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How to Write Terms and Conditions

Want to learn more about how to write Terms and Conditions? You’re in the right place. In this article, we take a look at what they are, what they should include and how you can create yours easily. Let’s get started!

how to write terms and conditions

What is the meaning of Terms and Conditions?

Here’s a Terms and Conditions definition:

Terms and Conditions – also known as Terms of Service (ToS), Terms of Use, or End User License Agreement (EULA) – allow you to set the way in which your product, service or content may be used, in a legally binding way.

They govern the contractual relationship between you, the provider of a service and your users – essentially, a contract in which you, the owner, clarifies the conditions for using your service or accessing your products.

This article will help you write a basic Terms and Conditions Agreement for a website. If you’d rather create a document tailored to your business, we recommend using our Terms and Conditions Generator.

Terms and Conditions Generator

The easiest way to create your Terms

Protect your business using our Terms and Conditions Generator. Craft a customizable, professional, legally-binding document in minutes.

Clauses like limitations of liability or disclaimers have been pre-written by a legal team 👇

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What should be included in terms and conditions?

For your Terms and Conditions to be effective, they have have to:

  • properly identify yourself and your product/service (users must be able to reach you with questions regarding policies or operations);
  • describe the service that your site provides and how it should be used (to avoid liability: you have no way of knowing all the potential ways in which your product or service might be used or misused); and
  • contain affiliate-specific clauses.

While the full content may vary based on the particulars of your business, Terms and Conditions should at least include these elements:

  • Identification of the business and contact information
  • Description of the service that your site/app provides
  • Information on risk allocation, liability, and disclaimers
  • Warranty/Guarantee information (where applicable)
  • The existence of a withdrawal right (if applicable)
  • Safety information, including instructions for proper use (where applicable)
  • Terms of delivery of product/service (where applicable)
  • Rights of use (if applicable)
  • Conditions of use/purchase (eg. age requirements, location-based restrictions)
  • Refund policy/exchange/termination of service and related info
  • Info related to methods of payment (where applicable)
  • Any additional applicable terms

Should I put terms and conditions on website?

Yes, you should put Terms and Conditions on your website. It is not just common practice but strongly recommended as they serve as a legally-binding contract between you, the website owner, and your users or visitors. It’s an essential agreement for protecting yourself legally and setting out the rights and responsibilities of all parties involved.

Here are several key reasons why Terms of Use are crucial for your website:

  • Limitation of Liability: They help to limit your liability in case issues arise and protect yourself against legal claims and disputes.
  • Copyright and Intellectual Property Protection: A Terms and Conditions Agreement can specify how your website’s content can and cannot be used by users. This is important for protecting your original content from being copied or used without permission.
  • Governing Law: This section specifies the legal jurisdiction under which your website operates, which is crucial in the event of a legal dispute.
  • User Behavior: You can outline what behavior is unacceptable on your website (e.g., no hate speech, no spamming) and the consequences of engaging in such behavior. This helps maintain a safe and respectful environment for all users.
  • Termination Clause: Set out the right to terminate a user’s access to your site if they violate the terms, ensuring you can take action against users who do not follow the rules.

When you find out more on how to write Terms and Conditions, keep in mind that a Terms and Conditions Agreement is by definition a legally-binding document and should always be prepared in accordance with any applicable legal guidelines.

Where to display your Terms of Service Agreement

The best idea is to add them to your site’s footer, so that they are always visible and accessible.

Here’s a working example (created with our Terms and Conditions Generator). Click on the button to open the Terms of Use:

Anyway, please note that in certain cases (an ecommerce, for example), a link in the footer is not enough: to maximize legality, ask your users to agree to your Terms and Conditions.

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More on compliance for websites and apps

This article is a part of our series on compliance for websites and apps. Read also:

👉 4 Reasons Why You Need A Privacy Policy

Use our Terms and Conditions Generator

After reading the steps above, you might be asking yourself how to put this information together.

Given what we’ve seen in our Terms and Conditions definition above, they are essentially the only legally binding agreement between yourself and your users that allow you to set rules specific to your business and protect it from liabilities – we strongly suggest that you don’t attempt to write them yourself.

Instead, we suggest that you either seek the services of a legal professional or use a quality Terms and Conditions Generator – “quality”, meaning one that allows you to fully customize and output clauses based on your businesses’ individual needs.

Here are some key features of our Terms and Conditions Generator:

  • Easily generate and manage Terms of Service that are professional, customizable from over 100 clauses;
  • Available in 14 languages;
  • Drafted by an international legal team;
  • Up-to-date with major international privacy legislations;
  • Powerful, precise, and capable of handling even the most complex, individual scenarios and customization needs;
  • Optimized for everything from ecommerce, blogs, and apps, to complex scenarios like marketplace, SaaS and affiliate marketing programs.

Read more about it here or start generating below.

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