Example terms of use for a small business website - Zephyra Studio

Terms of use are not the same as a privacy policy, the policy covers data, the terms cover the rules for using the site and, if you sell online, the rules of purchase. This is a practical framework explaining each section, not a ready text to copy without adapting, consult a lawyer before publishing, this is NOT legal advice.

The basic sections almost every small site needs

Company identity: name, company registration number, tax ID, registered address, contact email, this is a legal requirement under the Law on Electronic Commerce for any site offering goods/services, not just good practice.

Acceptance of terms: a clear sentence that using the site means accepting these terms, plus the date the text was last updated, without a date, there is no way to prove which version applied at any given moment.

Intellectual property: a statement that the site's content (text, images, design) belongs to or is licensed by the company and may not be copied without permission, a short sentence, not a long legal text, is enough for a small site.

Limitation of liability: that the company does not guarantee uninterrupted site availability, and that content (e.g. blog advice) does not constitute professional advice for the visitor's specific situation.

Extra sections if you sell online

For an online store, terms of use expand into terms of SALE (or a separate document): the exact price with taxes included before order confirmation, delivery method and timeframe, the consumer's right to withdraw from the contract within 14 days of receipt (the general rule under the Consumer Protection Law for distance sales, with known exceptions like personalised goods or digital content already downloaded), and the complaint/refund procedure.

The Law on Electronic Commerce also requires this information to be available BEFORE the purchase is completed, not only in the confirmation email afterwards, in practice, a link to the terms needs to be visible somewhere in the ordering flow, not just in the footer.

What should NOT be in the terms

Avoid copying clauses about features your site does not actually have (mentioning a subscription if you sell one-off purchases, or an app if you only have a website), the same problem as a generic privacy policy, it actively states things that are not true about your business.

Also avoid overly aggressive clauses copied from large platforms (e.g. an unlimited right to change terms without notice), for a small local business that reads as disproportionate and can put off a visitor who actually reads them.

Source

Key takeaways

• Terms of use and a privacy policy are two different documents with different purposes.
• Company identity (name, tax ID, registration number, address) is a legal requirement for sites offering goods/services, not just good practice.
• For an online store, add the exact price with taxes, delivery timeframe, and the 14-day right of withdrawal.
• This information must be available BEFORE order confirmation, not only in an email afterwards.
• This is a practical framework, not a ready text to copy, consult a lawyer before publishing.

Conclusion

Good terms of use are no longer than they need to be, just accurate for what your site actually does. Our website builds include a baseline terms of use draft matched to the site's actual function (informational site versus online store) as a standard part of the work, with a recommended legal review before publishing.