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If your business has a website, you will need to write terms and conditions of use for visitors. These set out the legal rights and obligations between you and the users of your website.

Your website terms and conditions should cover:

• ownership and copyright of the website's content
• acceptable and unacceptable use of the website and content
• registration, password and security procedures
• availability of the website
• use of cookies
• links to other websites
• liability disclaimers and limitations - see also sample website disclaimer

You can use our template below to create website terms of use, or download our sample terms and conditions of website use document (DOC, 25K).

UK website terms and conditions template

Welcome to our website. If you continue to browse and use this website, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our privacy policy govern [business name]'s relationship with you in relation to this website. If you disagree with any part of these terms and conditions, please do not use our website.

The term '[business name]' or 'us' or 'we' refers to the owner of the website whose registered office is [address]. Our company registration number is [company registration number and place of registration]. The term 'you' refers to the user or viewer of our website.

The use of this website is subject to the following terms of use:

• The content of the pages of this website is for your general information and use only. It is subject to change without notice.
• This website uses cookies to monitor browsing preferences. If you do allow cookies to be used, the following personal information may be stored by us for use by third parties: [insert list of information].
• Neither we nor any third parties provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, timeliness, performance, completeness or suitability of the information and materials found or offered on this website for any particular purpose. You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and we expressly exclude liability for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law.
• Your use of any information or materials on this website is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable. It shall be your own responsibility to ensure that any products, services or information available through this website meet your specific requirements.
• This website contains material which is owned by or licensed to us. This material includes, but is not limited to, the design, layout, look, appearance and graphics. Reproduction is prohibited other than in accordance with the copyright notice, which forms part of these terms and conditions.
• All trade marks reproduced in this website which are not the property of, or licensed to, the operator are acknowledged on the website.
• Unauthorised use of this website may give rise to a claim for damages and/or be a criminal offence.
• From time to time this website may also include links to other websites. These links are provided for your convenience to provide further information. They do not signify that we endorse the website(s). We have no responsibility for the content of the linked website(s).
• Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use of the website is subject to the laws of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

See also business websites: legal requirements.

A privacy notice (also sometimes referred to as a privacy policy) is a key document which you must have if you collect, use or process personal data.

You must provide this document:

• to inform people how you collect, process and use their personal data
• typically at the point of data collection
• in plain and clear language, accessible format, and free of charge

The law sets out the specific information you must supply to individuals and when.

How to write a compliant privacy notice?

If you collect personal data from the individuals themselves, you must include the following in your privacy notice at the time you obtain the data:

• the data controller's identity and contact details
• details of your data protection officer (if you are required to have one)
• the purpose and legal basis for data processing
• where the legal basis for processing is legitimate interest, what that interest is
• where the legal basis is consent, the right to withdraw consent at any time
• the existence of individual's rights (known as data subject rights)
• with whom you will share personal data (named parties or categories of recipients)
• whether you plan to transfer data to third countries and what safeguards will exist
• how long you will keep the personal data for (or details of your retention criteria)
• the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office
• if there is a statutory or contractual requirement for the data subject to provide personal data, and if so, the consequences of failing to provide data
• if you intend to carry out any automated decision-making (eg profiling), how you will make these decisions, their significance and possible consequences

In addition to the above, if you collect data from a third party (ie from a source other than the data subject), you must also include in the privacy notice:

• categories of personal data concerned
• the source of data (and whether it came from publicly available sources

Your privacy notice will usually sit on your website. You should link to it when asking people to eg subscribe to your newsletter, register with your service or provide you any personal information in any other way.

Example format for a data protection-compliant privacy notice

A template document is unlikely to describe your business' exact practices around privacy and data processing. However, you can use our sample privacy notice document below to structure your privacy information in a way that addresses the key data protection requirements.

It is essential that you customise the document to fit the specific circumstances of your business and the type of data processing that you do.

Download sample privacy notice document (DOC, 19K).

Important

Please note that this sample privacy notice is intended for business use only. It excludes certain provisions of the data protection law relating to public authorities and other official bodies.

In addition, we reserve the right to review and update this sample document at any point to reflect emerging best practice and case law around data protection.

A website disclaimer states the limitations of your liability for the use of your website and the information it contains.

You can use our template below to create a disclaimer for website, or download our sample website disclaimer (DOC, 23K).

Website disclaimer sample

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by [business name] and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.

Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of [business name]. We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.

Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, [business name] takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.

Read also about business websites: legal requirements.

A copyright statement sets out the copyright position of your website content - for example, if you allow visitors to download or distribute the material.

Use our template below to create a copyright statement for a website, or download our sample internet copyright notice (DOC, 23K).

UK copyright statement template

This website and its content are copyright of [business name] - © [business name] [year]. All rights reserved.

Any redistribution or reproduction of part or all of the contents in any form is prohibited other than the following:

• you may print or download to a local hard disk extracts for your personal and non-commercial use only
• you may copy the content to individual third parties for their personal use, but only if you acknowledge the website as the source of the material

You may not, except with our express written permission, distribute or commercially exploit the content. Nor may you transmit it or store it in any other website or other form of electronic retrieval system.

Find out more about copyright for your business and managing your copyright.

An email disclaimer may appear at the foot of all business' emails. Use our template below to create an email disclaimer for your business, or download our sample business email disclaimer (DOC, 22K).

Remember that, by UK law, private or public limited companies must also include in any email correspondence their:

• registered company name
• registration number
• country of registration
• registered office address

Read also about business websites: legal requirements.

Business email disclaimer template

This email and any attachments to it may be confidential and are intended solely for the use of the individual to whom it is addressed. Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of [business name].

If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you must neither take any action based upon its contents, nor copy or show it to anyone.

Please contact the sender if you believe you have received this email in error.

Acceptable internet use policy sets out your employees' responsibilities when using company internet access in their day-to-day working activities. To modify the sample below for your business, download our sample internet acceptable use policy (DOC, 29K).

Acceptable internet use policy - sample template

Use of the internet by employees of [business name] is permitted and encouraged where such use 91Ï㽶»ÆÉ«ÊÓƵs the goals and objectives of the business.

However, [business name] has a policy for the use of the internet whereby employees must ensure that they:

• comply with current legislation
• use the internet in an acceptable way
• do not create unnecessary business risk to the company by their misuse of the internet

Unacceptable behaviour

In particular, the following is deemed unacceptable use or behaviour by employees:

• visiting internet sites that contain obscene, hateful, pornographic or otherwise illegal material
• using the computer to perpetrate any form of fraud, or software, film or music piracy
• using the internet to send offensive or harassing material to other users
• downloading commercial software or any copyrighted materials belonging to third parties, unless this download is covered or permitted under a commercial agreement or other such licence
• hacking into unauthorised areas
• publishing defamatory and/or knowingly false material about [business name], your colleagues and/or our customers on social networking sites, 'blogs' (online journals), 'wikis' and any online publishing format
• revealing confidential information about [business name] in a personal online posting, upload or transmission - including financial information and information relating to our customers, business plans, policies, staff and/or internal discussions
• undertaking deliberate activities that waste staff effort or networked resources
• introducing any form of malicious software into the corporate network

Company-owned information held on third-party websites

If you produce, collect and/or process business-related information in the course of your work, the information remains the property of [business name]. This includes such information stored on third-party websites such as webmail service providers and social networking sites, such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

Monitoring

[business name] accepts that the use of the internet is a valuable business tool. However, misuse of this facility can have a negative impact upon employee productivity and the reputation of the business.

In addition, all of the company's internet-related resources are provided for business purposes. Therefore, the company maintains the right to monitor the volume of internet and network traffic, together with the internet sites visited. The specific content of any transactions will not be monitored unless there is a suspicion of improper use.

Sanctions

Where it is believed that an employee has failed to comply with this policy, they will face the company's disciplinary procedure. If the employee is found to have breached the policy, they will face a disciplinary penalty ranging from a verbal warning to dismissal. The actual penalty applied will depend on factors such as the seriousness of the breach and the employee's disciplinary record. [These procedures will be specific to your business. They should reflect your normal operational and disciplinary processes. You should establish them from the outset and include them in your acceptable use policy.]

Agreement

All company employees, contractors or temporary staff who have been granted the right to use the company's internet access are required to sign this agreement confirming their understanding and acceptance of this policy.

You should also consider developing a social media policy for your staff - see managing social media in the workplace and learn how to increase cyber security in your workplace.

An email acceptable use policy sets out your employees' responsibilities when using email in their day-to-day work.

Use our template below to create a company email policy document for your business, or download our sample business acceptable email use policy (DOC, 26K).

Acceptable email use policy template

Use of email by employees of [business name] is permitted and encouraged where such use 91Ï㽶»ÆÉ«ÊÓƵs the goals and objectives of the business.

However, [business name] has a policy for the use of email whereby the employee must ensure that they:

• comply with current legislation
• use email in an acceptable way
• do not create unnecessary business risk to the company by their misuse of the internet

Unacceptable behaviour

The following behaviour by an employee is considered unacceptable:

• use of company communications systems to set up personal businesses or send chain letters
• forwarding of company confidential messages to external locations
• distributing, disseminating or storing images, text or materials that might be considered indecent, pornographic, obscene or illegal
• distributing, disseminating or storing images, text or materials that might be considered discriminatory, offensive or abusive, in that the context is a personal attack, sexist or racist, or might be considered harassment
• accessing copyrighted information in a way that violates the copyright
• breaking into the company's or another organisation's system or unauthorised use of a password/mailbox
• broadcasting unsolicited personal views on social, political, religious or other non-business related matters
• transmitting unsolicited commercial or advertising material
• undertaking deliberate activities that waste staff effort or networked resources
• introducing any form of computer virus or malware into the corporate network

Monitoring

[business name] accepts that the use of email is a valuable business tool. However, misuse of this facility can have a negative impact upon employee productivity and the reputation of the business.

In addition, all of the company's email resources are provided for business purposes. Therefore, the company maintains the right to examine any systems and inspect any data recorded in those systems.

In order to ensure compliance with this policy, the company also reserves the right to use monitoring software in order to check upon the use and content of emails. Such monitoring is for legitimate purposes only and will be undertaken in accordance with a procedure agreed with employees.

Sanctions

Where it is believed that an employee has failed to comply with this policy, they will face the company's disciplinary procedure. If the employee is found to have breached the policy, they will face a disciplinary penalty ranging from a verbal warning to dismissal. The actual penalty applied will depend on factors such as the seriousness of the breach and the employee's disciplinary record. [These procedures will be specific to your business. They should reflect your normal operational and disciplinary processes. You should establish them from the outset and include them in your acceptable use policy.]

Agreement

All company employees, contractors or temporary staff who have been granted the right to use the company's email services are required to sign this agreement confirming their understanding and acceptance of this policy.