What a trade website must show by law

Updated 23 October 2026. A practical summary for England, Wales and Scotland, not legal advice. Where a rule matters to your business, check the source named here.

The short version

Limited companies must show their registered name, number, registered office and where they are registered.
Every business site should show who runs it, a real address and an email address. Add a VAT number if you have one.
Prices shown to the public must include fees the customer can't avoid.
A contact form needs a privacy notice. Tracking cookies need consent.
Only claim registrations, guarantees and insurance you can prove.

Part 1: what the law expects

If you are a limited company

The Company, Limited Liability Partnership and Business (Names and Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2015 require a company's website to show:

the company's registered name, exactly as at Companies House (including "Ltd" or "Limited")
the part of the UK it is registered in, for example "Registered in England and Wales"
its company number
its registered office address

The usual place is the footer or a "Legal" or "About" page. If you trade under a different name, such as "Smith Heating" for "J Smith Services Ltd", the site can lead with the trading name, as long as the registered details are there too. LLPs have the same duty.

If you are a sole trader or partnership

If you trade under a name that isn't your own surname, the Companies Act 2006 (Part 41) requires your own name and an address where documents can be served on your business paperwork, such as letters, invoices and receipts. Websites aren't named in that list, but the next rule covers them anyway.

Every business website: the E-Commerce Regulations

The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 apply to websites that promote or sell services, which covers most trade sites. Regulation 6 asks for:

the name of the business, and of the person or company behind it
a geographic address (a street address, not only a PO box)
an email address, so customers can contact you directly
your VAT number, if you are VAT-registered
your company number and register, if you are a company
details of any trade or professional body you belong to, where it applies

Working from home and don't want your address on a public page? You can't leave the address out entirely, but it doesn't need to be on every page. A short legal notice page linked from the footer is enough. Keep it off your Google Business Profile, which can hide it.

Prices

If your site shows prices, the E-Commerce Regulations say they must be clear, including whether VAT is included. Since 6 April 2025 the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 also bans "drip pricing": a price you show to the public must include any charge the customer can't avoid. A "£80 boiler service" that becomes £96 with VAT, or that always adds a £20 call-out fee, is a problem. Say "£80 including VAT" or "£80 + VAT".

Prices that depend on the job are fine. "From £250, fixed price after a free visit" is honest, as long as most jobs aren't far above it.

Contact forms and privacy

A form that collects a name, phone number, postcode or photos collects personal data. UK GDPR (Article 13) says people must be told who you are, what you collect, why, how long you keep it, who else sees it and what their rights are. That is your privacy notice. Link it next to the form.

Most businesses that handle personal data must also pay the Information Commissioner's Office an annual data protection fee unless they are exempt. Some small firms are, depending on what they use the data for. The ICO website has a short self-assessment that tells you whether you need to pay.

Cookies

The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) say cookies that aren't strictly needed for the site to work need the visitor's consent first. Advertising trackers, such as the Facebook pixel or Google Ads tags, need consent. A site that uses only essential cookies needs no banner at all. The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 relaxes the rule for some analytics cookies, so check the ICO's current cookie guidance before you add any tracking.

Jobs agreed at the customer's home

This isn't a website rule, but it catches many trades firms out. When you agree a job with a consumer at their home, by phone or online, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 usually give them 14 days to cancel, and you must tell them that in writing with a cancellation form. If they want you to start within the 14 days, get that request in writing too. Urgent repairs they called you out for are treated differently. Business Companion, the government-funded Trading Standards guidance site, explains it in plain English. If your website has a quote or booking form, your terms should cover this.

Claims you make

The advertising rules (the CAP Code, enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority) apply to your own website, not only to adverts. Every claim must be true and provable:

"Fully insured": only with current public liability cover. Many firms name the insurer and the cover amount.
"Guaranteed": say what the guarantee covers, for how long and who gives it. A manufacturer's 10-year boiler warranty is the manufacturer's promise, not yours.
"Cheapest in Leeds" or "No.1 roofer": avoid them unless you have evidence.
Reviews: only real ones. Since April 2025, fake or selectively shown reviews are banned under UK law.

Part 2: registrations, shown the right way

Gas work

Anyone doing gas work for payment must be on the Gas Safe Register. It's the law under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, not a badge. Show your registration number, list only the types of gas work you are registered for, and link to the Gas Safe Register website so customers can check it. Use the Gas Safe logo only as the register's own rules allow.

Electrical work

In England and Wales, some domestic electrical work is "notifiable" under Part P of the Building Regulations, for example a new consumer unit or a new circuit. Electricians in a competent person scheme, such as NICEIC, NAPIT or ELECSA, can self-certify that work. If you are registered, say which scheme and give your number. If you aren't, don't use the logo. Scotland handles this through building warrants instead.

Many electricians get landlord work. In England, private landlords need an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) at least every five years. A page that explains this and takes requests from landlords and letting agents is worth having.

Other schemes and trade bodies

TrustMark, Which? Trusted Traders, the Federation of Master Builders, the National Federation of Roofing Contractors and others: show them only while you are a current member, link to your entry on their site where they offer one, and remove the logo the day membership ends.

Part 3: what customers check before they call

Most people find a trade on their phone, often while something is leaking or broken. In the first minute they look for a few things. If they can't find them, they go back to Google and try the next firm.

Do you cover my area? List towns and postcode districts in plain text, not only on a map.
Do you do this job? One clear page per kind of work: boilers, rewires, flat roofs. A single page saying "all plumbing work" tells them nothing.
Can I trust you? Real photos of your work, your registration numbers, reviews with a link to where they came from, and a named person or team.
Roughly what will it cost? Even "from" prices or "free quote after a visit" stop people guessing.
How do I reach you now? A call button that works with one thumb, and a form that takes a photo of the problem.
When can you come? Normal hours, and whether you take emergencies.
Does the site work on my phone? It should load in a few seconds on mobile data and read without zooming. Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool tests this.

A checklist to copy

Business name, and the person or company behind it
Company number, registered office and place of registration (companies)
Street address on a legal notice page; email address
VAT number, if registered
Prices that include unavoidable fees, and say whether VAT is included
Privacy notice linked from every form
Cookie consent if you use tracking; no banner if you don't
Gas Safe number, or scheme name and number, with a link to check it
Only provable claims: insurance, guarantees, reviews
Areas covered, one page per main kind of work, hours, photos of your own jobs
Call button and photo enquiry form that work on a phone

Every site we build includes a legal notice and a privacy notice for your business, written to match what the site really does, and the parts of this list that apply to you.

What a trade website must show, and what customers check