Creating Terms of Service

Terms of Service are a set of rules that users agree to in order to utilize a service, and are generally used for legal purposes to define the proper use of your site. Terms of Service allow you to include a warranty disclaimer and limit liability, along with protecting your interests by informing users that you own the content on your website such as your logo, site design, features, and more. By thoroughly establishing your expectations for users upfront, you provide accountability and can increase customer confidence in your brand. Terms of Service may also include a Privacy Policy. 

Terms of Service, also known as Terms of Use or Terms and Conditions, is an agreement between your business and the users on your store or website.

Creating a Terms of Service agreement helps to establish your expectations for site users and it provides accountability. It can cover topics such as:

• Define words or phrases used on the store and business
• Explain proper or expected usage
• Define misuse
• Set accountability for actions, conduct, and behavior
• Share your Privacy Policy 
• Provide details about subscription or membership fees
• State your opt-out policies
• Explain your dispute resolution process
• State any disclaimers and Limitation of Liability
• Explain that users will receive notification if these terms change

The content in your Terms of Service will be unique to your business. To make sure your Terms of Service follows the legal requirements of your country, make sure to review the content of the Terms with a legal professional. BigCommerce support cannot offer specific advice.

Terms of Service Generators

There are a few resources available online that can generate a basic Terms of Service for an ecommerce store.

• Privacy Policy Generator (Getterms.io)
• Free Terms and Conditions Generator (U.S.) (Termly.io)
• E-Commerce Privacy, Terms & Conditions Policy Generator (seotoaster.com)  

Generators can offer blanket coverage and may offer more specific content text for a fee. To ensure your Terms of Service is adequate for your business, we recommend consulting with a legal advisor.

Once you have the content of your terms ready, you will need to add a web page to display them. Use the WYSIWYG editor and paste in the contents of your Terms of Service. This provides users with a web page that they can view at any time and refer back to whenever they have questions.

Enabling Terms of Service at Checkout

Some countries and businesses may require explicit consent from shoppers before they complete their order. Go to Settings › Checkout, then scroll down to Order and check the box to Require customers to accept terms and conditions. If you have created a web page for your terms, select Link to my terms and conditions page and enter the URL into the text box.

Alternatively, you can type in the terms and conditions if you don't have a separate web page or would like to only display this text on the checkout page.

Do I need to have a Terms of Service?

It will depend on your local laws, but it is recommended to have some form of written terms for your business. Having one in place can help protect you in any legal disputes.