General terms and conditions of business
A legal disclaimer
The explanations and information provided on this page are merely general and overarching guidance on how to draft your own terms and conditions (T&Cs). You should not rely on this article as legal advice or recommendations regarding what you should actually do, as we cannot know in advance what specific terms and conditions you wish to establish between your business and your customers and visitors. We recommend that you seek legal advice to deepen your understanding and assist you in drafting your own T&Cs.
General Terms and Conditions – The Basics
Apart from that, General Terms and Conditions (“GTC”) are a set of legally binding provisions established by you as the owner of this website. The GTC define the legal framework that governs the activities of website visitors or your customers while they are visiting or using the website. The GTC serve to establish the legal relationship between website visitors and you as the website owner.
Terms and conditions should be defined according to the specific requirements and nature of each website. For example, a website that offers products to customers as part of e-commerce transactions requires different terms and conditions than a website that merely provides information (such as a blog, a landing page, etc.).
Terms and conditions offer you, as a website owner, the opportunity to protect yourself from potential legal liability. However, this can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction; therefore, make sure you seek local legal advice if you are trying to protect yourself from legal liability.
What belongs in the terms and conditions document
Generally, terms and conditions often cover these types of topics: who is allowed to use the website; the possible payment methods; a statement that the website owner may change their offering in the future; the types of guarantees and warranties that the website owner gives to their customers; a note on intellectual property or copyright issues, if relevant; the website owner's right to suspend or terminate a member's account; and much, much more.