What you must legally include in your website

You probably already know that if you are a limited company there is certain information that you must include in official correspondence such as invoices and letterheads. Well, with effect from April 1st 2007, these regulations are extended to Irish websites and electronic communications too. And non-compliance can cost you dearly.

These requirements are already law in many other European countries. So those of us doing business in Germany, for example, know that to engender trust corporate information has been essential for several years.

So what is it you need to include?

• The place of registration of the company, the number with which it is registered and the address of its registered office
• In the case of a company exempt from the obligation to use the word "limited" or "teoranta" as part of its name, the fact that it is a limited company
• In the case of a company which is being wound up, the fact that it is being wound up
• If there is reference to the share capital of the company on any page of the website, the reference shall be to the paid-up share capital

And where do you need to include them?

• On the footer of each page seems to be the best current advice as the regulation is not clear on this, we recommend on all sites the footer include at a minimum your physical address and contact details
• In all email correspondence, if you don't already use a footer on emails this might persuade you to do so!

Click here to download more information about the electronic information directive

Not a limited company? Don't forget that the Office of Data Protection requirement is that all websites require a privacy statement if they collect personal information such as an email address on a contact form, or cookies used for web statistics.

Click here to find out more about the regulations on privacy statements