As a start-up and self-employed person with your own website, you must provide certain information by law. These serve to inform the visitor of your website and are called imprint or provider identification. A missing imprint or incorrect information can quickly lead to fines or warnings. These guidelines or mandatory information also apply on Facebook and social networks. The imprint must be directly accessible to the consumer and reachable via a maximum of 2 clicks.
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What is an imprint?
An imprint is a mandatory legal requirement for website operators in many countries, especially in Germany and other European countries. It serves to clearly and transparently present the identity of the operator of a website or online store. An imprint usually contains information such as:
Name of the company or natural person
Address (full address)
Contact information (telephone number, email address)
Authorized representative (e.g. managing director, owner)
Register entry (e.g. commercial register, if applicable)
VAT ID (if available)
Disclaimer or legal information, depending on the type of website.
The imprint should enable users to contact the operator of the website and also serves as legal protection by clarifying responsibility for the content of the site. In Germany, an imprint is mandatory for almost all commercial websites and online stores in accordance with Section 5 of the Digital Services Act (DDG).
Note: On May 14, 2024, the Telemedia Act (TMG) expired and was replaced by the Digital Services Act (DDG). Although the content requirements for the legal notice have remained largely unchanged, references in your legal notice should be updated from Section 5 TMG to Section 5 DDG.
Step 1: Create a store imprint in the Shopify Shop
First login to your Shopify admin area
Now create the page as follows:
Click on "Online Store" and...
...in the menu that pops up underneath, click on "Pages".
Here you see an overview of the already existing pages. Now click on "Add Page" in the upper right corner or, if you are already using the new Shopify backend in German, on "Add Page".
You will now switch to the "Page" view.
Enter the desired data here.
Title -> the title of the page
Content -> the content of the page. You can enter this as HTML or as normal text. You can format this text in the editor. Make sure that you do not use a "Header 1" heading, because in most Shopify themes the title is already set as H1 heading and this should only occur once per page.
Publications -> yes/no. You can use the "hidden" selection to create a page that is not yet visible. This way you can finish it at your leisure and publish it later.
Click "Save" to save your page.
The imprint must be immediately accessible, constantly available and always up to date. The consumer must always be able to reach your imprint from any page with one click. In addition, it must be clearly legible and written in German when selling to German-speaking countries.
Reading tip: Do you already know these Shopify hacks?
Step 2: Connect imprint in the Shopify menu
This is how you get to the menu:
Click on "Online Store"..
..and in the submenu on Navigation
Click on the menu you want. In this example we want to have the link in the footer, so that the customer can always get to the imprint without much searching.
Click "Add menu item" to add a menu item.
In the popup that appears, select the page you just created. Shopify will assign the name of the link for you. If you want to use a different term, you can of course do so. Confirm your change by clicking on "Add".
You will now see your added menu item and only need to save it by clicking on "Save".
Reading tip: Want to sell to wholesale customers? Then we have useful information on the Shopify Wholesale Channel here.
The necessary mandatory information in the imprint
| Website Owner: | First and last name |
|---|---|
| Address: | Address of the branch & registered office of the company. Complete address data is required. |
| Representation of the company: | Indication of the partners authorized to represent (GbR, OHG, sole proprietor), managing directors (GmbH) or board members (AG) |
| Contact: | Phone, fax, e-mail |
| Supervisory authority: | Specify a competent authority in the imprint as the point of contact for violations. |
| Registry entry: | Specification of the commercial, association, partnership or cooperative register with corresponding register number |
| Freelancer with professional chamber: | Indication of the legal title of the profession, the name of the professional rules and how to access them |
| Sales tax ID: | Business/sales tax identification number |
Mandatory information in the imprint for different types of companies
An imprint is mandatory for every website - but the required information varies depending on the type of company. This overview shows what information sole proprietors, GbRs, GmbHs, UGs and AGs must provide.
| Mandatory information | Sole proprietorship | German civil law partnership | Ltd. | Entrepreneurial company | Company limited by shares |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name of the company | Yes (first & last name of the owner) | Yes (first & last names of all shareholders) | Yes (company name according to commercial register) | Yes (company name according to commercial register) | Yes (company name according to commercial register) |
| Address | Yes (full address) | Yes (full address) | Yes (full address of the company) | Yes (full address of the company) | Yes (full address of the company) |
| Authorized representative(s) | Not required | Yes (all shareholders) | Yes (all shareholders) | Yes (all shareholders) | Yes (Board of Directors) |
| Contact options (e-mail, telephone, fax) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial register & registration number | Not required | Not required | Yes (local court & HRB number) | Yes (local court & HRB number) | Yes (local court & HRB number) |
| Sales tax ID or business identification number | If available | If available | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Supervisory authority (if necessary, e.g. for financial services, health professions, etc.) | If applicable | If applicable | If applicable | If applicable | If applicable |
| Indication of share capital | Not required | Not required | Yes (only for limited liability companies with capital commitment) | Yes (e.g. €1 share capital must be stated) | Yes (share capital of the AG) |
| Professional regulations (e.g. for lawyers, doctors, tax consultants, architects) | If applicable | If applicable | If applicable | If applicable | If applicable |
Example for the imprint
You can see from our legal notice how it should ultimately look. Nevertheless, an imprint should always be checked for legal validity.
Create an imprint with the Shopify imprint generator
The Shopify Imprint Generator is a handy tool that helps Shopify merchants to create a legally correct imprint for their website. With this generator, merchants can quickly and easily enter all the required information and the generator automatically creates an imprint that meets the legal requirements. The generator takes into account the specific legal requirements for different countries and regions to ensure that the imprint created contains all the necessary information. Furthermore, it allows merchants to customize the legal notice to their individual terms and conditions and add any additional information they deem relevant.
Using the Shopify Legal Notice Generator saves merchants time and effort in creating a legal notice while ensuring compliance with applicable regulations. It is a valuable tool for Shopify merchants who want to focus on building their business without having to worry about legal details.
Are you unsure about creating your Shopify imprint or do you have further questions about Shopify and need the help of a Shopify Plus agency? Then contact us now without obligation and we will be happy to help you with words and deeds.
Frequently asked questions about Shopify imprint
What is the imprint of a website?
The imprint is a kind of business card. The Telemedia Act stipulates that almost all website operators must provide information about their identity. This information can be found in the imprint.
Is an imprint mandatory?
Yes, an imprint is mandatory. The imprint must always be accessible, always up-to-date and accessible within a maximum of 2 clicks.
What must be included in the imprint of a website?
There are some mandatory details in the imprint, including the website operator, the address, the representation of the company, the contact, the supervisory authority, the register entry, freelancers of the professional chamber and the VAT ID.
Is it a punishable offence not to have an imprint?
Yes! According to §11 of the Telemedia Act, violations of the provider identification can be punished with fines of up to 50,000€.
Where do I have to place the imprint on the website?
The imprint can be placed in the footer or also in the header. It is important that it is accessible within a maximum of 2 clicks, always up-to-date and always available.
