In this lawsuit crazy society we live in it is an absolute necessity for website owners to include what has become known as a "user agreement" or sometimes called "terms of use" page, which literally defines the parameters of how visitors may use your website and functions as an official contract between the website owner and anyone who lands there. If the website owner offers advice, sells products or services, or uses copyrighted content, a properly structured user agreement offers legal protection.

DIY or Pro

The first decision you must make regarding the creation of your user agreement (UA) is whether you feel comfortable either buying a template and modifying it yourself, drafting your own from scratch, or paying an attorney to do it for you. No answer is right for everyone. You have to decide what is the best fits your situation.

Seven Sections

An online user agreement can be broken down into seven sections of broad information that should be included to legally protect you from adverse legal action. 1. Describe what your site provides i.e., advice, products for sale, copyrighted material or services. Err on the side of too much information. 2. Use a copyright statement to describe what is copyrighted, what is free to distribute, and what is forbidden. Don't forget to include what actions will be taken if the terms are violated. 3. An ownership agreement is particularly useful for information based websites like news portals. State that you own the content and what may or may not be done with it. 4. Use a disclaimer, especially if you offer advice, to state that your website is for entertainment, informational, or whatever other purpose you choose to define, and that you do not take responsibility for what a person might do with the information. 5. Your liability statement outlines that you won't be held liable for any misuse of the website or contents, or for any incidents arising as a result of the use of the contents. 6. An indemnification clause states that all visitors to your website agree to hold you and any associated business partners free from liability for any actions or results that arise from use of the website. This clause can range from simple to complex. 7. Other miscellaneous statements may include your company's contact information and anything not covered in the other sections.

Other

Your terms of use agreement should be posted conspicuously on the website. If you're really concerned about preventing lawsuits, it's a more legally sound approach to force all website visitors to first click on a link stating they agree to the terms before being allowed to see the content inside. Less than one percent of all visitors read user agreements.

Source:

AllBusiness.com: What Should a Web Site Terms of Use Agreement Cover?

University of Dayton: Drafting Website User Agreements