How to Write Terms of Service

You can't really run a business online these days without having a long Terms of Service section. Even though almost nobody will ever read it, you have to put one there to cover yourself legally. The few times you do need it, you'll be very glad to have one there. Terms of Service are generally linked from a number of places on your site, so be sure you have a separate page for them.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Acquire a lawyer. While it's certainly possible to write a common-sense Terms of Service by following the rules that will be laid out in forthcoming steps, it is not wise. The only way to ensure your Terms of Service are legally airtight is to have someone familiar with the law look them over. Contact him before you begin writing to ask if there are any specific things that you should include. Now the work begins!

2. Make a list of the basic sections you'll need in the document. These often include: liability disclaimers, terms of use, billing terms, privacy policies, copyright notifications and prohibited use.

3. Plan out the most basic things you want to say in each section. For example, your disclaimer of liability probably should say that anything that happens to a customer who uses your service is not your fault.

4. Search other websites online to get template ideas. Any site on the Internet that sells a service will have a Terms of Service link. If you grab a few of these, you can see what other companies are using for a Terms of Service.

5. Borrow and modify the templates you like. You may find one that eloquently explains why you are not responsible for money lost following your advice, but which also discusses guns you don't sell, and has 10 other irrelevant sections. Ignore all the firearms sections and anything else you don't need, and grab the liability disclaimer that you like.

6. Modify whatever you take in Step 5 to apply to your site specifically, removing any unnecessary wording, and adding any special cases that may arise due to the nature of your business.

7. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 for each section mentioned in Step 2. Once you have a section for each of these main headers, feel free to add any other sections you need as well.

Tips & Warnings

• If you see very similar paragraphs on many different sites, it's a sign of an industry standard, and might well be useful.

• Remember, even if you think you've explained something clearly, you may want a legal expert to read it over.