Terms of Service for Your Web Site

I cannot stress enough the need for a professionally written Terms of Service (TOS) for every web site! The TOS is a contract with your web site’s visitors for the use of your web site. A professionally written TOS can limit your liability greatly, and create advantages for you in a legal battle with a visitor.

In most cases, a good TOS will stop a legal battle before it begins because the user will find you have created a situation that will keep them from winning their case.

Terms of Service Problems Web Site Owners Create for Themselves: Many site owners have simply copied someone else’s privacy policy and are unaware of what they say, or the responsibilities the site owner has agreed to comply with. This is a very dangerous practice. Especially when the person you copied it from likely copied it from someone else’s website.

  1. Web site owners are bound by what their TOS states. As I stated above, the TOS is a contract. If you merely use a TOS you copied from another site, you may be unaware of liabilities you are creating for yourself, and you will not be aware of your obligations to your visitors. You could be in breach of contract with you visitors without even knowing it, and that breach could cost you many thousands of dollars.
  2. Laws regarding Terms of Service often change, and without continually updating your TOS, what was once a sound document two years ago is now outdated and potentially dangerous to your legal health.

Whenever I write documents for a client, I go through them with the client section by section so that they will understand exactly what their obligations are to the customer, as well as what the visitor’s obligations are to you.

There is no charge for an initial consultation and it is covered by attorney/client privilege.