Would you display it on a billboard?  Website content

Anything you publish on your website is subject to the same legal rules that apply to TV, radio, print-media and that which you have displayed on a billboard on the highway.

One primary function for most websites in the meetings and travel sector is that they advertise the services that we provide.  Businesses, of course, want to put their best foot forward and impress, but they also need to be sure that they aren’t overstating the qualities or benefits of their products or services.

You are legally entitled to “puff out your chest” and say “We are the best in the biz!” but wherever your representations are capable of measurement or can be tested against fact, they need to be accurate.  Otherwise you can be sued by consumers or competitors or prosecuted by the ACCC for misleading and deceptive conduct.

Saying that your services or goods are “green”, is a classic example – by what standard or measure are they green?  Accuracy and provability is the key.

Comparative advertising, where you compare your product or service with that of a competitor, is an equally dangerous game.  Unless the facts stated are accurate, provable and involve a comparison of “apples with apples” you are asking for scrutiny by your competitor – and a complaint to the ACCC or worse.

Your products and services need to be described accurately and the price needs to be stated with precision (and don’t forget to quote prices inclusive of GST!).  And if “terms and conditions apply” to an offer, make sure those terms and conditions are readily and quickly available and that they do not contradict or detract too much from the overall impression created by your offer.

Many websites have blog sections or chat-rooms where interested parties can post their thoughts about their experiences.  Remember, you need to monitor or filter those posts and take down anything that could be considered defamatory of a person or that may be misleading.  If you don’t promptly remove it, you too may be legally liable for the defamation, even though you were not the original author of the defamatory statement.

Then we come to the legal content itself:

• The URL should be a name that you are confident is legally yours to use.
• The website should clearly state your business’ full name and ABN on the home page.
• If your site is not simply a “banner” for your services or products, but you take bookings or engage with your customers, your terms and conditions of supply need to be appropriate and well written.
• Even a website that is just a banner-site needs appropriate terms of use/browsing.
• An appropriate copyright notice should appear on every page.
• Your trade marks should be designated ®, where registered and “TM” where you haven’t yet gotten around to registering them.
• You should not include anyone else’s trade mark or logo whether for linking purposes or any other purposes without written consent.
• Using another business’ trade name or company name as a “metatag” (the word hooks that attract search engines) is also a “no-no and can be trade mark infringement or misleading conduct.
• An appropriate “on-line” privacy statement should be included, as well as the overall privacy policy of the business.

There is a lot (this, and more!) to consider.  Do get legal help and, please, don’t just copy the legal stuff from other websites!