However, these boring pages are valuable to the business as well as the consumers. Did you know that not having a clear and concise ‘terms and conditions’ can harm your business? too ignored these walls of text until I was asked to ceate designs for the ‘terms and conditions’
page for an eCommerce and auctions website. This request took me by surprise as until then I thought that terms and conditions are just legal data. What could a designer possibly have to do with this? At this point, I realized that this is a problem of ignorance and it is our responsibility as designers need to try and change this.
Last updated: 11/11/2021
Why is the ‘terms and conditions’ page important?
In 2012 Instagram attempted to change its terms and conditions by adding a statement that said they are allowed to “sell uploaded pictures to advertisers.” As was expected, this upset their users, leading to angry tweets and emails with hashtags like #Instascam, #Instafraud, and #leavinginstagram. Instagram later apologized, altered the lines, and managed to survive the backlash. Since this was Instagram, it managed to survive. However, for smaller less-known businesses, this can cause irreversible disruptions. The ‘terms and conditions’ page is thus crucial for business as well as its customers. It is a bridge that facilitates clear communication and solutions to possible disputes.
Here are a few benefits of clear and easy-to-understand ‘terms and conditions,’
Brand trust. Users know that the brand truly cares about them when the ‘terms and conditions’ page is easy to read. A ‘terms and conditions’ page also helps send trust signals to Google. These signals lead to a more positive SEO impact and less likelihood to be penalized for suspicious usage.
Avoid customer outrage. If the terms are unclear or confusing, users may feel misled, which can hurt or anger them. Protection from lawsuits. In extreme cases, inconsistencies in a terms and conditions page can result in legal penalties.There are different legal sections that are mandatory as a part of your website/app and have legal importance. The exact content that forms the ‘terms and conditions’ depends on various factors such as the type of business, region of operation, and if third-party services are involved. However, the vast majority of ‘terms and conditions’have substantial commonalities. Here are the essential elements you need to include,
Disclaimer and limits liability
Websites that accept user content submissions list disclaimers and liability limits. This disclaimer substantially limits their responsibility for the content on their website. Sites where content moderation by the site owners is not possible or where there are links to external pages list these disclaimers. A disclaimer says that the site owner isn’t responsible for the content or links.
Copyright notice
Websites that accept user content submissions list disclaimers and liability limits. This disclaimer substantially limits their responsibility for the content on their website. Sites where content moderation by the site owners is not possible or where there are links to external pages list these disclaimers. A disclaimer says that the site owner isn’t responsible for the content or links. Brand trust. Users know that the brand truly cares about them when the ‘terms and conditions’ page is easy to read. A ‘terms and conditions’ page also helps send trust signals to Google. These signals lead to a more positive SEO impact and less likelihood to be penalized for suspicious usage.
- Websites that accept user content submissions list disclaimers and liability limits. This disclaimer substantially limits
- their responsibility for the content on their website. Sites where content moderation by the site owners is not possible
- or where there are links to external pages list these disclaimers. A disclaimer says that the site owner isn’t responsible for the content or links. Brand trust. Users know that the brand truly cares about them when the ‘terms and page is easy to read. A ‘terms and conditions’ page also helps send trust signals to Google. These signals lead to a
- positive SEO impact and less likelihood to be penalized for suspicious usage. Avoid customer outrage. If the terms are unclear or confusing, users may feel misled, which can hurt or anger them. Protection from lawsuits. In extreme inconsistencies in a terms and conditions page can result in legal penalties.here are different legal sections that are
- mandatory as a part of your website/app and have legal importance. The exact content that forms the ‘terms and conditions’ depends on various factors such as the type of business, region of operation, and if third-party services are involved. However, the vast majority of ‘terms and conditions’
Websites that accept user content submissions list disclaimers and liability limits. This disclaimer substantially limits their responsibility for the content on their website. Sites where content moderation by the site owners is not possible or where there are links to external pages list these disclaimers. A disclaimer says that the site owner isn’t responsible for the content or links. Brand trust. Users know that the brand truly cares about them when the ‘terms and conditions’ page is easy to read. A ‘terms and conditions’ page also helps send trust signals to Google. These signals lead to a more positive SEO impact and less likelihood to be penalized for suspicious usage. Avoid customer outrage. If the terms are unclear or confusing, users may feel misled, which can hurt or anger them.
- Users often agree with ‘click to agree’ clauses, and rarely read large paragraphs of legal text. They, however, realize its importance only when a dispute arises.
Most of the Pages have long scrolls that have tedious language and are time-consuming. - Legal experts write this text, and it is full of legal jargon. This jargon makes it difficult to understand even if one tries to read them.
At times, ‘terms and conditions’ are difficult to find or navigate to and mostly inaccessible. - They may contain unclear or misleading clauses and hidden content that users are unable to grasp.