Website legal requirements

In the fast-moving world of new media where advances in web technology are changing at a rapid pace, it’s easy to forget the basic requirements of a website to ensure it is legal. A business website needs to comply with the law just like any other aspect of the business.

Paula Dauncey, marketing manager from leading web development agency, Imaginet, takes us through the basic legal guidelines that every website should follow to avoid breaking the law.

Company information
In 2007, Companies House made an amendment to the Companies Act 1985 that means that certain information must be published on all stationery of UK registered companies. Your website and any other electronic communications such as emails, which are used as paper equivalents, are counted as stationery.

The information required by the law is:

• Company name
• Place of registration
• Registered number
• Registered office address
• Notification of intention to wind the business up (if applicable)

At Imaginet we normally include this information in the ‘Terms and Conditions’ section of a website, but you could also include it as part of the ‘About Us’ section or with your company’s contact details. Further information can be found on the Companies House website at http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk/promotional/busStationery.shtml

Other legal notices that should be included are:

• Copyright – Ensure you include the word “Copyright” and the copyright symbol
• Disclaimer / Terms and conditions – This is the extent to which users can use the information available on a website. It should also state that your company takes no liability that may arise from using or downloading information from the website.

Disability Discrimination and Accessibility
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA), was introduced to address any discrimination faced by disabled people. The main part of the DDA that applies to websites requires them to be accessible including certain employers and service providers previously exempt from the Act, such as the police and small employers.

Websites must also follow the basic design principles laid down by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) and the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB).

These guidelines include:

• Using Web Standards for XHTML/CSS
• Allowing text on the page to scale
• Optimising the site for an 800x600 view to prevent horizontal scrolling
• Using meaningful ALT text for all images
• Clarifying the natural language of each page
• Avoiding items that move, blink, scroll, or flicker
• Avoiding spawned windows such as pop-ups
• Using descriptive hyperlink text
• Avoiding the use of frames
• Ensuring that all information conveyed with colour is also available without colour
• Ensuring that foreground and background colour combinations provide sufficient contrast
• Using an easy to read non-serif font type, size and colour
• Ensuring clear and consistent navigation mechanisms

Once you’ve made your website accessible, it is then important to include an Accessibility Statement on the website that details the accessibility features implemented and can also provide keyboard shortcuts, details of the assistive technologies available and links to areas for further information. Imaginet have drafted a standard statement at: http://www.imaginet.co.uk/accessibility/accessibility-policy

You can find out more at www.w3c.org and www.rnib.org.uk.

Data Protection Act
If any personally identifiable information is collected on a website, it must be transferred securely to the web server with the use of a SSL certificate. The hosting environment where the data is stored should follow best-practice in regards to information security. The Act also requires websites to have a Privacy Policy which basically informs your site visitors the following:

• What information is going to be collected
• Confirmation that it will be held securely
• How the information is going to be used
• Confirmation that the information is not going to be passed onto a third party, but if it is, who will it be passed to and for what purpose
• Access to personal information limited to those with a strict need to know
• Confirmation that personal information is deleted as soon as I have no more need for it

E-commerce websites
In addition to complying with the Data Protection Act, which is essential for an e-commerce website, a website must also comply with consumer protection regulations and the E-commerce Directive.

Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations
The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 apply to many ecommerce websites, but they are not applicable to 'business-to-business' transactions. The guidelines state:

• You must provide clear information about your products and services before purchase
• You must be clear about postage and packing costs and whether VAT or any other tax is included in the prices shown on your website
• You must provide a written confirmation of order following purchase, for example a confirmation email
• You must allow a "cooling off" period so the customer can change their mind and cancel or return the order within seven working days for most goods. Certain exclusions do apply with items such as perishable and digital goods
• You must inform your customers of their right to cancel their order with no loss other than return postage and packing

Ecommerce Directive

• You must display the name of your business, the company registration number (or proprietor's name), geographical address (not a PO Box number), contact details such as telephone number and email address, as well as the business VAT registration number (if registered)
• You must provide clear information on price, tax and delivery to buyers
• You must clearly display your site's Terms and Conditions
• You must acknowledge all orders
• In commercial communication with your customers, you must clearly identify any electronic communication designed to promote your goods or services
• You must clearly identify the sender of all electronic communication
• You must clearly define any promotional offers and the qualifying conditions regarding these offers.
• If you send unsolicited emails, you must clearly identify them as unsolicited.

Web 2.0 and user generated content
With more and more websites combining web 2.0 functionality and actively encouraging user-generated content, it is important to ensure the website is tightly controlled to ensure that your company is not liable for any of defamatory comments made on the site.

There are no firm laws relating to user-generated content but you will still need to clearly state in your Disclaimer or Terms & Conditions that you take no liability for any defamatory comments made.

At Imaginet, we recommend our clients use either passive or active moderation on any areas in the site that encourage user-generated content. This is to ensure complete control over the website content, enabling staff to delete items that could be defamatory. Passive moderation allows all new content to be uploaded to the website immediately, with the moderator being informed of a new post, whereas active moderation requires that every item posted is reviewed and approved before going live. Which method you opt for will depend entirely on your website users and how likely they are to add defamatory comments. It is possible to automatically delete profanity from posts, but other comments are more difficult to track.

This article provides only a basic guide to the legal requirements on a website. To ensure your site complies fully, you should contact a legal expert for professional guidance. If in doubt, ask your solicitor to check your site to make sure that you haven't missed anything.

About the Author
Paula Dauncey is the Marketing Manager for Imaginet. Based in Cardiff city centre, Imaginet is one of the leading web development agencies in the UK. It offers a full range of web services including web design, content management systems, touchscreen technology, e-commerce, online marketing and search engine marketing, internet strategy and database development. For more information, please contact 02920 666230 or visit our website at www.imaginet.co.uk.