One of the worst things that can happen to any website owner is to be on the wrong side of the law.
Your website or blog has to comply with a whole set of federal, state and even local laws, some of which you may probably not even be aware of.
Being non-compliant not only puts you at risk of incurring financial costs, but also the loss of 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 very inexpensive WordPress solution that can help make your website compliant in minutes.
Is Your Website Or Blog Legally Compliant?
As the digital realm continues growing at an extraordinary rate and the rules constantly change, it’s important that you stay informed about what’s going on and to make sure that your website or blog remains compliant with all laws and regulations, especially if your online presence is a fundamental aspect of your business strategy.
Without legal pages on your website (e.g. terms and conditions of use, privacy policy, financial disclaimers, etc.), many third-party sites such as Google won’t let you advertise, digital marketplaces like ClickBank won’t approve your digital products on their network, PayPal may close down your account and withhold payment of your funds, Facebook and other social networks will suspend your applications, and you won’t be accepted into a range of leading advertising and affiliate marketing networks.
If your online business is not compliant, you could also face a multitude of penalties, including fines, having your website shut down, even jail time!
At the very least, without making it very clear to your visitors that your website complies with legal requirements and regulatory guidelines, visitors could lose trust and confidence in your business.
(In addition to legal and regulatory compliance, most 3rd-party websites require you to comply with their terms of use!)
Legal Disclaimer: Please note that 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 could be subject to various legal requirements in accordance with federal, state or local laws and regulations that govern your business,
- The importance of maintaining compliance with the terms of service of third-party providers whose products or services you are promoting or endorsing in your website, and
- There are easy-to-install solutions that can help your website become compliant, such as the solution that we discuss in this post.
In this article, you will learn about a complete compliance and disclaimer solution for your site.
Let’s Review …
Compliance Bar Plugin – WordPress Plugin For Website Compliance
Plugin Description
Compliance Bar is a simple and easy-to-use plugin for WordPress users that contains over twenty customizable compliance disclaimers for your digital business …
Learn more about the plugin here: Compliance Bar
Benefits
Here are just some of the benefits and advantages of using Compliance Bar Plugin to instantly make your website compliant:
Quick And Simple To Install And Configure. Be Up And Running In No Time.
Compliance Bar installs just like any other plugin. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Easy-To-Edit Templates
Easily edit the built-in legal templates inside Compliance Bar from the settings menu using the visual content editor.
Dedicated Plugin Support Team
The plugin develop provides a dedicated support team to help users if they experience any issues.
Some additional benefits of using this plugin include the following:
- Customized Templates: Compliance Bar will create your legal pages in seconds and customizes them to your business and website.
- Video Training Manuals: Compliance Bar is not difficult to use and an entire library of training videos is provided.
- Can Be Used Anywhere In The World: As long as you consult someone who is qualified to give you legal advice to make sure that the built-in legal templates provided in Compliance Bar are suitable and satisfactory for your business, country and website, you can use the plugin wherever your business is located.
- Use For All Niches: If your website is built with WordPress, you can use the plugin for all kinds of websites. Just select the templates you need to include in your site and leave out irrelevant pages.
Plugin Features
Compliance Bar Plugin provides a number of great features to WP users. Below we have listed just a few:
- Fast and simple to install and use. Ready to start using in no time.
- Show Visually Appealing Icon Bar – The plugin displays links to your legal pages in the form of attractive icons that can be placed on different locations in your page. You can also upload your own icons.
- Display Restricted Content – If you plan to display content that should be restricted to certain age groups (e.g. information related to alcohol, tobacco, adult content, etc.), you can display popups that force users to accept your terms and disclaimers.
- EU Cookie Compliance – If you do business in the EU or display your content to visitors in the EU, you must be aware of EU compliance requirements. The plugin displays an attractive bar notifying users and covering your website from non-compliance.
- Records And Stores IP Addresses – The plugin can record and store the IP addresses of your visitors for future reference, just in case a user accepts your terms or disclaimers and then claims they haven’t.
- Shortcode Driven – The plugin uses shortcodes to automatically populate templates with your personal information. These shortcodes also allow you to place information anywhere on your site or blog, (even in the popups).
- Compatible With All Mobile Devices – The plugin has individual settings for displaying on mobile devices or tablets and can display mobile optimized icons automatically depending on visitor browsers.
Compliance Bar Features – Details
Once the Compliance Bar plugin is installed, users will get access to a section where the plugin’s settings can be configured.
Let’s review these settings briefly …
User Profile
There are a number of default fields in this area where your information can be entered (e.g. “Website URL,” “Support Email,” “Location Details,” “Company Registration Number,” etc.). Not all categories are compulsory, but some are (e.g. “Contact Name,” “Company Address,” etc.)
(Compliance Bar User Profile Screen – Image source: plugin documentation)
The plugin uses shortcodes to populate the information from your User Profile in your legal pages …
(Compliance Bar User Profile Page: Shortcodes – Image sourced from plugin documentation)
Once the minimum required (i.e. compulsory) information has been input into the profile fields, you can then access the other areas of the plugin.
Compliance Pages
The “Compliance Pages” screen contains all of the legal pages …
(Compliance Bar Plugin: Legal Pages – Image source: plugin documentation)
Below is the complete list of legal templates made available by the Compliance Bar plugin when we last checked their website:
- 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 check boxes and clicking the “Save” button at the bottom of the “Create Pages” section …
(Compliance Bar Plugin: Legal Page Templates – Image sourced from plugin documentation)
Your legal pages will then be created and added under the “Pages” section of your site.
Compliance Bar Icons
The plugin is installed with a built-in set of attractive icons for referencing your legal pages …
The Compliance Bar icons can be changed. You can purchase an additional set of icons from the plugin developer, or create/upload your own to match the style of your site’s design …
(Compliance Bar: Legal Template Icons – Image source: plugin documentation)
Edit / Delete Compliance Page Templates
You can edit and delete your legal disclaimer templates from the “Compliance Pages” area, just like any typical page in WordPress …
(Compliance Bar: Edit Compliance Pages – Image sourced from plugin documentation)
Tips
- Customizing 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 installing the plugin).
Compliance Bar
The plugin settings area provides many options to customize the Compliance Bar, including position, displaying links or icon images, background colors and images, icon size, specifying 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 sourced from plugin documentation)
Notes:
- You can create more than one Compliance Bar to display different disclaimers on different pages, or to cover different uses in different sections of your site.
- The plugin allows you to display the Compliance Bar on the front page of your website, even if you are using a specific WordPress theme framework (e.g. Genesis, Thesis or WooThemes), where the home page is configured through the theme settings as a built-in template, and not as a “regular” WordPress page.
- Due to the smaller size of mobile devices, 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 compliance pages through a visually attractive icon bar on your site …
You have full control over the location on your pages where you would like to display your compliance bar …
PopUps
If your website has content that may be restricted to certain age groups (e.g. information related to alcohol, ecigs, adult content, etc.), the plugin can display pop-ups that restricts access to users who do not accept your terms and disclaimers.
The “Create Pop Up” tab lets you fully customize your pop ups …
(Pop Ups Screen: Create Pop Up – Image source: plugin documentation)
You can create more than one Pop Up displaying on different pages, or to cover a range of uses in other sections of your site …
You can also set a delay time if you don’t want the Pop Ups to display as soon as visitors arrive, set cookie durations to prevent Pop Ups from displaying again within a specific time period, and store 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 you do business in Europe or display your content to visitors in the EU, you must make users aware of your user cookies and notify them of how you use them …
The plugin lets you edit 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 – 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” screen, lists all of your legal page templates and shortcodes, and lets you edit their content …
General Settings
The “General Settings” tab, gives you access to general information, such as promoting and sharing the plugin and receiving plugin update notifications …
Testimonials
Below are some of the testimonials and comments customers have provided for the Compliance Bar plugin:
”One of the Best Plugins I Have Used” Ray Lane – (The Video Guy)
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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)
Compliance Bar – Useful Tips
Below are some useful ways you can 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.
- Reduce refund disputes by clearly spelling out refund terms before purchase.
- If you have content that is deemed inappropriate for minors on your website, you can force visitors to click to confirm that they are of legal age to view your content.
Compliance Bar Plugin Product Support
Compliance Bar provides users with a dedicated plugin support team to assist you. Plugin users also have access to video training.
Additionally, your purchase is backed by a risk-free, thirty day, 200% money-back guarantee. If your version of Compliance Bar does not work within 30 days of purchase and it cannot be fixed within 48 hrs (Monday to Friday), your money will be refunded in double.
Software Cost
- Single User Personal License – Install the plugin on 1 of your own sites. Price = $37 (Normally $127)
- Business – Can be installed on up to twenty-five of your own sites. Price = $67.00 (Normally $197).
- Professional License – Install the plugin on all of your own domains. Install the plugin on any client site as part of a paid service. Cost = $97.00.
Note: Current pricing for the Compliance Bar plugin can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Presently, the software is being retailed for the prices shown above. This may not be the actual pricing set by the software developer when you visit the plugin site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details: Compliance Bar Plugin
Compliance Bar Plugin – Additional Info
Templates Approved By Lawyers – The plugin developers claim on their website that all legal page templates have been reviewed and approved by lawyers. Nonetheless, we highly recommend that you get legal advice from a qualified legal expert in your area for peace of mind.
For a demo video showing plugin usage, including help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Compliance Bar Plugin website.
Our Recommendation
Compliance Bar is an easy-to-use, simple and cost-effective solution for WordPress websites and blogs. We recommend downloading and installing this plugin for WordPress users if you want immediate peace of mind and legal protection.
For full details, visit the plugin website: Compliance Bar Plugin – Compliance Bar Plugin – Compliance Plugin For WordPress
Disclaimer: Once again, we are not lawyers and we cannot offer legal advice here. You must do your own due diligence and consult a legal expert about the best way to ensure that your website is compliant with all legal requirements in your country or region.
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