QUESTION
What are the components every website should have? Is a copyright, privacy policy, contact page, etc. really important parts of a website?
Answer
Hi Milijan,
Great question.
The components your website should have depends on what your site is/what function it serves. But below are five website components your site may need.
Components your site *should* have
There are two pages I believe almost any website should have regardless of what kind of site it is: a blog, a restaurant website, portfolio, other kind of local business, etc.
1. About page – It’s so important to tell your audience *who* is behind the website! On most websites, the about page is one of the most visited pages—for good reason. People want to know about the site owner/team behind the scenes.
2. Contact page – The “contact” section could be part of the about page. Either way, I think having some way a person can contact the site owner is important—whether it’s on its own page, in the footer of your website, in the sidebar, etc.
Legal components your site *may* need
Aside from the about and contact page, your site may need one of these three things.
3. Copyright – A copyright is necessary when you’re an author or creator of an original work such as books, photographs, songs, and other creative works. To add a copyright to your site, all you need to add is a visible “form of notice” somewhere on your site. Such as simply adding the “c” symbol (Example: © 2001 John Doe). Or the word “copyright”, the year of publication and the copyright owner.
4. Privacy policy – A privacy policy is needed when you collect data from your website users. This agreement informs users about your privacy practices. And is required by law (again, only if you are collecting information).
Example of information you may collect: email addresses. For reference, here is the Learn to Code With Me privacy policy.
5. Terms and conditions – By definition, terms and conditions are “rules which one must agree to abide by in order to use a service”. Terms and conditions are not required by law, but recommended. Especially if you have some kind of service (even a free one).
Here you can state your rules and regulations for a user when they register an account with you. It basically outlines usage of the website. Oftentimes websites add their policy on returns, refunds, and/or cancellations under their terms and conditions.
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Hope this helps! Again the only one that is legally required is the privacy policy—if you’re collecting data from your users.
Laurence
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