Website representations

Find the page templates that strand policy and contact links

Check an actual page from every template and any separate layout that changes navigation. Follow the visible policy and contact routes to their final destinations, recording missing links, errors, wrong policies and unexpected sign-in barriers. Compare product, collection and content pages with cart and checkout, then check error pages and existing order communications separately. Equivalent access can use different layouts; the purpose is to find coverage gaps. This matrix is practical review guidance, not a claim that a provider requires an identical footer on every page.

For: A research-only merchant checking whether visitors can reach the store’s public policies and contact information from the page types it actually uses.

Updated 2026-10-01

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Define the destinations before checking their coverage

List the public contact route and the actual policy destinations the store needs to present: shipping, returns or refunds, cancellation where applicable, terms and privacy. Record each intended destination and the policy title it should display. Use the business’s real policies and any written provider request to define this list. A navigation label is insufficient if no approved policy exists behind it.

Stripe’s account-activation FAQ lists contact and policy information and expects the business website to be accessible without a password. Its dispute-prevention guidance recommends easy-to-find customer-service contact information and clear refund and cancellation policies. These documents support checking access; they do not mandate every link on every conceivable template or establish a universal layout requirement.

If two pages are intended to state the same policy, first decide which destination is current. A working link to an obsolete or different policy is still a coverage problem. Where policies legitimately differ by offer or market, record the intended difference instead of forcing every page to point to text that does not apply.

Use templates to find the gaps a homepage check misses

Choose a real URL for each product, collection and content template in use. Add cart, checkout and the site’s error-page layout. Include separately configured landing pages, checkout surfaces or language layouts when they change how policy links appear. Record the exact page checked; one product page does not establish coverage for another product layout with different navigation.

Open the chosen page as a visitor and locate each route without relying on a remembered URL or an administrator menu. Follow the link, note any redirect and confirm the final page identifies the intended business and policy. Record whether a mobile menu or other layout change makes that route harder to find or inaccessible. A configured menu item establishes configuration, while the rendered page establishes what the visitor can use.

Use specific findings: absent link, incorrect destination, error, unexpected password requirement, stale policy or unreachable control. If a link is not applicable to that template, give the actual reason and retain any alternative route. An unchecked template is unreviewed, not covered by a successful homepage result. Do not disable access controls on private records to make the matrix look complete.

Treat checkout and order communications as separate surfaces

Cart and checkout may have different navigation from the catalog. Follow their visible policy routes up to the point before payment and check whether the visitor can return to the order flow. A policy link that opens correctly but leaves the buyer unable to resume is a different finding from a link that never opens. Inspect the actual path in use, including a hosted payment surface if the store uses one, without submitting payment merely to check links.

A reachable link also does not establish that the buyer saw or accepted the policy. Stripe’s dispute-prevention guidance says a checkbox containing only a policy link can be weak evidence of what the buyer saw. Keep link coverage, policy content and acceptance evidence as separate questions. This worksheet checks access; it does not certify the store’s consent mechanism or predict a dispute outcome.

Inspect existing order emails and receipts only through authorized access. Compare their public policy and contact destinations with the website’s intended destinations, including whether a reply or contact route identifies the same business. Private order pages and account-restricted communications are not public crawlable templates. Keep their access restrictions intact and record only the public destination and observed result, excluding private order links and customer information.

Repair the affected template and record the scope checked

Group findings by the component that controls the link: a shared menu, a template-specific footer, the assigned checkout or an email template. Give the owner the origin page, visible label, wrong result and intended public destination. This makes the repair concrete without assuming that editing the main footer will update every surface.

After the authorized change, check the affected rendered template and any other layout that uses the changed component. Record the date and result, and preserve excluded or unobserved surfaces as open items. A correct destination page does not close an absent-link finding until a visitor has a usable route to it.

Prism’s published website review includes store policies and business disclosures. For a scoped consultation, bring the public URLs, matrix and any provider request that defines a required item. Agree which templates and questions the review will cover. The review is informational; it does not decide legal sufficiency, account approval or the operation of a private support inbox.

Template and required-link matrix

For each actual template, record the checked URL and date, then mark contact, shipping, refunds, applicable cancellation, terms and privacy as reachable, absent, broken, wrong, restricted or unreviewed. Record the final public destinations and an owner for gaps. Use not applicable only with a reason; keep private order URLs and customer records outside this sheet.

Worksheet entries are not submitted by Prism’s worksheet and are not saved by the site. Use record types, availability, anonymized observations, or match/mismatch results. Do not enter government identifiers, customer names or addresses, customer messages, receipt-access links, card or bank details, passwords, or keys. Send sensitive documents only through the provider’s verified secure channel.

Template and required-link matrix. The last column is for temporary notes.
Template or communication	Where to inspect	Coverage decision	Your routes and findings
Product pages	A real product page for each distinct product layout, including navigation around its buying controls.	Can a direct visitor reach the applicable policy and contact destinations without first knowing the homepage?	Product pages: Your routes and findings
Collection pages	Each distinct collection layout and its visible menu or footer.	Do category-level entry pages expose the intended public routes, including layouts with different navigation?	Collection pages: Your routes and findings
Content pages	Article, FAQ and landing-page templates that the store actually publishes.	Identify a layout that drops common links or sends readers to an older policy.	Content pages: Your routes and findings
Cart	The rendered cart and any separate cart presentation used by the store.	Record visible routes and whether the intended policy can be reached before proceeding.	Cart: Your routes and findings
Checkout	The actual checkout surface and its policy controls before payment.	Follow destinations and the return path; keep access coverage separate from evidence of policy acceptance.	Checkout: Your routes and findings
Error pages	The store’s actual missing-page or error layout.	Record whether a stranded visitor still has a usable public contact or policy route; do not assume the normal footer is present.	Error pages: Your routes and findings
Order emails	An existing authorized order email, inspecting only its public policy and contact destinations.	Compare with current intended routes while preserving account and order security; delivery is a separate check.	Order emails: Your routes and findings
Payment receipts	An existing receipt from the payment setup actually used, without copying private receipt links.	Identify the owner of a different receipt template and record public destination mismatches separately from store emails.	Payment receipts: Your routes and findings

These are temporary notes. Leaving or reloading this page may clear them. Worksheet entries are not sent automatically. If you copy notes into the consultation message and submit the form, Prism receives them as part of your request.

Limits

The matrix is a practical coverage method. The cited guidance does not require every possible link on every possible template or a uniform footer.
Policy access does not prove policy acceptance, legal adequacy, successful contact delivery or processing approval.
Keep private order pages restricted. Do not publish customer records or include private order links, card data, credentials or identity documents in a worksheet or public inquiry.

Related guides

Sources

Stripe business website for account activation — checked 2026-09-21. Stripe lists contact and policy information, expects website and application alignment, and requires the public business website to load without a password. It does not prescribe an identical footer on every template.
Stripe dispute and fraud prevention — checked 2026-09-21. Recommends easy-to-find customer contact and clear refund and cancellation policies; a checkbox containing only a policy link can be weak evidence that the policy was seen.
Prism features — checked 2026-09-21. The published informational review covers store policies and business disclosures, including differences between pages and checkout; it does not certify compliance or guarantee approval.

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