There are so many components of websites, and one of them you should never overlook is their legality. We are talking about the Terms of Service, Privacy Policies, Disclaimers, and Copyright Statements.
We know privacy policies, terms and conditions, and disclaimers seem like something you might not have to worry about because you are only collecting information solely for your business purposes. You’re not being malicious. This means you should be okay, right? Wrong.
So, before we dive into each policy and what it does, let us take a quick inventory to see if you need them.
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Do you do business (or have the possibility of doing business) with people in California or Europe?
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Do you use Google Analytics on your site?
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Do you have a contact form on your website?
If you answered YES to any of these questions - You need a privacy policy.
In fact, Google Analytics requires that you have a privacy policy on your website in their terms of service.
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Do you link to any third-party websites like Facebook or Instagram? You need Terms & Conditions.
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Do you have any affiliate links on your site? You need a disclaimer!
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Are you posting blogs, articles, and pictures that are your original owned content? You need a copyright statement.
Okay, now that we have rocked your world, and before you start panicking, let us explain what they are and how you can get them!
Privacy Policy
A privacy policy lets your users know how you collect their data and what you plan to do with it, plain and simple. Europe and California have already passed some serious legislation surrounding this, and if you have website visitors coming from California or Europe, you need to make sure you adhere to their laws.
Since we are in the United States, we will focus on the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA) and legislation that will go into effect in 2023 in Utah, Colorado, and Virginia. This Act requires that commercial websites that fit within specific parameters post a privacy policy that states what information is collected and how/if it is shared.
The critical thing to remember is that you do not have to do business with someone from these states to be compliant - you need to be compliant even if someone from the state visits your site.
Terms and Conditions
If you link to third-party websites, you should have a Terms & Conditions policy on your site. Linking to infected third-party websites can make a business liable if someone gets a virus or hacked from the website. Limiting a business' liability is one of the Terms & Conditions primary purposes.
Pro tip: A Terms and Conditions or Terms of Use can provide a DMCA Notice, which can help your business from being sued for improper use of copyrighted material (like licensed images).
Disclaimer
If you have any affiliate links on your site that you can make money from, you must disclose them. It is strongly recommended you have a Disclaimer policy if your website provides information that could be considered health advice or legal advice like doctors, lawyers, accountants, medical spas, or even marketing agencies, to name a few.
Copyright Statement
To put it simply, this protects your content. A copyright statement is a simple © + Insert Your Business Name Here, the years you are protecting your content, all rights reserved. You do not have to register your site or content to be protected by copyright.
Now that you know you need these policies, who can you trust with them?
There are many options out there, but the one we recommend is Termageddon. Termageddon grants you one license for your business, and you instantly have access to every single legal document you need: Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Disclaimer, Cookie Policy, and even an End User License Agreement if needed! The license can be paid for monthly or annually and is incredibly affordable for the quality of the product and the service you receive. The best part is that the company's only job is to ensure that its customers have the proper policies that make them compliant with the laws relevant to them.
Termageddon takes the confusion out of website policies and allows us to focus on other aspects of your website design and development. The best part about Termageddon is how easy it is to set up and install on your website!
You can sign up today for your license and get 10% off with the code "lumstudio" or if you do not want to fiddle with installing the policies on your site, reach out to us at hello@lumstudio.com and we can set it up for you!
Full Disclaimer: We are not lawyers. This blog post is not to act as legal advice. We are just a marketing agency that likes to make sure we stay up to date on the laws and policies surrounding our industry. If you have any specific questions regarding the legality of your site, we recommend speaking to a qualified professional.