Curious about Terms of Service, what they are and what they should include? Looking for a Terms of Service template? You’re in the right place!
A Terms of Service Agreement is a crucial legal document that allows you to set rules that users must follow when using your site or mobile app.
👀 In this article, we cover everything from how important this document is, the information to include, where to display it + a free Terms of Service template. Let’s dive in.
A Terms of Service agreement, often called Terms and Conditions (T&C) or End User License Agreement (EULA), is a contract between you (the service provider) and your users. This key document allows you to set the rules for how people can interact with your website, app, or service. For example, you can outline the right way to use copyrighted content, spell out the steps for suspending or ending a user account, and even the delivery times, returns, etc., if you run an e-commerce site.
🌟 Fun Fact: Terms of Service, Terms and Conditions, and User Agreements all usually mean the same thing.
Even if the law doesn’t always say you must have Terms of Service, it’s a really good idea to include one on your website. Here’s why:
💡 Fun Fact: Did you know that no matter what your website is about—whether you’re selling physical items or not—you should really have a professional Terms of Service? Terms of Service let you set your own rules, protect your ideas, and even limit your responsibilities if something goes wrong.
Basic templates are often not enough to protect your business and intellectual property.
Terms of Service are legally binding documents, so making sure they are customizable and professional is important.
Easily set things like law of governance, disclaimers, limitations of liability and more here 👇
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Terms of Service could serve as a shield to limit your liability. They can help you avoid some costly problems, like being held responsible for misuse of your products or if your website has a malfunction. These terms make sure you’re not on the hook for things that aren’t totally under your control.
Think of your Terms of Service as a shield against unauthorized actions or behaviours. Here’s how:
Think of this part as being totally upfront with your users.
🔍 Wanna dive deeper? Find out about limitation of liability clauses →
In addition to having your Terms of Service accessible from your website’s footer at any time, it’s a good idea to show your Terms of Service to users in critical moments (like when they’re signing up, commenting, or making payments). This way, they can read and agree to them.
In short, your Terms of Service should cover:
While each Terms of Service agreement will be different based on your unique business situation, there are some common elements. At a minimum, your ToS agreement should include:
🌟 Note: Keep your Terms of Service up to date with relevant laws and tailored to your specific business needs, it is crucial to ensure the document aligns with your unique business operations, structure, and is continuously updated. Learn how to do this here.
A generic Terms of Service (ToS) policy is like a ready-made outline. It’s a general starting point that covers some of the usual things you find in basic Terms documents. However, generic templates aren’t created for any particular business type, product, or service. So, so it’s important to deeply review it for missing clauses or information that might not apply to your business.
You’ll also need to correctly fill in the missing information, and customize the document to legitimately apply to your specific service and business needs. If using a generic terms of service policy, it’s highly recommended that you hire a legal professional to help you modify and review the document to make sure it’s legally accurate.
💡 Remember, the whole point of terms or service is to give your business a protective shield against potential issues – including legal ones.
You do have the option to write your own Terms of Service document, but keep in mind that this process demands a solid background of legal language, principles, and the relevant laws. It can be complex and time-consuming as you try to create a document that suits your specific business activities. If you’re not familiar with legal matters, there’s a risk of missing important legal protections or not complying with laws and regulations.
Using a standard terms of service template might be an attractive option because of cost-effectiveness. However, once you start using them, you’ll soon realise that they’re not tailored to your specific business needs. As a result, specific legal concerns may be overlooked and they may not always be up to date with the latest laws and regulations. In the end, you might need to invest considerable effort in legal work and adding more details from your side.
Hiring a legal expert is, of course, the safest choice when it comes to drafting your Terms of Service document. This guarantees that your document agreement is thorough and maintains a level of legal precision and professionalism that can offer optimal protection for your interests. However, this route can also be quite expensive, as you have to go back every time a regulation or law changes, or even if you just want to add or change something.
👉 A balanced solution (and the one we suggest! ✅) is to use a professional Terms of Service Generator. This approach is both cost-effective and convenient. It generates a customized online agreement based on the information you provide. You can then easily add it to your website. iubenda’s Generator has been developed by legal experts and contain a wide range of clauses that allow you to easily customize your document. They ensure that the content is legally compliant and allow you to make any necessary changes at any time.
In addition to having your Terms of Service accessible from your website’s footer at any time, it’s a good idea to show your Terms of Service to users in critical moments (like when they’re signing up, commenting, or making payments). This way, they can read and agree to them.
There are typical situations where users should see the Terms of Service:
💡 To make sure users understand and accept your Terms, you can use a method called clickwrap, it’s the most common way to do this.
To provide you with a clearer view of what a Terms of Service (ToS) document might look like, we’ll explore real-world ToS examples from well-known brands.
Please note that these examples offer insights into how different brands structure their ToS documents. While they provide guidance, remember that your specific terms of service and policies should match your business offerings, industry regulations, and legal requirements.
Here, we’ve selected a few prime examples of websites that have effectively implemented terms of service using the iubenda generator:
Here, you can see how Linkbuilder displays the terms of service in full screen when users click on the button at the bottom of the page:
Click on the button to see the live example:
Terms of Service Example LinkbuilderIn contrast, iubenda shows their terms and conditions in a pop-up window after users click on the button at the foot of the page:
Click on the button to see the live example:
Terms of Service Example iubendaHere’s a basic Terms of Service template you can use as a starting point for your own document. Remember, this is just supposed to give you an idea of the structure of the document.
A generic Terms of Service template could not be enough for protecting your business. This means you’d have to add a lot of legal information to make it compliant and specific to your situation.
👉 Too complicated? We recommend using a professional solution: jump to this section to learn more.
The entity operating this website/application is [Your Business]. Our primary business location is at [Your Business Address]. Reach out to us through the contact form on our website, emailing [Your Business Email], or by telephone on [Your Business Phone Number].
[Your Business] provides [Description of the services your site/app provides].
[Here you should include any statements that restrict your liability. As these documents carry legal implications, we recommend using a professional solution.] The Owner does not assume responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages that may arise from the use of its services or website content.
[Please include any guidelines for user accounts and your website. This section may cover content restrictions. Refer to the provided sample text ->] Posting or transmitting any illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, sexually explicit, discriminatory, or objectionable material of any kind on the [Your Business] site or service is strictly forbidden. This also encompasses material that promotes criminal activities, triggers legal liability, or infringes upon local, state, national, or international laws.
[[If you sell products or services, it is essential to outline policies about pricing, payments, and cancellation. This sample text should be adapted to suit your specific situation and to comply with your country’s regulations. It is highly recommended to seek advice from a legal professional or to use a professionally-designed generator.]
Buyers must be at least [age limit] years old. We maintain the right to decline service to anyone, anytime, without needing to provide a reason. Our services are not available where prohibited by law.
Once an order is placed, a confirmation email is sent to customers outlining the ordered products and the total cost. [Your Business] reserves the right to cancel an order prior to dispatch under any unexpected circumstances.
Accepted payment methods include: [e.g. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and PayPal].
All prices can be changed without prior notice and do not include any potential taxes.
The [products/services] purchased from [Your Business] are expected to be [e.g. dispatched within three business days of the order and delivered within 5-7 business days]. We deliver to [e.g. all states in the U.S.].
Customers can cancel their orders within [e.g. 24 hours] of placement, given the order hasn’t been dispatched yet. To cancel an order, customers need to [e.g. navigate to the dedicated section on their account and request cancellation].
[In case you sell products or services through your website, you’ll need to incorporate information regarding warranty rights, as mandated by the consumer laws of certain countries.]
Each and every product provided by [Your Business] is accompanied by a customary warranty period of [e.g. 12-month] , which covers against any faulty aspects pertaining to [e.g. material, workmanship]. It should be noted that this warranty is not applicable to situations such as [enumerate all relevant cases, e.g. improper usage, unauthorized modifications, or occurrences of natural phenomena].
[If you sell products or services on your site, you’ll also need to include details on withdrawal rights which is legally required under some conties’ consumer laws]
Customers have the right to withdraw from the contract within [duration e.g. 14 days] without giving any reason. The withdrawal period will expire after [duration e.g. 14 days] from the day on which the customer acquires, or a third party other than [e.g. the carrier] and indicated by the customer acquires, [e.g. “physical possession of the goods”].
The [products/services] we offer must be used iaccording to the provided instructions and guidelines. Not doing so may lead to [e.g. “injury”, “Always ensure that the product is assembled correctly before use and keep out of reach of children”].
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By engaging with [Your Business] website/application, you consent to these Terms of Service. Continued use of the website/application post any changes implies your acceptance to be legally bound by these updated and/or revised terms.
Last updated on: ________
This is a general and basic Terms of Service template and must be customized to fit your specific circumstances and requirements. As mentioned, because these are legally binding documents, we highly recommend consulting with legal professionals or using a generator created by legal professionals to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Having a well-crafted ToS document is great, but it won’t be helpful if no one can find it!
You must ensure that users can easily access it whenever they need.
This means you should place it in a noticeable spot on your website:
Before deciding to use a terms of service template, here are a few considerations to make.
Your document should always be up-to-date with the various privacy laws and in its contents in general. It should also match your specific business processes and model.
Start by going through each of the following areas and their questions:
You should make sure to incorporate all the essential clauses required to limit potential liabilities and regularly revise the document whenever something changes (whether it’s the law, or some of your business processes).
💡It’s essential to have well-crafted Terms of Service. The opposite could not serve its purpose and at worst, potentially bring legal complications.
It is strongly recommended to use a high-quality generator for building a legally-biding document.
Naturally, having a personal lawyer prepare and revise your documents is an even better (but costly!) option. A quality generator with text written by legal professionals is the next best thing!
Don’t just take our word for it! See it in action 🎥 ⬇️
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