can locate it with ease.
When drafting your refund policy, clearly state whether or not your company allows returns, refunds or exchanges. You should indicate the number of days customers have to return products. It could be from the date of purchase or any other date you choose. If there are some of your products or services that give room for refunds and others that do not, list them. It is also essential to clearly indicate all conditions that qualify customers for refunds.
Conclusion
This article has shown you 6 important legal pages for blogs that your website should have and how you can go about writing them. Remember that whatever kind of legal page you are writing, keep your language simple and clear. In addition, ensure that you adequately incorporate all necessary information for the different pages. Well-written and detailed website legal pages help to protect you and your business. Which of these legal pages for blogs do you already have? Which of them do you need to work on building? If you need further help with writing website legal pages, you can reach out to us HERE. We would be glad to help.
