What legal information should be included on my website?

Many companies will set up a website to act as the centrepiece of their operation (e.g., online retailers) or to complement the goods or services they provide face-to-face. In the UK, there is certain legal information that businesses need to be aware of and, where relevant, make available on their website.

Failure to comply with your legal obligations can lead to costly disputes with consumers or regulators, financial penalties and prosecution, and damage to your reputation. To help you stay compliant, we outline the key legal information your company website needs.

Legal information about your company

One of the basic website requirements for all UK-registered companies is to disclose certain information about the company itself. This includes the following:

• Registered company name in full, including the name ending (e.g., ‘Limited’ or ‘LLP’)
• Trading name, if applicable (e.g., ‘ABC Limited trading as XYZ’)
• Company registration number
• Jurisdiction of incorporation (i.e., England & Wales, Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland)
• Registered office address
• Email address and details of how to contact the company by non-electronic means (e.g., a phone number or business address)
• The fact that the company is a limited company (this requirement is usually covered by disclosing the company’s full registered name)
• VAT number, if your company is registered for VAT — our VAT Registration Service can help you get started if you wish
• Details of registration with any trade bodies, professional associations, or regulators
• If your company is being wound up, you must disclose this fact

Including the names of directors on your website is optional. However, if you choose to do so, you must list the name of every company director.

You don’t have to display this company information on every page of your site, but it must be easy to find (not hidden in your privacy policy) and readable with the naked eye. Typically, businesses place these details in the footer section of each page, whilst others sometimes include them in their ‘Contact Us’ or ‘About Us’ pages.

Companies are legally required to display this information on official letterheads, emails, and order forms, in addition to websites. The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015 dictates these disclosure rules.

Policies, documents, and other legal information

If your website collects user data or sets cookies on users’ devices, you must have a cookie policy and privacy notice in place. The privacy rules are dictated by the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, alongside the Data Protection Act 2018 and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Depending on the nature of your business and activities, you may also have to comply with the Electronic Commerce Regulations, Consumer Contracts Regulations, and the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Cookie policy

Cookies are small text files of data downloaded to users’ computers, tablets, or smartphones when they access a website. They perform various tasks, such as counting the number of users visiting a website, recognising users and remembering their preferences, and recording their past actions (e.g., what they added to their shopping baskets).

You must inform visitors if your website uses cookies, explain what they do and why, and obtain users’ consent to store cookies on their devices. The only exception to obtaining consent is where the cookies are essential or strictly necessary for your website or online service.

• 5 legal obligations after setting up a limited company
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Your cookie policy must contain clear, comprehensive, and easy-to-find information. It should be written in plain English with a level of detail appropriate for your intended audience. This ensures that your website users can understand the potential consequences of allowing cookies on their devices.

Most websites use cookie banners or pop-ups to obtain consent from visitors. Consent must be freely given and involve a clear and deliberate action by the user (e.g., clicking a link or ticking a box to accept cookies). Users must also be able to easily reject or disable non-essential cookies and save their settings.

There are cookie policy templates you can use. However, we always advise seeking specialist legal advice based on the specific needs of your business. This is worthwhile because breaches of the cookie rules can lead to hefty fines from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Detailed information and practical advice on the use of cookies is available from the ICO.

Privacy notice

If your business holds personal data, your website must include a privacy notice (sometimes referred to as a privacy policy or fair processing notice) that complies with the transparency and accountability principles of UK GDPR. The notice must explain:

• The personal data your company collects and processes
• Why you need this information
• How long you are going to keep it
• What you plan to do with it
• The ‘lawful basis‘ for processing this data (i.e., why it is necessary)
• Whether you will be sharing this personal data with anyone else and why
• Who the data controller is, along with contact details for its data protection officer
• How individuals can complain if they have concerns about the way you use their information

You must ensure that all the information you include in your privacy notice is easy to access and read. It should be transparent and explain the rules, risks, safeguards, and information rights of individuals, including their right to withdraw consent concerning personal data processing.

Detailed guidance on privacy notices is available from the ICO, including a privacy notice generator to help you create a bespoke policy for your company. However, again, we would advise seeking specialist legal advice from a GDPR expert to ensure compliance and avoid penalties.

Electronic Commerce Regulations

The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 apply to businesses selling goods or services online. Under these regulations, your customers must have direct and permanent access to specific information on your website before purchasing.

In addition to information about the business, which overlaps company disclosure requirements under other legislation, you must make certain contractual information available, including:

• The total price of products (or how this will be calculated) and whether the price includes taxes (e.g., VAT) and delivery costs
• The steps required to place an order online
• Whether the contract will be stored by your company and permanently accessible to the customer
• The technical means available for consumers to spot and correct errors in their order before completion
• The languages available to conclude the contract

Your website must also provide your terms and conditions in a way that allows users to store and reproduce them (e.g., by downloading and printing). Typically, businesses incorporate most of the required contractual information in their terms and conditions.

Consumer Contracts Regulations

Under The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, you must provide customers with certain pre-contract information and confirmation of contracts.

The specific information will vary depending on whether sales are made at a distance (e.g., online or over the phone) or face-to-face (e.g., in a store). Typically, however, your company website should include:

• An accurate, detailed description of the goods, services, or digital content you offer, including the length of any commitment on the part of the consumer
• Payment and delivery options
• All applicable taxes and delivery costs (or how they will be calculated) if not included in product prices
• When the products will be provided to the customer
• Details of the customer’s cancellation and refund rights, including the conditions, time limit, and procedures involved – you must also provide a standard cancellation form to make the process easy
• Details of your returns policy (including who pays any return costs) if the customer has the right to cancel
• The cost to the customer of calls or other communications where it costs more than the basic rate

After the completion of any sale, you must:

• Confirm the contract and associated terms as soon as possible (e.g., in an order confirmation email) and no later than the delivery of goods, the start date of a service, or when digital content is downloaded
• Provide the customer with a copy of the contract by email, on paper, or in another format that they can save for future reference

Failure to comply with the regulations’ requirements may result in a customer’s cancellation rights being extended by up to one year.

Consumer Rights Act

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 outlines business-to-consumer (B2C) consumer rights and seller obligations in the event of any dispute. It covers the requirement for sellers to provide accurate product descriptions online and ensure the goods and services they sell are fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality.

Under the Act, customers may have the right to make a claim or request a refund, repair, or replacement, (depending on the circumstances), if they receive a product that does not satisfy these conditions. Additionally, as the trader, you must deliver the goods to the consumer within 30 days of placing the order, unless agreed otherwise.

Website accessibility

To comply with the Equality Act 2010, your company website must not discriminate against disabled users and should be accessible where reasonable. While there is no specific legal standard required, following Web Content Accessibility Guidelines is considered best practice and includes the requirement to:

• Ensure content is structured logically and can be navigated and read by a screen reader
• Use text colours that show up clearly against the background colour
• Include text alternatives (alt text) to describe images on your website
• Provide transcripts for any audio or video content
• Include the option for users to navigate your site without a mouse
• Ensure your service works well with assistive technologies

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines provide an internationally recognised set of recommendations that you can use to improve website accessibility.

Conclusion

To ensure that your company website includes all the necessary legal information, you must consider many things. You may also need to consider other matters, for example, if you maintain a mailing list or operate in other jurisdictions.

You should update your website periodically to comply with any changes in applicable laws and regulations. You may wish to seek professional advice from a lawyer and web design expert to ensure your online presence aligns with the required legal standards and accessibility requirements.

Thank you for reading. If any questions arise about the legal information your company’s website needs to include, please post them below, and we’ll get back to you. In the meantime, explore the 1st Formations blog for more helpful information on compliance and legal matters relating to running a company.