What Is A Website Terms Of Use?

Date First Published: 4th September 2022

Topic: Web Design & Development

Subtopic: Web Development

Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty Level: 3/10

Learn more about what a website terms of use is in this article.

A website terms of use, also known as a terms of service, terms and conditions, or a ToS, is a legal document that contains the rules, regulations, and liability disclaimers of a website that apply to all visitors. Before using a website, visitors must agree to the terms of use, although a terms of use is often a boring legal document that only lawyers read, so it is likely that most visitors have never read them. When signing up for an account, almost all websites include a statement that says something like 'By signing up, you agree to the terms of use and privacy policy', or they may contain a tick box that users must tick to sign up.

Sections Of Terms Of Use Documents

The terms of use document is usually made up of these sections:

Agreement to terms

This is an introduction section that outlines the company and information about agreeing to the terms. It may state that the terms of use constitute a legally binding agreement and they must discontinue use if they do not agree with all the terms.

Acceptable use

The acceptable use section contains information about allowed and prohibited activities by users. When accepting the terms of use, users must agree not to do anything that is against the acceptable use policy.

Intellectual property

The intellectual property section contains copyright information, such as whether users are allowed to republish, copy, or sell the website content, such as the text, images and videos elsewhere.

Limitation of liability

This is a disclaimer stating what the owner of the website cannot be held liable before (e.g. links from third-party sites, errors and offensive postings from user-generated content). If a website allows users to post content or has external links that take users to other websites, the terms of use should contain a statement, limiting their liability for the content.

Cookies

This section contains information about how the website uses cookies, what they track, how to opt out, and more. Most websites have a separate page for information about cookies, called a cookie policy.

Privacy Policy

Most websites have a separate page for a privacy policy due to its size. This section may just contain a link to the privacy policy.

Types Of Terms Of Use Documents

Terms of use documents come in two types, including:

• Browsewrap agreement - One that has the terms on the website and can be found by clicking on a hyperlink. Clicking on the hyperlink will jump to another page with the terms of use. In order to access the terms of use, it is necessary for the user to click on the hyperlink and open a separate page. Most websites use a browsewrap agreement.
• Clickwrap agreement - This ensures that the user has seen the terms of use. They must scroll down and tick the box to say that they agree, although it is still possible for them to quickly scroll down and accept it without looking. The terms of use are actively placed in front of the user and do not require them to click on a hyperlink to a separate page. When in the process of installing a software program and it asks users to read the licence agreement, that is an example of a clickwrap agreement.

Does A Website Need A Terms Of Use?

A terms of use is not legally required for a website. However, it is recommended to have a terms of use, especially if it is a website that allows users to create accounts and post content. Almost all web-based businesses have a terms of use page and with one, the intellectual property and copyright information, appropriate user behaviour, and the handling of legal disputes are outlined. In the event of a dispute or copyright claim, they can help.

For some types of websites, such as ecommerce websites, the terms of use document contains legally required information, such as user rights, withdrawal disclosure, payment disclosure, shipping disclosure, cancellation disclosure, and more.

How To Generate A Terms Of Use Document?

A terms of use is often a very long document. It is much easier to generate one and customise it than to write one from scratch. Termsandconditionsgenerator.com is a fast and free terms of use generator that generates a terms of use document. All you have to do is enter relevant details about your website and it will generate a document with those details in it.