If you're offering online courses—whether on your own platform or through a learning management system—you must ensure your website includes the right legal documents. Legal pages for online course creators are crucial to protect your intellectual property, limit your liability, and ensure compliance with global regulations.
Table of Contents
1. Terms and Conditions
This is your contract with users. It sets the ground rules for course access, payment obligations, account usage, and consequences for policy violations. A well-written Terms and Conditions page typically includes:
- Course Access: Outline whether course access is lifetime, subscription-based, or limited to a specific duration.
- Payment Terms: Describe pricing, taxes, currency, recurring payments, and invoicing.
- Account Conduct: Prohibit sharing login credentials or reselling course content.
- Termination Clause: Explain when and how accounts can be suspended or terminated.
- Jurisdiction: Specify the legal location governing the terms.
2. Privacy Policy
This is legally required in most countries. Your privacy policy should explain what personal data you collect, why, and how it’s stored and shared. Key elements include:
- Types of Data Collected: Emails, IP addresses, payment info, behavior data, etc.
- How Data is Used: For marketing, analytics, customer service, etc.
- Third-Party Sharing: Mention services like Stripe, Google Analytics, or Mailchimp.
- User Rights: Right to access, edit, or delete data.
- Data Security: Measures taken to protect user data.
3. Refund and Cancellation Policy
Be transparent about your refund conditions. Will you offer a money-back guarantee? How many days do users have to request a refund? Important details include:
- Eligibility: What qualifies a user for a refund.
- Time Frames: How long after purchase a refund is valid.
- Partial vs Full Refund: Based on course completion.
- Cancellation: How users can cancel subscriptions.
| Refund Option | Time Frame | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Full Refund | Within 7 days | No course progress made |
| Partial Refund | 8–14 days | Less than 25% progress |
| No Refund | After 14 days | Any progress |
4. Disclaimers
Disclaimers limit your liability and clarify the limitations of your course content. Typical disclaimers may include:
- No Guarantees: Make it clear that results may vary from user to user.
- Educational Purpose: Emphasize that your course is not a substitute for professional advice (legal, medical, financial, etc.).
- Personal Responsibility: Encourage users to do their own research and make informed decisions.
5. Intellectual Property Notice
Protect your proprietary content. Your notice should:
- Identify all content as your original work.
- Prohibit downloading, redistributing, or selling without permission.
- Include a copyright symbol and date.
- Optionally mention DMCA takedown procedures.
6. Affiliate Disclosure (if applicable)
If you link to tools or products and earn a commission, disclose this relationship. This should include:
- Clear notice near affiliate links.
- A dedicated disclosure page explaining your monetization methods.
- Compliance with FTC guidelines.
7. Accessibility Statement
Ensure inclusivity and demonstrate efforts to make your platform usable by people with disabilities. You may include:
- Commitment to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
- Support for screen readers, captions, or transcripts.
- Instructions for reporting accessibility issues.
8. Cookie Policy
Be upfront about cookie usage. Include:
- What cookies your site uses (e.g., performance, marketing, preferences).
- Why they are used.
- How users can manage cookie preferences (through a banner or settings).
9. Data Protection and GDPR Compliance
For European and global audiences, a GDPR-compliant policy is essential. Key areas to address:
- Legal Basis: Justify your data processing under GDPR requirements.
- Consent: Explain how and when user consent is collected.
- Data Retention: How long user data is stored and when it’s deleted.
- User Rights: Include details on data access, correction, portability, and deletion.
- Contact Details: Include a Data Protection Officer or compliance email.
Conclusion
Online course creators operate in a space that involves collecting payments, handling personal data, and delivering intellectual content—all of which require legal protection. Including the proper legal pages on your website protects both you and your users. With clear, detailed policies, you enhance credibility, avoid legal issues, and show that you take both compliance and your learners seriously.
Related: Can You Be Sued For Not Having Policy Pages?
Related: Where to Display Policies
Need help creating a GDPR-compliant privacy policy? Use our free Privacy Policy Generator to create a comprehensive privacy policy that meets GDPR requirements.