When you’re building a website for your business, there are certain things that you have a legal duty to include.
In this post we’ll outline some key website legal requirements for businesses.
As a business owner, you also have a duty of care to protect your business, your assets, and your customer, client, and supplier data from cyber-attacks. If you want to discuss your cybersecurity needs, we have a team of experts on hand to help. Call us on 0208 290 9080 or email us at cyber@anthonyjones.com.
What Legislation Specifies What Businesses Need to Have on Their Website?
Two bits of legislation outline that all UK-based business must display specific information on their website: The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, and Companies Act 2006.
Website Business Information Legal Requirements
This is all the business information you have a legal requirement to display on your website:
- Your registered business name.
- If you’re a company, or an LLP, you must display your business registration number, your place of registration (England & Wales, or Scotland), and your registered office address.
- The geographical address of your business premises.
- Your VAT number – provided you’re registered for VAT.
- Details of your membership of any trade or professional bodies, along with your registration numbers.
- If you’re a sole trader or a partnership, you must list the names of everyone involved in the business, along with an up-to-date contact address.
- If you’re running an eCommerce website, meaning you sell goods online, you must provide clear pricing information, including delivery costs, along with concise and accessible contract terms for things like returns and refunds.
Website Cookies and Data Protection Information Businesses Need on Their Website
It’s common for business websites to use “cookies”. This is basically data your website collects on how visitors interact with your website, along with other information, such as their location.
Certain legislation outlines website cookie use and data protection: The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR); The Data Protection Act 2018; and The UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
In short, you need to tell visitors that your website collects cookies, and you must give visitors a means of providing or withdrawing consent for their data to be collected. You must also tell visitors how you intend to use their data.
You can read a full guide to the use of cookies on the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) website. The UK GDPR site gives a useful overview of numerous aspects of data protection and online privacy.
Is It a Legal Requirements to Make a Business Website Accessible
The Equality Act 2010 makes it a legal requirement for all business websites to make reasonable adjustments to provide equal access to all website users, including those with disabilities.
The Equality Act 2010 does not outline the technical requirements your website should meet. But for an essential introduction on how to make your website accessible – and, as a result, legally compliant – take a look at the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
Where Should I Display This Information on My Website?
- List all of your key business information on a dedicated “About Us” page. Or even better, list it in your website’s footer, so that visitors will be able to easily locate it no matter what page they’re browsing.
- Use a pop-up to inform visitors about your cookie policy, and to get their consent. You might be able to install a plug-in to make this as easy as possible. Take a look at these cookie policy plug-ins for WordPress, for example.
- Create a Privacy Policy for your website, which you can link to prominently in your site’s navigation, in your website’s footer, from your “About Us” page, or even from your cookie consent pop-up. Here are some website privacy policy templates to get you started.
- There’s no need to communicate your commitment to making your information accessible. Indeed, your website should be accessible by default. People with disabilities, including those with visual impairments, should find your website just as easy to use as anyone.
Keep Your Data Safe and Secure
As part of your data protection responsibilities, you have a duty to keep any sensitive customer information as safe as possible.
This is where a dedicated cyber insurance policy can help. In the event of a data breach, cyber insurance will cover your business’s liability as well as your ability to manage the impact on both your systems and finances.
If you want to discuss your cyber insurance needs, we have a team of experts ready to help. Call us on 0208 290 9080 or email us at cyber@anthonyjones.com.
