Why clear website terms of use are essential for your business
Terms of use govern how visitors may use your site and your content, and they are not the same thing as your sales terms. They set out what can be copied, what is prohibited, what you are responsible for and what you are not. They also do not work alone, as a proper website legal stack is terms of use, a privacy notice and a cookie policy that agree with each other.
Terms copied from another site typically describe a different business, and where they promise more than you deliver they create obligations rather than protection.
Terms of use are the contract between you and the people using your website.
Typical requirements include:
- ownership of your content and what visitors may do with it;
- acceptable use and prohibited activities;
- user accounts, registration and suspension;
- user-generated content, moderation and takedown;
- liability and disclaimers appropriate to what the site actually does; and
- linking the terms correctly to your privacy notice, cookie policy and sales terms.
We draft terms built around your site rather than a generic template, and make sure the documents in the stack are consistent, since a privacy notice that contradicts your cookie banner is one of the most commonly spotted problems.
For a full review of everything the site says and displays, see Website Audits.
Our Approach
Legal advice that makes running and growing your business easier.
We start with your business, not the law.
Before we open a document, we want to understand what you are trying to do commercially. The legal answer is only useful if it serves that.
We get to the point.
You get a clear view of what matters and what does not, in plain English, with the real risks separated from the noise.
We give you an answer.
Not a menu of options and a shrug. We tell you what we would do, why, and where there is a genuine judgment call for you to make.
We stay available.
Whether you work with us on a single project or on a subscription, we are here for the follow-up question. We would always rather you asked.
Ways of working together
Fixed-fee projects
A single, defined piece of work for an agreed fixed fee, communicated before we engage. Reviewing a contract, drafting your terms, handling a negotiation.
No surprises and no hidden fees
Flagship Subscription
Ares Access
Ongoing support on a fixed monthly subscription, for businesses that need commercial legal input regularly rather than as the occasional one-off.
- Dedicated lawyer
- Fixed monthly fees
- Commercial advice on demand
From £500 plus VAT per month
Legal Health Check
Fixed fee of £2,000 plus VAT
Any questions?
Phone: 02382 420035
