What legal obligations must a website comply with?

For all types of websites in Hungary and the EU - be it a presentation website, blog, webshop or just a landing page - certain legal requirements apply, which stem partly from the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), partly from consumer protection legislation and partly from the Electronic Commerce Act.

Let's first see the general elements that apply to all websites, and then afterwards by type I also go into more detail.

Basic mandatory elements on all websites

1. Imprint (operator details)
   • Name of company or individual
   • Headquarters
   • Contact (e-mail, phone number)
   • Tax number
   • Company registration number (if available)
   • Details of the hosting provider

2. Information Notice on Data Processing (GDPR)
   • What data it collects (e.g. the form, cookie or registration form)
   • What is the purpose of the processing
   • How long the data is stored
   • Who has access to the data
   • User rights
   • Contact person for data protection matters

3. Cookie notification and consent control panel
   • Requires prior consent of the user for all non-technical cookies
   • The possibility to accept cookies by category
   • GDPR and Privacy rules

4. HTTPS encryption
   • Mandatory for the protection of personal data

Regulatory requirements by type

Webshop
In addition to the above, online shops must comply with particularly strict legal requirements:

• • General Terms and Conditions (GTC)
    - How to buy
    - Payment and delivery terms
    - Right of withdrawal (14 days)
    - Warranty, guarantee and guarantee
    - Complaints handling
    - Technical steps for setting up an electronic contract

  • Model withdrawal declaration
    - This should be made available for download or display

  • Product information
    - Clear and detailed description
    - Prices in gross and HUF (in Hungarian webshop)
    - Stock information (if relevant)

  • Quick access to contact details
    - Minimum e-mail address, but also a recommended phone number if available

  • Complaints handling procedure
    - Legislation sets out how and within what time limits to deal with customer complaints

• Electronic contract steps

• NAV data reporting
  – If you issue an invoice (which you must as an online shop), you also have a reporting obligation.

Blog
A blog is not automatically considered commercial, but if it contains advertising, affiliate links and PR articles or a newsletter, it is:

• Imprint and data management even if there is no income
  - Also required for newsletter subscription, commenting and statistical cookies

• Affiliate link and PR content must be indicated
  - If you receive money for something, it must be indicated ("Sponsored Content" or "Advertising")

• Comment section, newsletter and statistics = data management

• Cookie notification
  – If you have Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, remarketing or other tracking code on the site, it is essential

 

Landing page
Many people think it's "just a simple landing", but if you ask for data, that's data processing!

• If there is a form, there is also data processing, so you need GDPR information
  - Who processes the data and for what purpose and for how long.

• Consent for cookies:
  - If you use remarketing, you must

• masthead:
  - Required even if 1 page

Common errors

• "I'll fill in the imprint later"
• No link to data management in the footer
• Lack of GTC for webshop
• GDPR section in English on the Hungarian site

 Other, often forgotten obligations

• When sending a newsletter double opt-in, because you first subscribe and then confirm this by e-mail (double opt-in)

• Facebook Pixel, Google Tag Manager and Analytics Contribution you need these!

• If you target minors (e.g. if you sell children's products), the site will be subject to a separate privacy assessment

• If you have a Hungarian language site, you will need to provide information in Hungarian and the English template is not enough

Checklist - Got everything?

Requirement	Website	Webshop	Blog	Landing
Imprint	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
Privacy notice	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
Cookie notification	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
HTTPS	✔️	✔️	✔️	✔️
GTC	✖️	✔️	✖️	✖️
Cancellation notice	✖️	✔️	✖️	✖️
PR / Affiliate Marking	✖️	✔️/✖️	✔️	✖️
Product and price info	✖️	✔️	✖️	✖️

Final thought

A website is not just a question of design, but legal compliance is a prerequisite for credibility, building trust and avoiding penalties. It is not optional, it is basic. A missing privacy notice or incorrect GTCs can result not only in a nuisance, but also in hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. If you get it right, you can win over not only the authorities, but your visitors too.
But the good news is that it does it right once, and then you just need to refresh it from time to time. There is one thing you should not do "in-house", and that is the TOS. It should contain legal elements that usually only a legal professional would know, so with this one thing it is worth getting the help of a lawyer or other web platform to ensure that it complies with all the legal requirements.