One of the worst things that can happen to any website owner is to break the law.
Your internet presence must comply with a wide range of laws and regulatory guidelines, many of which you are probably not even aware of.
Being non-compliant puts you at risk of suffering both financial losses and the cost to your reputation. Why risk your money and your good reputation, when you can protect yourself so inexpensively?
In this article, we review a simple and easy-to-install solution for WordPress users that can help make your site legally compliant in minutes.
Does Your Website Or Blog Comply With The Law?
As the internet continues growing at an extraordinary rate and the rules of the game constantly change, it’s vitally important to stay on top of what’s happening and to make sure that your website or blog remains compliant, especially if your web presence is an integral aspect of your overall business strategy.
If you do not display certain legal pages on your web site (e.g. terms and conditions of use, privacy statement, legal disclaimers, etc.), many third-party sites like Google won’t let you advertise, digital marketplaces like ClickBank won’t approve your digital products on their network, PayPal could shut down your account and withhold payment of your funds, Facebook and many other social networks could suspend your web apps, and you won’t be allowed into a number of advertising and affiliate marketing networks.
If your digital presence is not compliant, you could end up facing a whole range 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, it may impact on your visitors trust and confidence in doing any future business with you.
(In addition to legal and regulatory compliance, most 3rd-party websites require you to comply with their terms of use!)
Disclaimer: We are not lawyers and we offer no legal advice on our website.
The purpose of this article is to make you aware that:
- Your website could be subject to a number of legal requirements in accordance with compulsory laws and regulations that govern your business (some of which you may probably not even be aware of),
- How important it is to be compliant with the terms of service of third-party providers whose products or services you are offering or using online, and
- There are inexpensive solutions that can help your business become more compliant, such as the tool that we discuss in this article.
If your web site is lacking in terms of compliance, here is a simple plugin for WordPress users you should know more about.
Today’s WordPress Plugin Is …
Compliance Bar – WordPress Plugin For Website Compliance
Plugin Description
Compliance Bar Plugin is an easy-to-use plugin for WordPress websites with over twenty customizable compliance templates for your site …
More info: Compliance Bar Plugin
Plugin Benefits
Below we have listed just some of the benefits of using Compliance Bar Plugin to instantly make your web site legally compliant:
Ready To Use In Minutes
Compliance Bar is really easy to install. Simply upload it to your Plugin folder via your WP administrator account and activate.
Editable Compliance Page Templates
You can easily edit the pre-built legal templates inside Compliance Bar from the settings menu with the WYSIWYG content editor.
24/7 Plugin Support
Compliance Bar plugin provides dedicated 24/7 plugin support to help users with anything they need.
Some additional benefits include the following:
- Customized Compliance Pages: The Compliance Bar plugin creates your legal pages in seconds and customizes them to your business and website.
- Full Video Training Library: Compliance Bar is not difficult to use and a full library of training videos is available.
- Can Be Used In All Countries: As long as you consult someone who is qualified to give you legal advice to ascertain if the built-in templates provided in the plugin are suitable and satisfactory for your business, country and website, you can use the plugin anywhere in the world.
- Use For All Website Purposes: As long as your website or blog runs on WordPress, you can use the plugin for all kinds of websites. Just select the compliance pages you need to include in your site and ignore the unnecessary pages.
Plugin Features
Compliance Bar Plugin provides many great features to web site owners. Below we have listed just some:
- Fast and simple to install and set up. Ready to use in minutes.
- Display Visually Appealing Icons – The plugin will display links to your legal pages using attractive icons that can be placed anywhere on your page. You can also upload icons of your choice.
- Display Restricted Content – If you plan to show content that may be restricted to certain age groups (e.g. content related to alcohol, tobacco, adult content, etc.), you can display pop-ups that require users to accept your site’s terms and disclaimers.
- EU Cookie Compliance – If you are based in the EU or display your content to visitors in the EU, you must be aware of EU Cookie law. The plugin displays an attractive bar that notifies your users and protects you from non-compliance issues.
- Record & Store IP Acceptance – The plugin records your visitors’ IP address for future reference, just in case a user accepts your terms or disclaimers and then claims otherwise.
- Shortcodes – Compliance Bar is integrated with shortcodes that automatically populate the templates with your personal information. These shortcodes also allow you to place information anywhere on your website, (even in the popups).
- Mobile Friendly – Compliance Bar has individual settings for displaying on mobile devices or tablets and displays mobile optimized icons automatically based on visitor mobile browsers.
Compliance Bar Features – Details
After installing and activating the Compliance Bar plugin, you have access to a section where the plugin’s settings can be configured.
Let’s briefly review these …
User Profile
There are a number of default categories in this section where you can enter your business details into entered (e.g. “Contact Name,” “Company Address,” “Contact Phone,” “Niche Market,” etc.). Not all categories are required, but some are (e.g. “Business Name,” “Registered Address,” etc.)
(Compliance Bar Plugin User Profile Screen – Image source: plugin documentation)
The Compliance Bar Plugin uses dynamic shortcodes to automatically populate and display the information entered into your User Profile fields into your legal pages …
(Compliance Bar User Profile Section: Shortcodes – Screenshot source: plugin documentation)
Once the minimum required information has been input into the user profile fields, users can then access the other plugin section.
Compliance Pages
The “Compliance Pages” screen contains all of the plugin’s legal pages …
(Compliance Bar: Compliance Templates – Image source: plugin documentation)
Last time we checked the Compliance Bar plugin website, there were over 20 legal templates available to WordPress users:
- About Us
- AdSense Disclaimer
- Affiliate Agreements
- Affiliate Disclosure
- 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
- Adult Content Disclosure
You can create legal pages for your website quickly and easily simply by selecting checkboxes and clicking ”Save” at the bottom of the “Create Pages” area …
(Compliance Bar Plugin: Compliance Templates – Image sourced from plugin documentation)
Your legal pages will then be created and added inside your “Pages” section.
Compliance Bar Icons
The plugin comes with a built-in set of icons for referencing your legal pages …
Icons are customizable. You can purchase additional icons from the plugin developer, or create/upload your own to match the style of your site’s design …
(Compliance Bar: Legal Page Template Icons – Image sourced from plugin documentation)
Edit / Delete Legal Page Templates
You can edit and delete your legal pages from the “Compliance Pages” section, just as you would any other WordPress page …
(Compliance Bar Plugin: Edit Compliance Pages – Image source: plugin documentation)
Tips
- Editing the compliance pages is recommended, as the pages contain generic content.
- The plugin indicates if it detects existing similar pages on your site (e.g. compliance pages created before you installed the plugin).
Compliance Bar
The plugin offers many options to customize the Compliance Bar, including position, displaying links or icon images, background colors and images, image size, selecting which pages to include an icon for in the Compliance Bar, whether or not to display the Compliance bar on your main page, which pages the Compliance Bar will display in, mobile settings, and offset distance …
(Compliance Bar Screen: Create Bar – Image sourced from plugin documentation)
Notes:
- You can create unlimited Compliance Bars to display different icons on different pages, or to cover various uses throughout your site.
- The plugin allows you to display the Compliance Bar on the main page of your site, even if you are using particular WordPress themes (e.g. Genesis, Thesis or WooThemes), where the home page is configured through the theme itself as a built-in template, and not as a normal “static” 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 configured your Compliance Bar settings, it will display 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 your site includes content that may be restricted to certain age groups (e.g. content related to alcohol, tobacco, adult-related, etc.), the plugin can display pop-ups that blocks access to users who do not accept your terms or disclaimers.
The “Create Pop Up” section lets you fully customize your pop ups …
(Pop Ups Section: Create Pop Up – Image sourced from plugin documentation)
You can create several customized Pop Ups for different pages, or to cover various uses throughout your site …
You can also specify a delay time if you don’t want a Pop Up to display as soon as visitors arrive, set a cookie duration to prevent Pop Ups from displaying again within a specific time interval, and record the IP addresses of visitors who accept your terms and disclaimers for future reference …
(Pop Ups Screen: IP Log Details – Image source: plugin documentation)
EU Cookies
If you are based in Europe or display your content to EU visitors, you must be aware of EU Cookie law …
The 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” screen …
(EU Cookies Screen: Manage Settings – Image 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” section, lists all of your compliance disclaimer templates and shortcodes, and lets you edit their content …
General Settings
The “General Settings” menu, lets you access general information, such as promoting and sharing the plugin and receiving plugin update notifications …
User Feedback
Here are just some testimonials users have written about 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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”Truly Amazing Product!” Patrick Mauchant – PT Enviromate Technology
Compliance Bar Plugin – Useful Tips
Here are some additional ways to use The Compliance Bar Plugin:
- Protecting against content theft by spelling out terms of use of your website.
- Displaying compliance icons only on specific pages.
- Reducing refund disputes by clearly spelling out the refund terms before customers purchase.
- If your website includes adult content, you can force visitors to click to confirm that they are of legal age to view your content.
Plugin Support
Plugin Developers provide users with a dedicated support team to assist you. Plugin users also have access to complete video training.
Additionally, your purchase is backed by a no-risk, thirty day, 200% refund 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 amount of the purchase price.
Plugin Price
- Single User Licensing – Install the plugin on 1 domain that you own. Cost = $37 (Normally $127)
- Business – Can be installed on up to 25 of your own sites. Price = $67.00 (Normally $197).
- Developer License – Can be installed on all as many of your own sites as you like. Can be installed on any client site for payment or part of a paid service. Cost = $97.00.
Please Note: Current pricing for the product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. When we last checked, the product sells for the amounts shown above. This may not be the actual pricing charged by the product developer when you visit the site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details: Compliance Bar – WP Compliance Plugin
Compliance Bar Plugin – Additional Info
Legal Pages Reviewed By Lawyers – The plugin developers assert on their website that all legal templates have been reviewed and approved by lawyers. Nonetheless, we highly recommend that you get advice from a qualified legal expert in your area for your peace of mind.
For ”how-to” videos of the plugin in action, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Compliance Bar Plugin website.
Download The Plugin
Compliance Bar is an easy-to-use, simple and cost-effective solution for WordPress websites and blogs. We recommend installing this WordPress plugin if you want immediate peace of mind and legal protection.
For complete details, check out the plugin here: Compliance Bar – Compliance Bar Plugin – Compliance Plugin For WordPress
Important: Once again, we are not lawyers and we are not offering legal advice in this article. Do your own due diligence and consult a legal expert about the best way of ensuring that your website fully complies with all legal requirements wherever your business is based.
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