Which terms, privacy and legal pages does a UK small business website need?

Before you start: this is general guidance

This guide gives a general picture of the legal pages UK small business websites commonly have and why. It is not legal advice. Rules change, and what applies depends on what you do, whether you sell online, and whether you are a sole trader, partnership or limited company. Check the official sources named below, and speak to a solicitor or adviser if your situation is unusual or the stakes are high.

A practical point first: copying another business's terms is a poor shortcut. Their terms describe their business, not yours, and copied text can be both inaccurate and someone else's copyright.

Your business details

As a general position, businesses that provide services online are expected to make certain information easy to find. For most small businesses this means:

• Your business name, and your own name if you trade as a sole trader under a business name.
• A geographic address where you can be contacted.
• An email address, so people can contact you directly, not only through a form.
• Your VAT number, if you are VAT registered.
• Details of any trade body or regulator you belong to, where that applies to your work.

Limited companies have additional disclosure rules, which generally include showing the registered company name, company number, the part of the UK where it is registered and the registered office address. The current requirements are explained on gov.uk; search there for company trading disclosures.

Many businesses put these details in the footer of every page and repeat them on the contact page. Sole traders working from home often weigh up privacy here; our guide to websites for sole traders discusses the options.

Privacy notice

If your website collects personal information, for example through an enquiry form, a booking form or a newsletter sign-up, UK data protection law generally requires you to tell people what you do with it. That is usually done in a privacy notice, linked from the footer and near your forms. A typical small business privacy notice covers:

1. Who you are and how to contact you about data.
2. What information you collect, such as names, phone numbers, addresses and job details.
3. Why you use it and the lawful basis you rely on.
4. Who you share it with, for example your website platform, email provider or accounting software.
5. How long you keep it.
6. People's rights, such as access and deletion, and how to complain, including to the ICO.

The Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk has guidance written for small organisations, including on privacy notices and on whether you need to pay the data protection fee. Use it as your starting point rather than a template from an unknown source.

Cookies

If your site uses cookies or similar technology that are not strictly necessary, such as analytics or advertising tags, the rules generally require you to tell visitors and get their consent first. Strictly necessary cookies, such as those that keep a form working, are treated differently. We cover this in detail in our separate guide to cookies and UK GDPR for small business websites, so it is not repeated here.

Terms: which ones, and when

"Terms and conditions" can mean two different things, and small businesses often need only one of them, or neither on the website.

Document	What it covers	Who usually needs it
Website terms of use	How people may use the site and its content	Optional for simple brochure sites; more useful if you publish lots of content or allow user posts
Terms of business or sale	Your agreement with customers: quotes, payment, cancellations, guarantees	Businesses that sell online, take deposits or want clear written terms for jobs
Privacy notice	Personal data you collect	Almost every site with a form
Cookie information	Cookies and tracking used	Sites using non-essential cookies

For trades and service businesses, the terms that really matter are often the ones on your quotes and invoices rather than the website. Publishing them on the site as well helps customers find them and reduces disputes.

Selling to consumers online or at their home

If you sell to consumers at a distance, such as through your website, or agree contracts at the customer's home rather than on your premises, consumer protection rules generally give the customer information rights and, in many cases, a right to cancel within a set period. There are specific rules about what you must tell them before they agree, and exceptions for some situations, such as urgent repairs the customer asked for.

This area is detailed and getting it wrong can mean customers are entitled to cancel later than you expected. Read the current guidance on consumer contracts on gov.uk, and consider advice from a solicitor or a trade body if you regularly take deposits or work in people's homes.

A simple checklist

• Business name, address, email and, if applicable, VAT number, visible on the site.
• Company details in the footer, if you are a limited company.
• A privacy notice that describes what you actually collect, linked near every form.
• Cookie information and consent if you use non-essential cookies.
• Terms of business for customers, if you sell online or take deposits.
• Only accreditations and logos you are entitled to use.
• A note in your diary to review these pages once a year, and whenever you add a new form or tool.

Site Shifter sites include unlimited pages, so you can add your privacy notice, terms and business details as normal pages and link them from the footer. The wording itself needs to reflect your own business, so check it against the official guidance before you publish.

Frequently asked