Which Legal Pages Does Your Website Need? A Plain-English Checklist

Key takeaways

• A privacy policy is needed whenever you collect personal data, which is almost always
• Non-essential cookies generally need consent, plus a notice explaining them
• Selling online means terms of sale and clear refund and cancellation rules
• Affiliate links must be disclosed clearly, close to the link
• Disclaimer, EULA and DMCA pages are only needed in certain situations
• UK companies must show their registered name, number and office address
• Review your pages whenever you add a new tool or change how you sell

Disclosure: Prodify Digital offers a bonus bundle and may earn a commission if you buy through our links. That does not change our assessment.

Policy pages tend to get added in a rush the night before launch, or copied from someone else’s site. Neither is a good idea. The pages you need depend on what your site does: what data it collects, whether it sells, and how it earns money.

This guide answers one question: which legal pages does your website need? It walks through each common page, when it applies and what it should cover, then gives you a checklist to work through. It pairs with our main article, Scale.gg TOS Docs: Website Policies Without the Blank Page. You can also watch our TOS Docs walkthrough.

Nothing in this guide is legal advice. It is a plain-English starting point based on UK rules, with notes where other countries differ. Check current guidance or get qualified advice for your own business.

Which legal pages does every website need?

Start with what your site does, not with a list of documents. Answer these questions, and the pages you need follow:

What goes in a privacy policy?

A privacy policy tells people what personal data you collect, why, and what rights they have. Under UK and EU data protection law you must give people this information when you collect their data, so almost every site needs one. The ICO lists the privacy information organisations should provide.

• Who you are and how to contact you about privacy
• What data you collect, such as names, emails, payment details and browsing data
• Why you collect it and the lawful basis for each purpose
• Who you share it with, such as your email platform or payment provider
• How long you keep it; our guide Email Data Retention Schedule: What to Keep, Review and Delete helps here
• People’s rights, such as access, correction and deletion, and how to complain to the regulator (the ICO in the UK)

Do you need a cookie policy and banner?

If your site uses non-essential cookies or similar tracking, you generally need to explain them and get consent before setting them. In the UK these rules sit in the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). Strictly necessary cookies, such as those that keep a shopping basket working, are exempt.

Analytics, advertising pixels and many embedded videos usually count as non-essential. The ICO’s guidance, checked on 27 October 2026, describes several specific exceptions, including qualifying statistical-purpose analytics. The analytics exception requires clear information and a simple, free way to object; it does not cover every analytics configuration. Check the current ICO exceptions and their conditions rather than relying on older articles. Our guide How to Set Up a Cookie Consent Banner That Actually Works covers the banner step by step.

Do you need terms and conditions?

Terms are strongly advisable if you sell, and useful even if you do not. For an online shop or course, terms of sale set out prices, payment, delivery, cancellations and what happens if something goes wrong.

For an information-only site, website terms of use are optional in most cases. They can still help by setting rules for comments, how your content may be reused, and links to other sites.

When do you need a refund policy?

You need clear refund and cancellation information whenever you sell to consumers online. In the UK, the distance-selling rules give buyers a 14-day cancellation period for most online purchases, and you must tell them about it before they buy.

• Physical products: explain how to cancel, how to return items and who pays for return postage
• Digital content: the right to cancel can be lost once a download or stream starts, but only if the buyer agreed to immediate access and acknowledged losing the right
• Services: explain what happens if someone cancels after the work has started
• Your own guarantee: if you offer more than the legal minimum, say exactly what and for how long

Which disclosures and specialist policies do you need?

Disclose affiliate links clearly, and choose specialist policies according to what your business does. In the UK, the CAP Code guidance on affiliate marketing, enforced by the ASA, says marketing must be obviously identifiable. In the US, the FTC expects clear disclosure too.

A disclosure page on its own is not enough. Make the advertising obvious before readers engage. Put a short, prominent note near the links, such as “Ad: affiliate link. We may earn a commission if you buy through this link.” An affiliate agreement is different: it is the set of terms for people who promote your products.

When do you need a disclaimer, EULA or DMCA page?

A disclaimer does not let you make claims you cannot support. If a page promises income or results, change the claim rather than adding a disclaimer underneath it. Our guide Real Sales Proof vs Fake Sales Notifications: How to Show Social Proof Honestly explains why.

What business details must your website show?

UK rules require some business details to be easy to find. Under the Electronic Commerce Regulations, an online business should show its name, a geographic address and an email address. GOV.UK says a UK limited company website must show its registered number, registered office address, place of registration and limited-company status.

Many businesses put these in the footer and on the contact page. If you are VAT registered, include your VAT number too.

How do you check and maintain your legal pages?

Check your tools, policies and business details, then review them whenever the business changes. Work through this list for each website you run:

1. List every tool on the site that collects data or sets cookies
2. Publish a privacy policy that matches that list
3. Add a cookie notice and banner where your cookies or tracking require consent, and test that it holds them back until consent
4. Add terms of sale and refund and cancellation information if you sell
5. Disclose affiliate links near the links themselves
6. Add a disclaimer, EULA or DMCA page only if your site needs one
7. Show your business details in the footer or contact page
8. Link every page from your footer and from checkout or sign-up forms where relevant
9. Get advice if you handle sensitive data, sell across borders or run a regulated business

How do you keep your legal pages accurate?

Review them whenever something changes, and at least once a year. The most common reason a policy goes wrong is not the law changing; it is the business changing and nobody updating the page.

• New tool added: update the privacy and cookie policies before it goes live
• New product or price model: check your terms and refund rules
• New country or audience: check whether different rules apply
• Date each page with “last updated”, so you can see when it was last reviewed

Frequently asked questions

The bottom line

The legal pages your website needs follow from what it does. Almost every site needs a privacy policy, most need a cookie notice, and anyone selling needs terms and refund information. Add affiliate disclosures, disclaimers or a EULA only where they apply, keep the pages matched to your real tools, and get qualified advice when you are unsure.

Related posts

• Scale.gg TOS Docs: Website Policies Without the Blank Page
• How to Set Up a Cookie Consent Banner That Actually Works
• Email Data Retention Schedule: What to Keep, Review and Delete

Garry Knight

I'm Garry Knight, the person behind Prodify Digital. I write about email list building, email marketing, SEO, AI search and the tools that connect them. My aim is to make online marketing easier to understand, so creators and small business owners can make informed decisions about building an audience and keeping people engaged. Here you'll find straightforward guides and product reviews that explain what something does, where it fits and which limitations matter. The focus is on clear explanations and useful next steps—not hype, shortcuts or promises of easy earnings.

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