# What Must a UK Business Website Show by Law? Source: https://dijitulwebdesign.co.uk/guides/what-must-a-uk-business-website-show-by-law/ Updated: 2026-10-18 > A UK business website must show your business name, geographic address, email address and VAT number, and limited companies must add their registered number, registered office and where they are registered. dijitul builds these details, privacy notices and cookie consent into every website, from £250 + VAT. ## Key facts - E-Commerce Regulations 2002, reg 6: name, geographic address, email, register number, VAT number - Companies: registered name, part of the UK registered in, registered number and registered office (SI 2015/17, regs 24 and 25) - Prices must say whether they include tax and delivery (E-Commerce Regulations 2002, reg 6(2)) - Online sales to consumers: usually a 14-day cancellation right (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013) - Failing to explain cancellation rights can extend the period by up to 12 months - Privacy notice under UK GDPR; cookie consent under PECR ## Every business website: the E-Commerce Regulations Regulation 6 of the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 says a business providing an online service must make the following "easily, directly and permanently accessible": - Your business name. - The geographic address where you are established (not just a PO box). - Contact details including an email address, so people can contact you rapidly and directly. - If you are on a trade or similar public register, which register and your registration number. - If your activity needs authorisation, details of the supervisory authority. - If you are in a regulated profession, your professional body, title and how to access its rules. - Your VAT number, if you are VAT registered. Regulation 6(2) adds that where you show prices, they must be clear and say whether they include tax and delivery costs. A footer plus a full contact page is the usual way to meet this. ## Limited companies and LLPs The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/17) add further requirements. Regulation 24 requires every company to disclose its registered name on its websites. Regulation 25 requires websites to show: - The part of the United Kingdom in which the company is registered (for example, England and Wales). - The company's registered number. - The address of its registered office. If you mention share capital, it must be the paid-up share capital. Your registered name may differ from your trading name, so show both. For example, this site is run by DIJITUL LTD, registered in England and Wales. The usual place for all of this is the site footer, repeated on every page, with fuller details on the contact page. Using the exact registered name, number and address from Companies House avoids mistakes. ## Sole traders and partnerships using a trading name Business Companion, the government-backed trading standards guidance site, explains that if you trade under a name other than your own, you must disclose the proprietor's or partners' names and an address where the business can be contacted and documents served. A sole trader called Jane Smith trading as "Smith Plumbing" should show both. Trading under your own surname alone is generally outside these rules, but the E-Commerce Regulations above still apply. ## If you sell online to consumers The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 require you to give certain information before a consumer buys, including the main characteristics of the goods or service, the total price including taxes and delivery, your identity and address, and their cancellation rights. For distance sales the cancellation period is usually 14 days, running from delivery for goods. If you fail to give the required cancellation information, the period is extended by up to 12 months. There are exceptions, such as made-to-order goods. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 also bans certain practices outright from 6 April 2025, according to CMA guidance, including fake reviews and drip pricing, where unavoidable fees are added later in the checkout. See ecommerce website costs for how this shapes a shop build. ## Privacy and cookies - **Privacy notice.** UK GDPR requires you to tell people what personal data you collect, why, your lawful basis, how long you keep it, who you share it with and their rights. Any site with a contact form collects personal data. Link the notice from your footer and forms. - **Cookies.** PECR requires consent for non-essential cookies, with new exceptions for some analytics and preference cookies from 5 February 2026. See cookie banner rules in the UK. - **Accessibility.** Public sector sites must meet accessibility regulations; private businesses have Equality Act 2010 duties. See accessibility and WCAG. ## When to call us We add the required business details, privacy notice links and cookie consent to every site we build, and we can review an existing site against this list at £45 an hour + VAT. This guide is general information, not legal advice; for terms and conditions specific to your business, speak to a solicitor. Get in touch or call 01623 650333. ## FAQs ### Does my website need to show my address? Yes. The E-Commerce Regulations 2002 require the geographic address where your business is established. Limited companies must also show their registered office address. If you work from home, take advice on which address to use, but a PO box alone does not meet the rule. ### Do I need to show my VAT number on my website? If your business is VAT registered, regulation 6 of the E-Commerce Regulations 2002 requires your VAT number to be made available on a commercial website, alongside your name, address and email. Most businesses put it in the footer, where it is easy to find on every page. ### What company details must be on a limited company website? Your registered name, the part of the UK where the company is registered, your registered number and your registered office address, under SI 2015/17 regulations 24 and 25. Your trading name and VAT number usually appear alongside. ### Do I need terms and conditions on my website? If you sell online, you need to give consumers specific information before they buy, including prices and cancellation rights, and terms are the usual way to do that. A brochure site with no online sales does not strictly need them, but still needs a privacy notice. ### What happens if my website does not show the required information? Trading standards can take action, and for online sales a missing explanation of cancellation rights can extend the customer's cancellation period by up to 12 months under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. It is quick and cheap to fix. ## Prices and contact Prices (from, + VAT): Starter £250 (Up to 5 pages, Custom design, not a template, Mobile-first build, Contact form and click-to-call, Google Business Profile set up, Basic SEO foundations, Analytics and Search Console); Business £500 (Up to 15 pages, A page per service, written to rank, Copywriting included, Full schema markup, Local SEO groundwork, Speed optimised to pass Core Web Vitals, Conversion tracking configured, Training session and recorded walkthrough); Ecommerce £750 (Shopify or WooCommerce, Product and category structure built to rank, Payments and delivery rules configured, Click-and-collect and local delivery, Accounts or EPOS integration, Google Merchant Centre feed, Abandoned cart recovery, Staff training on order management); changes £45 an hour. All prices are "from" and exclude VAT. Every project gets a fixed quote before work starts. Domain registration, stock photography, premium plugins or apps and hosting are listed in the quote, never added later. You own the website and the domain. Aftercare: Hosting from £1 a day + VAT (https://dijihost.co.uk/); Website care plans from £25 a month + VAT (https://dijitulsupport.co.uk/). Contact: https://dijitulwebdesign.co.uk/contact/ · 01623 650333 · info@dijitul.uk