The internet can feel like the final frontier, especially when users try to take advantage of your website or app and you don’t have anything in place to hold them accountable for their actions.
But a well-written terms of service agreement can set the rules and guidelines for your users, prohibit or restrict certain behaviors and activities, limit your liabilities, and establish your property rights.
In this article, we cover what a terms of service agreement is, why you need one, and look at some examples before presenting you with our downloadable terms of service template so you can make your own.
A terms of service sets all user rules, restrictions, and prohibited behaviors, and outlines your company’s liability limitations, property rights, and dispute resolutions.
Despite the different names, these agreements are all the same.
No matter what you choose to call it, a generic terms of service policy can help protect your business from users who might break the law or cause harm to your website, app, or other users.
While a ToS agreement is not required by law, you need to post one on your website or app to help:
One of the purposes of a terms of service policy is to explain the rules and guidelines your users must follow while accessing your services, which helps set their expectations.
By clearly communicating what’s allowed and prohibited on your website or app and explaining to your users the consequences of breaking those rules, you make it easier for your business to prevent users from abusing your services or causing harm to others.
Establishing what your business is and isn’t liable for in a ToS agreement limits what you can be sued for and may save you thousands in legal fees.
As a business owner, you probably have content and branding that you own and use that you don’t want other people to steal, copy, or reproduce.
A terms of service agreement can establish your rights over your property and explain if and how other people can legally use those materials.
Your terms of service agreement can explain how your company will respond to users who break the rules you outline in your policy, which streamlines the process of addressing and resolving legal disputes.
If you own a website or app, it’s in your best interest to post a general terms of service agreement because people expect to see one.
If they cannot find your terms of service, they might assume your business is untrustworthy and may choose a competitor with more transparent policies over your company.
What you include in your terms of service will vary from business to business, but in the next section, we cover the most common clauses in ToS agreements.
You should put an introduction clause at the start of your terms of service outlining who and what the agreement applies to. You can use this clause to introduce your company, define terms you’ll use throughout the rest of the document, and tell users how they can express consent to the agreement.
Your terms of service agreement acts as the rules your users must follow when accessing your services, so you should list all of those prohibited behaviors and activities in a clause.
If your website or app allows your users to interact with one another, create profiles, or post and share content, consider separating this clause into its own acceptable use policy (AUP) document.
Your AUP will still be part of your terms of service, but putting the content into its own document makes it easier to share the rules of use that directly impact your consumers.
We recommend keeping this clause broad so you have more leeway for managing unnecessary and rule-breaking accounts.
You can also include information about how a user can delete their own account, like how YouTube does it in their terms of service policy, shown below in the highlighted text.
If you own a business, you probably have intellectual property that you want to protect. Put a clause in your terms of service that lists all property your business trademarks or other relevant copyright examples, like:
Then inform your users about any restrictions that apply to outside parties who want to use those materials.
Your product and promotional information clause can help prevent your company from being held liable for any inconsistencies or discrepancies posted on your app or website.
For example, you can inform your users that product descriptions, information, and pricing online may not always be up to date and are subject to change without notice. You can also stipulate within this clause that your company reserves the right to end or refuse promotions, including discount codes, at any time.
Below, see a sample terms of service from Green Chef to learn how they phrase the fact that they reserve the right to adjust or replace meal kit ingredients without notice.
Your terms of service is a great place for you to tell your users about your payment policies.
Below is another sample terms of service clause from Green Chef. Look at the highlighted text to see how they respond to missed payments.
If your website or app allows users to contribute content, you should include a clause within your terms of service so people know what they’re allowed to post and who has the rights to it.
The example terms of service shown below comes from YouTube, and the highlighted text explains what rights their users retain over the content they upload to the video-sharing platform.
It’s essentially a statement from your business denying responsibility for any damages your users might suffer from accessing your services. It may also tell users what they cannot sue you for.
In the example below, read how Slack communicates their liability limitations in their terms of service.
You should link to other policies and legal agreements you want your users to access within your terms of service, including your privacy policy.
If you link to any external sources on your website or app, you can use a third-party links clause to express that your company is not liable for the content that might appear on those pages.
The highlighted text below from YouTube’s terms of service is a great example of how you might phrase your third-party links clause.
A terms of service agreement is supposed to be a flexible document that adapts with your business. You should establish a process for how you will update your users about any changes you make to your policy.
Many companies include the last updated date near the header of their terms of service, and you should too.
But you can also include a short clause setting your users’ expectations, like how YouTube does it in the screenshot below.
A governing law or dispute resolution clause lets users know how your service plans to handle conflicts or controversies relating to your terms of service.
If you choose to settle disputes in court, outline which courts will handle the case, the location of the court, and any governing laws that apply.
For binding arbitration, a mediator settles the dispute. Say where the arbitration will take place, how fees are handled, what the general process will look like, and what laws may apply.
If you choose informal negotiations, mention the timeline for the talks and outline what the process will look like.
In the example clause below from Green Chef, you can read how they primarily use binding arbitration but also list some exceptions.
You should also include links to other relevant customer service policies in this clause if your business primarily sells goods that you ship to users.
For example, if your business uses any of the following policies, link to them in your ToS:
It’s in your best interest to include accurate contact information at the end of your terms of service agreement so your users know how to reach you if they have questions, comments, or concerns.
You should post your terms of service agreement in multiple spots throughout your website or app, including your:
Let’s go over these common places to link to a ToS agreement in a little more detail.
The most common place to link to your terms of service is the footer of your website. By putting a link to your ToS in the footer, your users always have access to the policy, no matter what part of your website they end up on.
The screenshot below shows the footer from Squarespace’s website, which links to their terms of service under the ‘Company’ section.
Payment screens are another great place to include a link to your terms of service because it gives your new and returning customers a chance to read the guidelines they’re expected to follow if they choose to make a purchase.
Below, you can see how the Washington Post puts a link to their terms of service on their payment page for a new subscription.
If your website or app allows users to create a profile or account, consider putting a link to your terms of service on a new user page so they know the rules before joining your service.
The highlighted text shown below from Green Chef’s new user profile signup page links directly to their terms of service.
A privacy center is a central hub that you can host on your website and share links to all legal agreements, privacy documents, policies, and procedures you want your users to access, including your terms of service.
Afterward, link to your privacy center in your website footer, like the highlighted example below from Facebook.
To ensure you can enforce your ToS agreement, you’ll need to get consent from your users, which you can do in the two ways we cover below.
One way to get consent for your terms of service agreement is to ask your users to select a checkbox to show that they’ve read and agree to the policy, known as the clickwrap method for consent.
See the highlighted text below for an example of how AARP uses the clickwrap method for consent to their terms of service whenever a new user signs up as a member.
Asking your users to select a check box expressing they’ve read and accepted your terms of service is a great way to ensure your ToS policy is enforceable and is more likely to be upheld in court.
Another common way to enforce your terms of service is to use implied consent or browsewrap, which means your users agree to your terms by taking an action, like using your website or signing up for a profile.
While implied consent works fine for most users, it can be tricky to hold up in court because your users can claim they did not know they agreed to anything by using your website or app.
We recommend you use both clickwrap and browsewrap methods of consent for your terms of service agreement to protect your business best.
In the next section, we look at some examples of terms of services from larger companies to help inspire you when you make your own ToS agreement.
Your terms of service should be written and formatted in a way that’s easy for your users to read and understand.
We recommend looking at Pinterest’s terms of service agreement below, which includes links to other relevant policies at the top of their document formatted as eye-catching circles and has helpful ‘More simply put’ summaries at the end of most clauses.
Like Pinterest, you might consider using a more conversational tone throughout your terms of service to make it more approachable for your users.
Below, read how Pinterest simplifies their warranty clause for their users, which is a nice touch since this clause usually contains a lot of legalese.
We also like how Pinterest consistently embeds relevant links for users throughout their entire policy and recommend you do the same in your own ToS agreement.
Your business might require a more complex terms of service agreement with clauses and amendments that you can separate into independently shareable documents.
Look at the highlighted text below from Slack’s terms of service page for an example, which has links to a second ToS policy, one is for their customers and the other is for users who were invited into a workspace.
Slack is also a great example of a company that separates their acceptable use clause into its own document, which they very clearly describe in the highlighted text below.
Like Slack, you can customize and format your terms of service agreement in whatever way you require so that it meets the unique needs of your business.
You can start by downloading our free terms of service template, which we designed to be seamlessly adaptable.
Let’s go over a few easy tips you can follow to make a high-quality terms of service agreement for your website or app.
Your terms of service is a legally binding contract, so you want to ensure it’s written in a way most users can understand.
Just ask Mark Zuckerberg, who was criticized by a senator during a 2018 joint hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Commerce committees because Facebook’s ToS at the time was not written in language the average American would understand, according to CNBC.
Since then, Facebook has made several updates to its terms to make them much more straightforward. The tech giant’s current terms of service are written in a consumer-friendly voice and have a clear table of contents for users to navigate.
You should also try to avoid long walls of text and unnecessary legal jargon wherever possible. In clauses where you can’t avoid legalese, like your limit of liability clause, consider simplifying the information using a brief summary, like the Pinterest examples above.
We’ve said it before, but terms of service agreements can vary drastically depending on the type of business you do.
For example, if your users can post comments and content on your platform, you’ll need a content and contributions clause outlining the rules you expect them to follow in your ToS. But if your platform does not allow for any user-generated content, this clause may not be applicable.
Pick and choose the clauses most relevant to your company, and be sure you’re extra thorough so you don’t accidentally leave something out.
No matter what you do, don’t copy and paste someone else’s terms or service agreement. Not only is this plagiarism, but legal documents are copyrighted materials.
Remember, the details within ToS policies change drastically from one company to the next, so if you do copy someone else’s agreement, it won’t cover all rules and guidelines that your business requires.
Making your own terms of service agreement can be a daunting process. A terms of service template is a great resource for business owners like you because it completes some of the initial leg work for you.
Rather than starting entirely from scratch, templates like ours outline common clauses and provide you with part of the actual text for each section.
Our terms of service template is very thorough, which can help prevent you from leaving out important items. But it’s also designed to be easy to read, which is ideal for your users.
Expand the component below to view our general terms of service template in its entirety, or click the button to download the sample in Microsoft Word format. Then simply copy and paste the text into the HTML of your site.
In the next section, we took the time to answer some of the most frequently asked questions we get about terms of service agreements.
If you own a website or app, you should post a terms of service in multiple locations so your users are always aware of the guidelines they’re expected to follow when using your services.
A standard terms of service agreement also helps limit liabilities from falling onto your business and allows you to establish and maintain your intellectual property rights.
If you don’t already have a ToS agreement posted on your website or app, there’s no need to wait. Download our free terms of service template and customize it to fit your unique business needs.
