Drafting Legal Pages for Your Website (India)

Legal pages are not just a formality. They tell your visitors how you handle their information, set the rules for using your site, and protect you if a customer disputes something later. Payment gateways in India (Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree and others) will usually check for a privacy policy, terms, and a refund policy before they activate your account, so getting these ready early keeps your launch on schedule.

• Who you are and how to contact you (business name, email, address if you have one).
• What data you collect: name, email, phone, address, payment details, and any analytics or device data.
• How you collect it: forms, cookies, account signup, checkout.
• Why you collect it: to fulfil orders, reply to enquiries, send updates you opted into, and improve the site.
• Who you share it with: payment processors, shipping partners, email tools, analytics providers. Name the categories.
• How long you keep it and how you protect it.
• The rights visitors have: to see, correct, or delete their data, and how to ask.
• How you handle cookies and third party tracking.
• A last updated date.

India now has the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (the DPDP Act). It sets out how businesses should handle the personal data of people in India. The core ideas are simple: collect only what you need, tell people why, get clear consent, keep the data safe, and let people withdraw consent or ask for deletion. Your privacy policy should reflect these ideas and give people an easy way to reach you about their data.

Your terms set the rules of the road. For a store, they also form the contract for each sale. Cover who can use the site, what people may and may not do, who owns the content and logos, your liability limits, pricing and payment terms, and how disputes are resolved (usually the courts of your city). Keep the language clear so a normal customer can actually read it.

If you sell anything, be specific here. Vague refund policies cause disputes and chargebacks. State what can be returned, the condition it must be in, the time window (for example 7 days from delivery), how the refund is issued, and how long it takes to reach the customer. If some items are non returnable (perishables, personalised goods, digital downloads), say so clearly.

For physical products, tell buyers where you ship, the expected delivery timelines, the charges, and what happens if a parcel is delayed or lost. If you ship only within India or only to certain states, state that up front so nobody is disappointed at checkout.

• DPDP Act, 2023: handle personal data with clear consent, collect only what you need, and give people a way to withdraw consent or request deletion.
• Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020: online sellers should show clear seller details, total price, return and refund terms, and a way to raise complaints.
• Grievance contact: display a contact point (name or role, email) where customers can raise concerns, and respond within a reasonable time.
• GST and invoices: if you are GST registered, show the right tax details on invoices. Your accountant can confirm what your invoices must include.

When we build your site we set up the pages, link them in your footer, wire up cookie consent if you need it, and connect your contact and grievance details. We can start from a tailored template based on your business, and we are happy to work alongside your lawyer if you have one. We do not act as your legal counsel, but we make sure the pages exist, are easy to find, and are wired in correctly.