What information should you include on your website?

Your online business should make it clear who you are, what you provide and where you are located. What does that mean for the contact and business information that should be on your website? Is that the trade name, your personal address and even your VAT number? Common questions that often come back with different answers. We would like to clarify this through this article.

Why share contact and company information on your website?

The basic principle of why you should include contact and company information is simple: as a business, you should be accessible and transparent to customers, ideally in a quick and direct way. This includes the following points:

1. Share email and phone number 

2. Provide business address 

3. Name Chamber of Commers / business registration and number

4. State VAT number (VAT ID)

Where this data should be and a handy checklist we share at the end:

5. Where do I list the NAW and company information on my website?

6. Checklist: What information to include on your website?

 

Reachability: share email and phone number  

Until November 2022 it was not mandatory to have a phone number and email address on the website, a quick chat function then fulfilled the above-mentioned basic principle of reachability. This has since changed; consumers need to be able to quickly get in touch with online stores, and for that, listing phone number and email address is mandatory. As an extra service you can of course use chat(bots) and Whatsapp, but this should no longer replace a phone number and email address.

Transparency: stating business address

You also need to be findable/transparent, this includes having a valid address on the website. This is your private address, or an address where the business is located. The purpose of this basic principle is simple: if the consumer cannot reach you through the other two contact options, the consumer can go to the business owner. Listing only a P.O. Box is therefore not sufficient.

List the Chamber of Commerce registration and number on the online business

In addition to the basic principle of clear contact information on the website, it is required by law to mention the Chamber of Commerce number on the website. To be precise; the CoC number should appear on all outgoing correspondence, both offline and online, with advertising expressions being the exception. So, in addition to being listed on the website, the CoC number should be in your signature of emails.

Mention VAT number on the website 

After registration with the Chamber of Commerce, you will receive 2 VAT numbers for your company; the sales tax number and your VAT identification number (VAT id). Only the VAT ID number should be visible on your website, invoices and other means of communication. You only use the sales tax number when contacting the Tax Office. The reason for the two numbers is that the VAT ID does not include your citizen service number, so the privacy of the entrepreneur is better protected.

Where do I mention the name and address and company details on my online business?

Listing your details on the website but hiding them in a small heading under 'general conditions' is not enough, according to the Consumer & Market Authority. NAW and company details should be easily visible. Put your details (e-mail, phone number, name and address, Chamber of Commerce and VAT information, for example, in the header or footer or under the heading 'contact' or 'about us'.

Checklist: what information to include on your online business?

Please include the information below on your website:

  • NAW data: Private or business address. Mention of a P.O. Box is not sufficient. 
  • E-mail address
  • Telephone number
  • Trade name with which you are registered at the Chamber of Commerce
  • The registration number at the Chamber of Commerce
  • Your VAT number: VAT ID

List this information visibly, such as in the header or footer of your website. 

If you are acting as an intermediary then you should include the name and business address of the company you are selling for.

Your registration on the Businessforsale.eu platform

When you register your seller profile, most of the above data is requested for placement and validated via a cross-check with the website. To facilitate a smooth registration, we recommend that you include the data on your website.

More information about selling your business?

 

Sources: acm.nl, ondernemersplein.kvk.nl, belastingdienst.nl