How To Write Terms & Conditions For Your Website

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If you’re operating online – or if your business has a website – you will need some terms and conditions to govern how people use the website. These are commonly referred to as Website Terms & Conditions.

You’ll need Website Terms & Conditions regardless of whether you’re actually operating an online store. For instance, you might have a website on the history of bushrangers, which only contains information and doesn’t have goods or services a customer can purchase. Alternatively, you might have a clothing store. In all of these cases, you still need Website Terms & Conditions.

Website Terms and Conditions can be a relatively short document, but it’s important to have it to limit your liability and lay out how users access your site.

What To Include In Website Terms & Conditions

Website Terms & Conditions will typically be customised to suit the unique needs of your business and your website. However, below are some general things you should include in your Website Terms & Conditions.

Intellectual Property

An intellectual property clause protects the content on your website by stating how people can use it. For instance, you might specify that users can use the information on your website for personal use, but not for commercial use.

Liability

What if your website has information on it that someone uses to their detriment? Let’s say, for example, that your website contains a step-by-step guide on how to pick wild mushrooms and someone relies on this information and picks poisonous mushrooms. A liability clause attempts to limit your liability as much as possible under New Zealand law.

External Links

Often, your website will include links to third-party websites, with information you of course can’t control. You should have a section in your Website Terms & Conditions that states you don’t endorse the information on the third-party links, aren’t responsible for keeping these links current, and aren’t liable for information on these links.

Privacy

Your website should also have a Privacy Policy; and you can use your Website Terms & Conditions to direct the user to this Privacy Policy.

Updates

This section of your Website Terms & Conditions alerts the user that you can change your website and update your Terms & Conditions anytime you like. By using your website, the user is agreeing to these website terms and conditions.

Jurisdiction

As it is the world wide web, you could have users from anywhere! This section of your Website Terms & Conditions states that New Zealand law governs these website terms and conditions.

The Takeaway

You can’t control how people use the information on your website, but you can try and limit your liability as much as possible.

Regardless of the type of business you run, a set of Website Terms and Conditions will be useful to protect how users use your website. Contact Sprintlaw on 0800 002 184 or by email at team@sprintlaw.co.nz for some expert advice! We’re available any time for a free consultation.

Justine Wu

Justine is a legal consultant at Sprintlaw. She has experience in civil law and human rights law with a double degree in law and media production. Justine has an interest in intellectual property and employment law.

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