One of the worst things that can happen to you as a website owner is to receive a notice of legal action as a result of having broken the law.
Your website has to comply with various laws, many of which you may probably not even be aware of.
Being non-compliant not only puts you at risk of incurring significant financial costs, but also the loss of your reputation. Why risk your money and your business reputation, when you can protect yourself so easily and inexpensively?
In this article, we look at a simple and very inexpensive WordPress solution that can help make your site fully compliant in minutes.
Is Your Website Or Blog Legally Compliant?
As the internet continues to grow at breakneck speed and rules are constantly changing, it’s vital to stay on top of what’s going on and to make sure that your site remains legally compliant, especially if your web presence is an integral aspect of your business strategy.
If you do not display certain legal pages on your website (e.g. terms of service, privacy statement, financial disclaimers, etc.), many sites such as Google won’t let you advertise, sites like ClickBank won’t approve your digital products for sale, PayPal may close down your account and freeze your funds, Facebook and other social sites will suspend your web apps, and you won’t be accepted into most other advertising or merchant networks.
If your website is not compliant, you could also face a number of penalties, including fines, having your website shut down, even jail time!
At the very least, if you don’t make it clear to your visitors that your site complies with all legal requirements and regulations, visitors could lose trust and confidence in your business.
(In addition to legal and regulatory compliance, almost all 3rd-party services require you to comply with their policies and guidelines!)
Disclaimer: We are not lawyers and we are not offering legal advice in this article.
The purpose of this article is to make you aware that:
- Your website may be subject to certain legal requirements in accordance with compulsory laws and regulations that govern your business,
- How important it is to comply with the terms of service of third-party providers whose products or services you may be offering or endorsing online, and
- There are plugin-based solutions for WordPress site owners that can help your site become compliant, such as the plugin that we discuss in this post.
If your website or blog falls short in terms of compliance, there is a simple WordPress plugin that you should know more about.
Announcing …
Compliance Bar Plugin – WP Compliance Plugin
Plugin Description
Compliance Bar Plugin is a complete compliance and disclaimer solution for your digital business …
Learn more about this plugin here: Compliance Bar Plugin
Benefits Of Using Compliance Bar Plugin
Below are just some of the many benefits of using Compliance Bar Plugin to make your web site instantly legally compliant:
Fast And Simple To Install And Set Up. Ready To Start Using In Minutes.
Compliance Bar Plugin installs just like every plugin. Simply upload a zip folder that contains the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your WP dashboard and activate.
Easy To Edit Compliance Page Templates
Easily modify the prebuilt compliance page templates inside the plugin from the settings menu using the WordPress WYSIWYG content editor.
Dedicated 24/7 Plugin Support
Compliance Bar plugin provides a dedicated team to assist you.
Some additional benefits include:
- Customized Compliance Pages: The plugin creates your legal pages in seconds and customizes them to your business and website.
- Video Training Manuals: Compliance Bar is not complicated to use and an entire library of training videos is available.
- Use In All Countries: As long as you consult someone who is qualified to give you legal advice to make sure that the built-in legal page templates provided with Compliance Bar are suitable and satisfactory for your business, country and website, you can use the plugin wherever your business is located.
- Use In All Niches: As long as your website or blog runs on WordPress, you can use the plugin for all kinds of websites. Select only the types of disclaimers which pertain to your specific business model (e.g. affiliate or CPA marketing, services, AdSense, AdWords, adult, medical, etc) and ignore any that you don’t require.
Plugin Features
Compliance Bar offers many features to website owners. Here are just some of those:
- Fast and simple to install and use. Ready to go to work in very little time.
- Display Visually Appealing Icons – Compliance Bar displays links to your compliance pages in the form of attractive icons that can be positioned on different locations in your pages. You can also upload icons of your choice.
- Show Restricted Content – If your website publishes content that needs to be restricted to certain age groups (e.g. information related to alcohol, ecigs, adult-related, etc.), Compliance Bar can display pop-ups that force users to accept your terms and disclaimers.
- EU Cookie Compliance – If your business is based in the EU or display your content to EU visitors, you need to make users aware of your user cookies and notify them of how you use them. The plugin displays an attractive bar notifying visitors and covering your business from non-compliance issues.
- Records & Stores IP Acceptance – The plugin can record and store the IP address of your visitors for future reference, just in case a user accepts your terms or disclaimers and then claims otherwise.
- Shortcode Driven – The plugin uses shortcodes that automatically populate the templates with your personal information. These shortcodes also allow you to place information anywhere on your site or blog, (even in the popups).
- Works On All Mobile Devices – The plugin has individual settings for displaying on mobile devices and tablets and displays mobile optimized icons automatically based on the browser being used.
Compliance Bar Features – Details
After installing and activating the plugin, the plugin’s “Settings” screen gets added to your WordPress dashboard.
Let’s briefly review these …
User Profile
There are a number of default fields in this area where your business information can be input (e.g. “Business Name,” “Company Address,” “Contact Phone,” “Refund Period,” etc.). Not all categories are compulsory, but some are (e.g. “Website URL,” “Company Address,” etc.)
(Compliance Bar Plugin User Profile Screen – Screenshot source: plugin documentation)
The Compliance Bar Plugin uses dynamic shortcodes to insert the information from your User Profile fields into your legal page templates …
(Compliance Bar Plugin User Profile Page: Shortcodes – Screenshot source: plugin documentation)
Once the minimum required data has been input into the profile fields, you can then access the other areas of the plugin.
Compliance Pages
The “Compliance Pages” screen includes a list of all of your legal templates …
(Compliance Bar: Compliance Pages – Image sourced from plugin documentation)
Here’s the full list of templates made available by the Compliance Bar plugin when we last checked their website:
- About Us
- AdSense Disclaimer
- Affiliate Agreements
- Affiliate Disclosure Statement
- Amazon Affiliate Disclaimer
- Anti-Spam Policy
- Contact Us
- Copyright/DCMA Notice
- Disclaimer
- Double Dart Cookies
- Earnings Disclaimer
- External Links Policy
- FTC Statement
- Legal Disclaimer
- Linking Policy
- Medical Disclaimer
- Privacy Policy
- Returns/Refund Policy
- Support
- Terms
- Terms & Conditions
- Testimonial Disclosure
- XXX Disclosure
You can create legal pages for your website or blog quickly and easily simply by selecting check boxes and clicking ”Save” in the “Create Pages” tab …
(Compliance Bar Plugin: Compliance Templates – Image sourced from plugin documentation)
Your legal pages will then be created and added under your “Pages” section.
Compliance Bar Icons
The plugin comes with a default set of icons for referencing your legal pages …
The icons can be changed. You can purchase additional icons from the plugin developer, or create/upload your own to match the style of your theme …
(Compliance Bar Plugin: Compliance Template Icons – Screenshot source: plugin documentation)
Edit / Delete Compliance Page Templates
You can customize and delete your legal disclaimer templates from the “Compliance Pages” section, just as you would any typical page in WordPress …
(Compliance Bar Plugin: Edit Legal Templates – Screenshot source: plugin documentation)
Notes
- Editing is recommended, as the pages contain generic content.
- The plugin indicates if it detects existing similar pages on your site (e.g. pages created before you installed the plugin).
Compliance Bar
The plugin offers many options to customize the Compliance Bar, including where to position the bar, displaying links or icon images, background colors and images, icon size, selecting which pages should be included in the Compliance Bar, whether or not to display the Compliance bar on your front page, which pages the Compliance Bar will display in, mobile settings, etc. …
(Compliance Bar Screen: Create Bar – Image source: plugin documentation)
Notes:
- You can create unlimited Compliance Bars to show different icons on different pages, or to cover a range of uses throughout your site.
- The plugin allows you to display a Compliance Bar on the main page of your website, even if you are using particular themes (e.g. Genesis, Thesis or WooThemes), where the home page is specifically configured through the theme itself as a built-in template, and not as a “regular” WordPress page.
- Due to the smaller size of mobile screens, you can only select up to a certain number of page icons to display if you turn Mobile Settings “on.”
Once you have specified your Compliance Bar settings, it displays links to your legal through dynamic icon bar on your site …
You have complete control over the location on your pages where you would like to display the compliance bar …
PopUps
If you plan to publish content that needs to be restricted to certain age groups (e.g. content related to alcohol, tobacco, adult content, etc.), Compliance Bar can display popups that blocks access to visitors who do not accept your site’s terms or disclaimers.
The “Create Pop Up” page lets you fully customize your pop ups …
(Pop Ups Screen: Create Pop Up – Screenshot source: plugin documentation)
You can create more than one Pop Up for different pages, or to cover various uses throughout your site …
You can also set a delay time to prevent a Pop Up from displaying as soon as visitors arrive, set a cookie duration to prevent Pop Ups from displaying again within a specific time period, and record the IP addresses of visitors who accept your terms and disclaimers for future reference …
(Pop Ups Section: IP Log Details – Image sourced from plugin documentation)
EU Cookies
If your business is based in Europe or display your content to EU visitors, you need to make users aware of your user cookies and notify them of how you use them …
The Compliance Bar plugin lets you manage the settings for compliance with EU User Cookies requirements, including the wording of your notification message and link text in the “EU Cookies” area …
(EU Cookies Section: Manage Settings – Screenshot source: plugin documentation)
Compliance Bar has a non-intrusive way of notifying your visitors and covering you from non-compliance.
Page Templates
The “Page Templates” tab, lists all of your compliance pages and shortcodes, and lets you modify their content …
General Settings
The “General Settings” menu, gives you access to general information, such as promoting and sharing the plugin and getting plugin update notifications …
Testimonials From Plugin Users
Here are some of the testimonials and comments that plugin customers have provided for the Compliance Bar plugin:
”I got a chance to review the Compliance Bar plugin…WOW!! I have to say that its definitely one of the most NECESSARY, yet easiest to use plugin’s to hit the scene in a while. Very Solid Product. Great job Anton & team!” Shon Chris – Director (JV Peer Group)
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”If you are like me, you maybe have quite a few WordPress sites, all needing attention and most importantly, all needing to be on the right side of the law! I’ve tried several legal pages plugins and in pretty much every case, they let me down. They simply cause more work than they solve.To me, the answer should be simple. It should work and it should let me get on with building my site. After all, I know I NEED to do this stuff, but hey, I don’t really WANT to! So, for me, I don’t want those plugins that cause more work than they solve. Simple eh? Well now it is because Anton & John have just created this baby that is the answer to my needs. The Compliance Bar Plugin does what I need it to do then lets me get on with my empire building…Perfect!” Tony Grant (Portfolio Sports)
Useful Tips
Here are some additional ways to use The Compliance Bar Plugin:
- Protect against content theft by spelling out your website’s terms of use.
- Display compliance icons only on specific pages.
- Ending refund disputes by clearly spelling out the refund terms before purchase.
- If your website includes content that is inappropriate for underaged viewers, you can force visitors to click to confirm that they are of legal age to view your content.
Product Support
Compliance Bar provides users with dedicated 24/7 plugin support to assist users. You also get access to complete video training manuals.
Additionally, your purchase is backed by a risk-free, 30 day, 200% money-back guarantee. If your copy of Compliance Bar does not work within 30 days of purchase and it cannot be fixed within 48 business hours (M – F), the plugin developers will refund twice the cost of purchasing.
Product Licensing Pricing
- Single User License – Can be installed on a single site. Cost = $47 (Normally $127)
- Business – Can be installed on twenty-five domains that you own. Price = $67.00 (Normally $197).
- Developer Licensing – Install the plugin on all as many of your own domains as you want. Install the plugin on all client sites as part of a paid service. Cost = $97.00.
Note: The price of Compliance Bar Plugin can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The pricing shown above was current at the time this article was published. This may or may not be the actual pricing charged by the software seller when you visit the plugin site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest price here: Compliance Bar Plugin
Additional Info
Legal Templates Reviewed By Lawyers – The plugin developers state on their website that all legal page templates have been reviewed and approved by a leading lawyer. Nonetheless, we highly recommend that you get legal advice from a qualified legal expert in your area for your peace of mind.
For demo videos showing plugin usage, including installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Compliance Bar website.
Get This Plugin
Compliance Bar is an easy-to-use, simple and cost-effective solution for WordPress-driven websites and blogs. We recommend installing this WordPress plugin if you want immediate peace of mind and legal protection.
For full details, visit the plugin website: Compliance Bar – Compliance Bar Plugin – WordPress Plugin For Website Compliance
Legal Disclaimer: Once again, please note that we are not lawyers and we offer no legal advice in this article. Do your own due diligence and consult a legal expert about the best way to ensure that your website fully complies with the law in your country or region.
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