How to Encourage Software Users to Actually Read Your Software Licensing Agreement
You probably already know that having a software licensing agreement in place is important in any situation in which you give or sell software to your customers. However, it isn't important just to have one of these licenses in place; it's also important for your customers to actually read them so that they know what they are agreeing to. As you might even know from experience yourself, though, many customers don't actually read these agreements. These are some of the things that you can do to encourage your software users to actually read these agreements.
Keep It Short and Sweet
Some software licensing agreements are very long. After all, a lot of things have to be included in these agreements, and you surely do not want to leave anything out. However, keeping your licensing agreement as short as you can will help increase the chances of customers actually reading it. This is because overly long agreements might seem overwhelming. In contrast, users might not be as intimidated at the idea of reading a shorter agreement. Don't leave anything out of your agreement, but try to keep it brief and to the point when you can.
Put It in Layman's Terms
In addition to being intimidated by the length of some software licensing agreements, some customers feel overwhelmed and intimidated by all of the legal language and big words that they find in these agreements. Some users might feel like it's pointless to read something that they probably aren't going to understand anyway. Putting the agreement in layman's terms that average customers who don't have much software or legal experience can understand will help a lot with this.
Require a Scroll-Through
You might already require your customers to check a box that states that they have read the agreement before allowing them to actually use the software. However, to help encourage users to actually read the agreement, you may want to set up the program so that users have to actually scroll through the entire agreement before they can move on to the next step. Even though this won't actually force your users to read the agreement, it can encourage them to do so. At the very least, it can encourage them to do a scan of the agreement.
Many software users do not read software licensing agreements. Following these tips can help encourage those who are using your software to actually do so, though.