Do you have a website? Do you collect any personal information from visitors on your website? Did you know that if you collect as little as an email address on a contact form, you should now have a Privacy Policy in place?
Currently, several states in the United States are proposing laws that will allow consumers to challenge businesses anywhere in the US for not having a compliant Privacy Policy. If you serve customers in the EU, you also need policies in place for General Data Privacy law (GDPF). These facts are not meant to scare you, we simply want to keep you informed. As business owners with a website on the World Wide Web, you need to be aware of and take action to comply with these ever-changing laws.
The bottom line is, having data policies are essential documents that must be included on your website. Your website should include, at a minimum, these policies where applicable to the services you provide through your website:
- Privacy Policy
- Terms & Conditions
- Disclaimers
- End User License Agreements
Importance of Having Privacy Policies on your Website
- Reason #1 is pretty obvious, to protect your business from any fines or lawsuits. But there are several other reasons that you may not have thought of.
- Reason #2 is to improve customer relationships. These pages serve as contracts between you and visitors to your website. Being transparent and up front can help increase positive customer relationships.
- Reason #3 is to improve customer experience. You can specify the ground rules, what is allowed and what isn’t, and what are the consequences and for breaking them. For example, foul language and spamming are not allowed, or your account can be deleted. Make your website a positive, welcoming space.
- Reason #4 is to inform your visitors. Remind them that you are the owner of your website content (including pictures), company logo, etc., and that they can’t be used without your permission. Include your copyright and trademark information.
- Reason #5 is to make visitors feel safe. A Privacy Policy explains what information you collect from your users, what you do with the information and who you share it with. Visitors are more likely to trust you with their personal information if when they know what you plan to do with it.
Options to get the Right Policies Added to your Website
You know you need policies but you may not be sure what your policies should include or which policies are needed for your business. There are options available depending on your needs.
- Write and publish your policies on your website and make updates as needed. Update your policies when laws change. WordPress does have options and guides available for creating a privacy policy; see here. You can also find resources on how to write effective policies and more from NOLO.
- Use a tool that writes and updates your policies automatically when laws change (written and updated by real software attorneys… not robots).
*As a rule, we always suggest you consult with your lawyer for accurate and legal review of your policies.
Benefits of Using Software that Automatically Updates
There are several benefits to creating website policies that include the specific software, plugins on your website and automatically update with the changes to laws.
- You can easily include website data policies, whether you have an informational website, eCommerce or mobile app.
- When you embed our policy services onto a website, it will automatically be updated whenever the law changes.
- Want to edit parts of the agreement? No problem, each section, when manually edited, remains intact, regardless of future updates.
- The law is constantly changing, and keeping a constant eye on when you need to update a policy can be daunting. Save yourself time and money. The policies update automatically whenever changes need to be made.
Stay in Compliance – Our Care Plan Cares for You!
Never worry about what new laws are going into place and if your website is compliant. Partner with us! We now offer Written Terms and Conditions Policies (automatically updated whenever laws change) as part of our Website Care Plan packages. We’ll set up and install your policies and keep your website up-to-date with all of the policy laws as they go into effect.
If you’re a Care Plan member and would like assistance in adding these pages to your website, send us a request through your support portal!
If you’re not part of our Website Care Plan, now is a great time to join with no long-term contract! We’ll work with you to get your website up to speed.
Click to find out more about the features of our Care Plan options.
Have questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out.
