Clickwrap agreements: almost everything you need to know

Clickwrap agreements: almost everything you need to know

Clickwrap agreements are a common digital solution used to capture customer consent for a standard agreement, such as software licensing agreements and terms and conditions. They are straightforward for consumers to use and understand, as they simply require an individual to check a box to “accept” the agreement and express their consent.

However, while easy to use for consumers, without an effective solution in place, clickwrap agreements can prove challenging to monitor and deploy for many organisations. This especially rings true for organisations who rely on web form solutions that deliver poor user experience and limited functionality.

What is a clickwrap agreement?

Essentially, clickwrap agreements are an effective digital prompt and legal agreement methodology that many organisations use for online transactions and applications. It’s more than likely that you’ve entered into a clickwrap agreement yourself at some point – whether using a social network or buying airline tickets.

Clickwrap agreements have various use cases, such as when signing up for an account, going through a checkout page, accessing online resources, or when registering for product trials. Based on the use case, there may be different clickwrap agreements presented, such as an end-user license agreement, terms and conditions, and disclosures.

Benefits of clickwrap agreements?

Clickwrap agreements offer a range of benefits for both businesses and consumers. However, only a few in the marketplace, such as Docusign Click, currently offer the full range of benefits.

Clickwrap agreements are simple

Clickwrap agreements are a quick and easy way to capture consent when no signature is required. They are simple for consumers to understand as they usually require a single click from the individual to confirm they have read, understood and accepted the standard terms.

Clickwrap agreements improve certainty of contracts

Aside from consumer convenience, clickwrap agreements also provide a practical way for businesses to keep a record of the consumers that have accepted their terms, and the date on which they did so. Despite this, many businesses struggle to track and record who’s accepted such agreements as they use web forms to build their clickwrap agreements, which often limits functionality.

Currently, only a handful of clickwrap providers can capably support businesses in both tracking their clickwrap agreements and supporting a versioning capability. So, while you may be leveraging clickwrap technology already via a web form, it’s important to check that your provider offers the full range of services you need in order to update terms and maintain a clear oversight of your agreements. Docusign Click provides an easy-to-use solution to this problem - enabling you to capture consent, track agreements and update versions as necessary.

Clickwrap agreements are legally enforceable

A clickwrap agreement may not require a wet ink signature, but it is enforceable so long as it complies with the basic legal principles of contract formation. They are ideally suited to ‘non-negotiable’ agreements that customers commonly sign online, e.g. signing T’s & C’s on a website.

Creation and best practice

Creating a clickwrap agreement is straightforward with the right software provider, such as Docusign Click. The agreement can sit on a website, portal, or in an app and should offer an intuitive interface for users. For example, Docusign Click creates an automatically generated JavaScript code snippet that can be embedded within HTML. Then you can continue to manage existing clickwrap agreements and update those same agreements without changing the code.

Modern clickwrap agreements should be set out in a way that makes it easy for consumers to read and understand what it is that they are entering into before they consent. If new terms need to be issued, then the business should make consumers aware of this and ask them to decline or accept the latest version for their records. Click simplifies this by centralising your clickwrap agreements in a single location for easy tracking and version control.

Best practice also dictates that you consider the scrutiny that a court of law may apply to the clickwrap agreement processes used to enforce agreement terms. Such scrutiny may include considering how colours, fonts, capitalisation or formatting might affect the decision-making and consent-giving of the person signing the clickwrap agreement. Click can help you stay on the right side of the law with a range of customisation options that make it easy to deliver an intuitive user experience while ensuring legal and compliance requirements are met.

As noted above, businesses must keep a log of completed clickwrap agreements. This is what makes Docusign Click stand out: it gives you a complete audit trail that includes the date, time and other critical information that captures affirmative consent, a lifesaver when it comes to managing large amounts of agreements.

Finally, it’s important to consider whether a clickwrap agreement is the right type of electronic signature to be used. For example, a high value agreement that requires multiple signatories is better suited to a more sophisticated workflow such as Docusign eSignature, whereas agreements such as privacy policies or Terms of Service are much better suited to a something like Docusign Click.

Summary: clickwrap agreements

Clickwrap agreements are a convenient and legally enforceable method to manage standard terms in a way that ensures both a business and its customers are compliant. When done right, consumers can agree to the terms and conditions in a single click, while businesses can keep their records up-to-date and remain compliant.

Contact our sales team to learn more.