Why your new online store needs website terms and conditions

With the compulsory COVID closures forcing retail businesses to close and keeping potential foot traffic away, a business needs an online strategy more than ever to stay successful.

Australian Consumer Law requires you to state your business service standards and have terms and conditions on your website. If you sell or licence goods or services online, a lawyer can help you ensure that they are drafted appropriately for the online environment.

When to get website terms and conditions?

Your business will need online terms and conditions when:

• You run a blog, marketplace, or sell products online;
• You offer online membership, courses, webinars, information or services online;
• You offer paid or free downloads, have an online group, or host meetings online;
• You use third-party providers for shipping, payment, hosting, or marketing. 

How website terms and conditions help you

Website terms and conditions are the agreement that you make with your customers, users, or online visitors when they buy your products or use your services. It sets out the limits of your obligations to them and what they permitted to do. Like any business relationship, it’s better if the terms of engagement are clear. 

A comprehensive terms and conditions document will include clauses that:

• Set out your policy for delivery of goods, returns and refunds;
• Provide clear information about how your delivery and cancellation policies work; 
• Allow you to use your client’s testimonials (written or images) in future for marketing;
• Make it clear that the intellectual property in your digital products, online courses or information is yours and can’t be copied; 
• Set out the standard Australian consumer law and consumer guarantees; and
• Make sure that if the matter does go to a legal tribunal, it will be held in a jurisdiction convenient to you (e.g. Victoria).

Online risks with third parties

You might not realise it, but if your website terms and conditions don’t limit your liability, you are also financially responsible for any harm caused by the actions or errors of third parties.

Third parties in an online business environment are services and organisations who provide the framework for your online store, like hosting, shipping, marketing, and payment - the bricks and mortar of your online business. 

Some risks that customers might get exposed to from third parties when they shop with your online store include:

• Outages from hosting and an interruption in online services;
• Cybercriminals hacking and stealing private information;
• Delays in shipping or lost packages; 
• Payment processors mishandling payment. 

Unless you have website terms and conditions limiting your liability, your business might be held legally responsible for actions and loss caused by third parties beyond your control.  It’s important that your website terms and conditions effectively limit your responsibility. 

Should you get a generic website terms and conditions?

There are services online now that offer generic website terms and conditions for download. However, these documents will unlikely to fit your business model exactly. 

For a very small difference in cost, you can get terms and conditions customised to your business. This small investment is worth it when you consider the risks to you if a court does hold your business responsible for a customer’s loss because a generic website terms and conditions didn’t specifically cover a situation relevant to your business. 

Talking to a lawyer ensures that your website terms and conditions are relevant and adapted to your business. Whether you have an online shop on Instagram, Facebook, Shopify, or any other platform, define your online terms and conditions with the help of an experienced eCommerce lawyer.  Our expert contracts team would be delighted to assist you.

Van Beveren Lawyers Online Store Package $550

Our Online Store Package provides customised terms and conditions for your online business. These are suitable for Australian e-commerce businesses and include;

• online store terms (tick box for purchasers);
• website terms and conditions (general terms for website visitors);
• a privacy policy; and
• a 30min consultation with our e-commerce lawyer.

The documents are personalised for your business and are usually finalised in one week or less your consultation.

About John Van Beveren, Principal Lawyer

John is especially attuned to the needs of small enterprise and startups after running his own educational centres and online businesses for over ten years.

John’s support for local business extends over his many years providing mentoring and legal education to regional business groups, and serving on local government as a councillor.

The focus of his PhD was marketing to promote a state of flow in online environments. He brings this awareness of optimal performance to all his interactions, ensuring that Van Beveren’s offices represent a leading example in legal excellence.