If you’ve ever made an account for a social media site or online store, chances are you’ve come across a checkbox at the end of the registration form that says “I have read and agreed to the Terms and Conditions” along with a link or a section dedicated to it. Simply put, terms and conditions are the blueprints of a consumer’s relationship with a particular service provider. They outline the expectations and limitations of both consumers and retailers revolving around the use of services, content, user information, as well as how conflicts are dealt with.

Although it is practically the most ignored body of text on the internet – with 91% of U.S. consumers admitting that they agree to terms and conditions without reading them – it is also one of the most important elements of a good eCommerce website despite not being legally required like privacy policies.

Terms and conditions are designed to establish what consumers and businesses can and can’t do to cultivate a great customer-to-retailer relationship – which is vital if business owners wish to secure the success of their enterprise. Apart from that, terms and conditions should clearly define the nature of a business and how they go about with their day-to-day operations. This is meant to help customers have a better understanding of what they are getting into before they engage with an eCommerce brand.

From the business perspective, terms and conditions can be a means to protect the interests and welfare of a brand, as it should lay out the company’s limitations and how they intend to resolve dilemmas. Well-written terms and conditions can also help business owners save time when it comes to responding to customer inquiries. Terms and conditions should be able to address any customer concerns at the onset.

The importance of having comprehensive terms and conditions for eCommerce brands cannot be understated. It is an indication of a brand’s desire to give customers an excellent shopping experience as well as of their trustworthiness. If you’re planning to put up terms and conditions for your online store, here are some tips on how to construct them.

If you want to create a comprehensive and respectable document such as your eCommerce terms and conditions, don’t jump onto your text editor just yet. Take a moment to consider what you want to achieve with your terms and conditions. Do you wish to stipulate the details on content ownership? Are you concerned about possible issues that may arise during a customer’s checkout process? Your terms and conditions will require a considerable amount of studying and external help.

You may seek legal advice from experts to help you construct your terms and conditions in an authoritative fashion that will reassure customers of your brand’s integrity. It would also be easier on your part as a business owner to know that your terms and conditions are in the hands of learned individuals.

If you wish to be more involved in the writing process, bear in mind that terms and conditions are akin to legal or technical documents – meaning they have to be straightforward and all-encompassing. Make sure to have a clear outline of what you want to discuss in your terms and conditions. This may include sections regarding payment processes, content ownership, etc. It also helps to be detail-oriented during the writing process, as terms and conditions require carefully constructed sentences that leave no room for misinterpretation. As much as possible, limit the use of highly technical terms that may leave readers confused or slang words that could mar your brand’s reputation.

Organize the items in your terms and conditions according to their degree of importance. If your eCommerce brand is concerned about how your content will be handled or how customers may contribute to your website, you might want to give this item room at the top of your terms and conditions.

Now that you have an idea of how you can write up your eCommerce terms and conditions, it’s time to dive into the items you may opt to include:

The terms of use section is where you will explain to your customers that their interaction with your site will be considered as an acceptance of your stipulated terms and conditions and that they are obligated to abide by their limitations. You can also use this section to describe what products or services your eCommerce website offers, as well as information on updates to your terms and conditions.

This section should illustrate the limitations of your accountability for certain issues that may arise throughout your business operation. For example, in the event that your consumers come across errors while interacting with your website that may lead to consequences that are beyond your control, you may include a clause in your terms and conditions to protect you from legal culpability.

eCommerce websites are not just digital stores, they are also information hubs. A lot of eCommerce sites have dedicated sections for blog articles, informational videos, and customer-generated content such as reviews or guest articles. This section should summarize the rules and consequences surrounding the use of your site’s content by external parties.

As an eCommerce brand, it is vital that you have a clearly defined payment process that includes details on additional fees, payment methods, and delivery restrictions depending on whether or not a product has already been paid for. You may also want to include which items may be paid for at a later date or which ones need to be paid for upfront before shipment.

Do not forget to include a clause for your shipping and delivery policy. This is where you can expound on the rules surrounding your shipping and delivery processes, from time frames to courier options. It is also advisable to state that you cannot ensure the quality of your products once they have been dispatched and are in the hands of their preferred courier.

Returns, refunds, exchanges, and cancellations are unavoidable when you’re running a store. Be sure to add information on these in your terms and conditions to further inform your customers of what to expect if they are unsatisfied with their purchase and wish to reverse it. Allocate a section for your returns and refunds policy where you can elaborate on which products may be returned, refunded, or exchanged. Some stores do not allow returns if the items have been opened or damaged.

Any credible business knows that, apart from terms and conditions, they should have a good privacy policy in place to protect the interests and welfare of both retailers and customers. You may include a summary of your eCommerce privacy policy in your terms of conditions but do not forget to add a link to the whole document so customers may have the opportunity to easily find and read through it.

If your company allows other organizations or business partners to post content on your website, be sure to have a clear set of rules that expand on the acceptable things they may contribute as well as the consequences for breaching these rules.

The same goes for customer-generated content. Although accepting and posting customer feedback and reviews will make your brand seem trustworthy and invite more visitors to your site, it is crucial that you put restrictions in place concerning the quality of the content your shoppers may share. You may use this section to prohibit the use of disparaging words as well as to explain the consequences of doing so.

You can use your eCommerce terms and conditions to provide customers with a substantial idea of how you intend to address certain predicaments or conflicts that are inevitable parts of running a business. You must also be able to properly explain when legal help will be involved in the process of handling particular situations or controversies.

Crafting eCommerce terms and conditions may seem like an insurmountable task when you look at the big picture. But if you take it one step at a time and organize your thoughts accordingly before you know it, you’ll have your terms and conditions established and you will get to reap their long-term benefits.