Feedback welcome

[benr123]

With regards to the legal info: Contact address, registered address, Ltd company reg num, VAT number etc. Also the URL whois must have all YOUR company contact info too.

I believe thats only if you are a Limited Company. None of that applies if you are a sole trader.

Personally, I would get rid of the public whois information (if you are a sole trader). Do you really want any random person to know your home address?

[Indizine]

Regardless of status, all websites should state their business contact details including their trading address and an email address (and not just a contact form).

and also;

VAT reg number if vat registered
Company details (name, reg office, reg place and reg no) if a Ltd Co.

If you choose to work from home, knowing where you live cannot and should not be hidden.

Anyway, why would some random person see your address and come to your house? They could go to any house out of the phone book if they are of that mind. If you had an office, they could do the same there - what is the difference? They cannot enter either without your permission.

Nominet state that your trading address MUST be displayed if you are a trading individual so if you work from home, you have to give your home address

I suppose you could get around that with a virtual address.

[benr123]

Regardless of status, all websites should state their business contact details including their trading address and an email address (and not just a contact form).

Is that a legal requirement or not? I do not have that information on any of my sites. I am currently a sole trader.

If you choose to work from home, knowing where you live cannot and should not be hidden.

Anyway, why would some random person see your address and come to your house? They could go to any house out of the phone book if they are of that mind. If you had an office, they could do the same there - what is the difference? They cannot enter either without your permission.

Each to their own. I just don't like the thought of it. Not like anyone would stalk me but its always a small risk especially on the internet. All my domains are private.

Nominet state that your trading address MUST be displayed if you are a trading individual so if you work from home, you have to give your home address

I suppose you could get around that with a virtual address.

True, but ticking the box that you are non-trading individual is easier.

[AWTS]

Hi ks196,

I'm looking into the package you used to build your site. Apart from the doctype, there are some real problems under the hood. I don't want to blind you with science, but the natural language of the page isn't declare nor is the character encoding. The doctype and character encoding are especially important.

[edit]Just realised that there are no meta keyword or description tags - description especially important for Google, etc.[/edit]

I'll let you know the results of my digging.

Cheers!

[Indizine]

yes.
true. stay hidden by all means. But customers tend to like transparency.
your call - do you want to win business or not?

[benr123]

yes.
true. stay hidden by all means. But customers tend to like transparency.
your call - do you want to win business or not?

There are reasons to have the address on the website. I do prefer to order from sites where I know their base is. Its just a not a legal requirement for a sole trader AFAIK.

So my advice about about making the whois private is probably wrong. If the OP is comfortable having her home address on the website then no point in making the whois private but if the OP is not comfortable having her home address on the website, it makes sense to make the whois private too.

[AWTS]

Quote from OUT-LAW.COM:

"
Information that must be supplied

The various regulations share a central theme: companies should not hide themselves from purchasers, and should provide as much information to purchasers as possible.
Company information that must be supplied under the E-Commerce Regulations

The E-Commerce Regulations require that all commercial web sites make the following information directly and permanently available to consumers via the website:

• the company's name, postal address (and registered office address if this is different) and email address;
• the company's registration number;
• any Trade or Professional Association memberships;
• the company's VAT number.

All of this applies regardless of whether the site sells on-line. In addition, any commercial communication – that is any email or even SMS text message – used in providing an "Information Society Service" must display this information."


I'd say that this is pretty unambiguous...

[Indizine]

It is a legal requirement, I said above what was required - it wasn't a statement of my personal opinion or preference. We do websites so we should know


Do not get confused and think that ONLY this applies to Limited Companies - it does not.

It does not make sense nor bode as safe, good advice for the OP to hide their contact details or fail to adhere to Nominet requirements of a UK domain.

It also worries me that if they are hiding one or two things we know should be disclosed, what else do they hide, cut corners around, not adhere to, etc.

Whatever you do, think as a customer NOT as a website owner.

[benr123]

Quote from OUT-LAW.COM:

"
Information that must be supplied

The various regulations share a central theme: companies should not hide themselves from purchasers, and should provide as much information to purchasers as possible.
Company information that must be supplied under the E-Commerce Regulations

The E-Commerce Regulations require that all commercial web sites make the following information directly and permanently available to consumers via the website:

• the company's name, postal address (and registered office address if this is different) and email address;
• the company's registration number;
• any Trade or Professional Association memberships;
• the company's VAT number.

All of this applies regardless of whether the site sells on-line. In addition, any commercial communication – that is any email or even SMS text message – used in providing an "Information Society Service" must display this information."


I'd say that this is pretty unambiguous...

I am fully aware of that article. Thats to do with a company though. Sole traders may have different rules. I have never seen it anywhere that a sole trader has to comply with the companies act.

It may be good practice to put on your website your address but I and some others are not comfortable with that and AFAIK a sole trader does not have to do that.

[benr123]

Do not get confused and think that ONLY this applies to Limited Companies - it does not.

Can you point me to an authoritative source saying that?