Guide to Your Website’s Legal Requirements
Written by Law on Call Staff | Reviewed by Nathan Askins | Last Updated September 17, 2025
Not sure if your website is legally compliant? If you’re a small business owner or a creator, it can be hard to know what you’re required to post on your site.
This guide breaks down the essentials so you can stay compliant and build trust with your visitors.
Main Takeaways
- It’s best practice for all websites to have a terms of service and privacy policy, and to comply with ADA guidelines.
- Collecting personal data, selling products, or targeting users in certain regions may trigger additional legal requirements.
- Legal compliance isn’t one-size-fits-all, so review your site regularly to stay ahead of changing laws and avoid penalties.
What Am I Legally Required to Put on My Website?
There’s no single U.S. law that spells out exactly what every website must include. But, depending on what your site does, certain legal requirements absolutely apply. Even for simple websites that don’t collect data or sell anything, there are a few core elements it’s best practice to include: privacy policy, terms of use, and accessibility solutions.
While these may not all be legally required for every site, they’ll help keep you protected as your site grows. Including these elements can also boost your site’s credibility and trustworthiness, factors that support SEO and show your users (and search engines) that your site is legitimate.
Terms of Use
Terms of use aren’t legally required for every website, but they’re strongly recommended for anyone who wants better control over how visitors interact with their site. Think of terms (also called “terms and conditions” or “terms of service”) as a contract of basic expectations between you and your site visitors.
Even if you run a simple informational site, including terms of use helps set clear rules and reduces your legal risk. Without one, you may have a harder time protecting your content, limiting your liability, or enforcing rules if someone misuses your site or disputes arise.
A well-written terms of use page typically covers:
- Protections for your content and branding
- What users are allowed (and not allowed) to do
- Your right to update or remove content
- Limits on your legal responsibility
- What laws apply if there’s a dispute
Privacy Policy
A privacy policy is a written notice that explains how your website collects, uses, stores, and shares personal data. This can include users’ names, email addresses, phone numbers, or IP addresses. If your website has a contact form, runs Google Analytics, uses cookies, or lets people sign up for anything, you’re probably collecting identifiable information.
Many jurisdictions have passed privacy laws that typically apply based on where your users live (not where your business is located).
The Utah Consumer Privacy Act, for example, requires clear disclosures about data collection and use, and the state can fine you up to $7,500 per violation. If you get site visitors from California or Europe, the requirements are even stricter. It’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), in addition to researching the privacy laws in any states where your target audience lives.
A basic privacy policy should cover:
- What data you collect and the reason for collecting it
- How you store and protect user information
- Whether you share data with third parties
- User rights, like accessing or deleting their data
- How users can contact you with privacy questions
- How and when you will notify users of changes to the policy
In some states, like California, you’ll also need to provide a way for users to opt out of third-party data sales.
ADA Compliance
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was originally meant to ensure that everyone has access to public spaces. Recently, courts have been applying it to websites for businesses that serve the public.
While the law doesn’t list exact technical standards, courts often refer to WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the benchmark for ADA compliance. Even if you aren’t worried about being dragged to court, compliance here is worth the effort because it means more people can use your website.
Aim to include accessibility standards like:
- Alt text for images
- Good color contrast
- Keyboard-friendly navigation
- Clear, descriptive headings
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Do I Need an SSL Certificate For My Website?
If your website collects any personal information, an SSL certificate is essential. An SSL certificate encrypts data that customers or site visitors enter into your site, which helps protect the data from hackers. Many local privacy laws (including California’s CCPA and Europe’s GDPR) required this level of security.
Even without sensitive data collection, an SSL certificate builds visitor trust since browsers usually warn users when a site they’re about to visit doesn’t have one (often resulting in them turning back). Beyond security, SSL can improve your search rankings since search engines prioritize secure websites, helping you attract and retain more visitors.
Specific Considerations for Your Site
Once you’ve covered the basics, it’s time to think about the specific features and functions of your website. Depending on what your site does and who’s landing on it, there may be additional legal requirements or disclosures you need to include. Use the questions below to help identify what applies to you.
Do You Sell Anything?
If you accept online payments for anything, you need to clearly display your refund and return policies, payment terms, sales tax disclosures, and compliance with consumer protection laws. This information is typically included in your Terms of Use (or a dedicated Terms of Sale area), on your checkout page, or in a dedicated FAQ or store policy section of your site. Without this information, the FTC can pursue civil penalties or demand refunds to customers.
Do You Promote Affiliate Content?
If you earn any kind of commission through affiliate links, the FTC requires an affiliate disclaimer. This should be placed near the links themselves or in a prominent site-wide location, like the footer or a dedicated disclosures page. The penalties for not including these disclaimers can result in fines, legal action from consumers, and an overall loss of trust from your audience.
Are You Giving Medical, Legal, or Financial Advice?
If your site provides advice in the realms of health, law, or finances, then you should include specific disclaimers to limit your liability.
- Include a medical or health disclaimer if you provide health-related content stating that it’s for informational purposes.
- If your content is related to the law, make a statement that the info isn’t formal legal advice and doesn’t indicate an attorney-client relationship.
- It’s also a good idea to include a disclaimer stating that any financial, health, or career advice on your site is for informational purposes only and that individual results may vary.
These simple disclaimers can head off potential lawsuits in the future.
Does Your Site’s Audience Include Kids Under 13?
If your site collects data from children under 13, you must comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This means you need verifiable parental consent before collecting personal info, along with a child-specific privacy policy. COPPA compliance is complex, so if your content may appeal to kids, it’s worth a closer look. The consequences for violating COPPA can be severe: up to $50,000 per violation.