Unlike a privacy policy, terms of service are rarely a legal requirement. They’re a contract you get to write, and without one, a dispute is decided by default rules you didn’t choose.
This is a practical guide, not legal advice. If real money, health data, children or a regulator’s letter is involved, talk to a lawyer.
The seven clauses worth having
- What the service is, and that it may change. One honest paragraph.
- Accounts: who can sign up, that they’re responsible for their login, and when you can suspend or close an account.
- Acceptable use: what people may not do. No abuse, no scraping, no illegal content, no attacking the service.
- Payment, renewal and refunds. When you charge, how to cancel, and your refund rule in plain words. This is the clause you’ll point to in a chargeback.
- Who owns what. Users keep their content; you keep your software; you get the licence you need to run the service.
- Disclaimers and a liability cap, usually limited to what the customer paid in the last twelve months.
- Governing law and how you’ll notify changes.
If you use AI in the product
Say that output can be wrong and that users are responsible for checking it before they rely on it. It’s one sentence, and it’s the first thing a customer’s lawyer looks for.
What your terms can’t override
Consumer protection law. In the EU and UK, consumers generally have a 14-day right to withdraw from online purchases, with exceptions for digital content once it’s been delivered with their agreement, and unfair terms simply aren’t enforceable. A liability clause that says you’re responsible for nothing at all won’t survive. Write terms you’d be comfortable reading aloud to a customer.
Where to put them
In the footer of every page, and next to the sign-up and checkout buttons with a line such as “By creating an account you agree to our Terms”. Terms nobody could have seen are hard to rely on. A vibeliq scan checks that terms exist and are linked, and that the legal links appear on every page, including the ones that skip your main layout.