Is your website compliant? Do you know if your site is breaking any rules or regulations, or breaching the Terms of Service (TOS) of any companies whose products or services you use or endorse?
Internet laws were designed to protect consumers and apply to anyone who sells, markets or promotes goods and services online. Every website owner risks being sued for not following compliance laws. Feigning ignorance about legal requirements will not excuse someone from taking legal action against you.
New laws introduced in 2014 to regulate how businesses promote advertising on their websites clearly state that if you promote anything on your site for profit, then you need to follow certain disclosure guidelines to prevent enforceable orders being issued against you by consumer protection departments, such as the Better Business Bureau, also known as BBB. Search online for information about “The Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program,” which regulates behavioral advertising across the internet to learn more.
(Better Business Bureau Website)
The introduction of new laws affect several online business activities, including:
- Any kind of advertising, including Google AdWords
- Retarget Marketing
- Google Analytics (or other analytics software)
- Affiliate Marketing
- Product Creation
- Blogging
- etc.
If there are no legal pages on your website (e.g. terms and conditions of use, privacy statement, earning disclaimers, etc.), many third-party sites like Google won’t let you advertise, sites like ClickBank or JVZoo won’t approve digital products on their network, PayPal could shut down your account, Facebook will reject web applications, and you won’t be allowed to enroll in a number of advertising or affiliate marketing networks.
If your website is not in compliance, you could face a whole range of penalties, including fines, having your website shut down, even jail time!
In this article, we look at why it’s important to have a compliant website and provide inexpensive solutions to help make your WordPress website or blog compliant in minutes.
Is Your Site Compliant?
Legal Disclaimer: We are not lawyers and we do not provide legal advice about your website or business. As previously stated, the purpose of this article is only to help make you aware that your website may be subject to certain legal policies in accordance with the laws and regulations governing online business practices and that compliance may be required with the terms of service of 3rd-party providers whose services or products you recommend on your website or blog
Why Having A Compliant Website Is Important
Consider what could happen to your business in the following scenarios:
- A customer has a cardiac arrest after using your online fitness workout.
- The skin care lotion you promote as an affiliate marketer gives someone skin rashes.
- You’ve told subscribers that you won’t sell their information, but you haven’t described exactly what you plan to do with the information you’ve collected.
- Someone copies content from your website and puts it up on their own site.
- There is no statement on your website letting your site visitors know that you’re an affiliate for the product you’re recommending that you could receive a financial benefit if they buy it.
- You didn’t spell out the conditions of your refund or return policies.
- A visitor claims that your testimonials are false and decides to sue you.
- You have not disclosed in a product review that you were given a free copy of the product.
- Your site publishes adult-related information and you did not take sufficient measures to restrict access by underaged children.
Consider too the real examples of costly compliance breaches below:
- A CPA Marketer failed to provide adequate disclaimers telling visitors they would have to give up personal information to complete a debt reduction offer. Cost = $390,000.
- A social networking app developer received a whopping $800,000 fine for collecting personal information from mobile device address books without the owners’ knowledge and consent – including storing private details about children.
- Facebook’s Terms Of Service prohibits users from scraping Users IDs. Many internet marketers gambled that they could get away with it and lost. Their accounts were shut down, costing them thousands of $$$ in lost revenue.
- An independent study by Brad Geddes of SearchEngineLand, showed that, of a couple of hundred websites chosen at random, more than 90% had broken at least one of Google’s policies, more than 65% were in breach of at least 2 of Google’s policies, and more than 40% had breached at least three of Google’s policies. Although the website owners could technically be sued by Google, more than likely what could happen, is that they would be issued cautions or lose access to the Google program whose policies with the infringement, which could result in loss of income (e.g. AdSense or AdWords).
Can you see how easy it is to risk being targeted for litigation?
Regardless of whether you are a:
- CPC (Cost Per Conversion) Marketer
- MLM Networker
- Affiliate Promoter
- AdWords Advertiser
- Niche Marketer
- Amazon Associate
- e-Commerce Store Owner
- Adult Content Publisher
- Freelancer, Consultant Or Coach
- Online Seller Of Any Service Or Product
It’s imperative to make sure that your website has the right legal pages and information accessible to your site users.
Compliance With Third-Party Companies Terms And Policies
All the big websites and government regulatory agencies emphasize the need of observing the terms and policies of third-party service providers.
You are obligated to let your site users know that your business complies with all necessary laws and recommended guidelines. This not only increases trust and buyer confidence in your site, it’s also a requirement of most companies you interact with online.
Let’s take a look at some examples:
Google requires you to display certain information if using their products. This includes Google Analytics …
(Google Analytics – Policy Requirements)
Generating revenue with your blogs using Google AdSense online advertising …
(Google AdSense advertising policy requirements)
And even promoting your products through Google AdWords …
(Policy requirements for using Google AdWords)
If you sell information products using places like ClickBank, JVZoo, or other established merchant sites, you will need to add legal pages to your site before they will approve your products for selling via their networks …
(Policy requirements for selling via ClickBank)
The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) also requires that you include clear disclaimers and policy statements on your website, especially when concerning the use of testimonials or product endorsements …
(FTC – consumer guidelines and regulations)
FTC Regulations – Ensuring That Your Site Is Compliant
New FTC regulations governing the conduct of businesses online were introduced in March 2012. Search online and you will see that many business are still unaware (or choose to flaunt) these requirements. As has happened in the past, this often results in the FTC making an example of businesses and prosecuting companies for breaches of regulation in an effort to get other businesses to comply.
If you plan to do any kind of money-making activity online, therefore, it’s best not to take any chances. Even if your business does not operate in the U.S. we strongly recommend protecting your business by making sure that your website is compliant with FTC guidelines and regulations.
Many resources online provide guidelines and examples for structuring disclaimers and disclosures to help your site comply with FTC requirements. See the references and useful resources section at the end of this article for more information …
(It’s important to word your disclaimers and disclosures correctly to avoid running foul of laws and regulations)
Social Media Apps - Don’t Forget These
If you plan to create social networking applications that will integrate with your website, you will also be required to provide sites like Facebook, Twitter, and others with access to your legal pages …
(Facebook developer app – policy requirements)
- If you are unsure as to whether or not you may be breaking the law, and/or Terms of Service policies and guidelines of service providers like Google, Facebook, etc., it’s best to assume that you most probably are.
- If you are considering promoting anything on your site via affiliate marketing, or monetizing your pages with Google AdSense, Amazon, or eBay advertising, or using Google AdWords pay-per-click ads to drive visitors to your pages, etc., then find out exactly what kind of legal information you need to include on your site to comply with their Terms Of Service and policy requirements - don’t risk having your accounts shut down.
- If you’ve ever wondered whether “borrowing” a Copyright Notice is Copyright infringement, then it’s best to act now and take proper precautions to protect yourself and your business interests.
(In addition to legal and regulatory compliance, almost all third-party websites require you to comply with their policies and guidelines)
What Compliance Pages Do You Need To Add To Your Website To Be Legally Compliant?
If you suspect that your web site is lacking in terms of compliance, then this section will help you.
At its most basic, adding the following compliance pages to your website should help you keep out of trouble with many consumer protection authorities and third-party service providers, and even help you avoid potential legal issues or even threats of legal action (e.g. “take down” notices):
- About Us
- Contact Page
- Privacy Policy
- Terms & Conditions
- Disclaimer Pages
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance
In addition to the above pages, you may want to consider adding any of the pages listed below if applicable:
- Affiliate Disclosure (if you promote or sell affiliate products or services)
- Anti-Spam Policy
- Earnings Disclaimer
- External Links Policy
- Health Disclaimers (e.g. if your website or blog provides general health or medical advice)
- Refund Policy (if you sell products or services online)
- Audio/Video Terms (e.g. if you allow users to download videos or audio files on your site)
Disclosure Pages – Types
Adding the correct type of disclosure to your website is important. For example:
- No Material Connection – Informs readers that you’re not being paid for writing the article.
- Affiliate Links – Lets your readers know that you will derive some form of financial or similar form of benefit if they act on your recommendation and buy through an affiliate link.
- Review/Sample Copy – Explains to your visitors that you have been given a sample or review copy of the product.
- Sponsored Post – Lets readers be aware that you have been compensated in some form to write the content.
- Third Party Advertising – Lets readers know that you’re using online behavioral tracking technology. This is required to satisfy the “enhanced notice” the Better Business Bureau has been requiring online publishers to show prominently on their sites since January 1, 2014.
How To Add Legal Pages Content To Your Site
Ideally, you should have a lawyer prepare the verbiage of your legal documents. Once you have this, there are several ways to include them in your website.
Uploading Legal Web Pages Manually To Your Website
If someone prepares the legal content for you in standard web page formatting (e.g. HTML), you can simply upload these to your web server, or have someone upload them for you.
We recommend creating a legal directory in your server and uploading your legal pages to this folder (e.g. via FTP) …
(Upload legal pages to your web server via FTP)
You can then easily add links to these legal pages in WordPress using custom links in your menu admin area …
(Custom WordPress Menu Feature)
Displaying Legal Web Pages On Your Website
Make sure that your legal pages are kept up-to-date and display clearly to visitors. You can add links to your legal pages to the WordPress sidebar (or the footer of your site) so that users have access to legal information from all pages …
(Display links to legal information on all of your website’s pages)
We have created a detailed tutorial on displaying links to pages on your sidebar or footer using widgets here:
Use Store-Bought Templates
You can find attorney-drafted disclosures and downloadable internet forms and agreements by searching online, or by visiting sites like this one:
Find Legal Forms
To learn more, visit this site:
Alternatively, you can download a package of website legal templates drafted by attorney Scott Talbert …
Cut And Paste Website Legal Pages
(Cut & Paste Website Legal Pages)
These templates were created by an attorney and feature less passive voice and more plain language phrasing and can be easily customized with a simple quick search and replace to add your own business name and URL, then pasted into your pages.
The legal forms included in Scott Talbert’s Legal Pages include:
- Anti-Spam Policy
- Copyright Notice
- Disclaimer (multi-discipline professional disclaimers)
- DMCA Compliance
- FTC Compliance (This proprietary FTC page reflects new FTC guidelines that came into effect in March 2012)
- Privacy Policy: Google, DART, etc.
- ToS & Conditions of Use: with inter- & intra-page redundancy, Contra Proferentem provision, reservation of rights, and exclusive social media admonition.
You can either create a new page on your website for every legal form you want added to your site, then paste the content from the templates into your pages and publish or upload the pages to your server as previously described.
To learn more, visit this site:
Plugins – Legal Pages
As well as using copy & paste templates, you can keep things very simple by using a plugin.
Here are some legal plugins for WordPress-driven websites that you may be interested in checking out:
WP Legal Pages Plugin
(WP Legal Pages Plugin For WordPress)
If manually setting up legal pages for your website seems too time-consuming for you, then consider choosing a plugin like WP Legal Pages …
WP Legal Pages is not a free plugin, but it’s a very low-priced and well-supported premium plugin that will make the work of creating and implementing legal pages on your WordPress site much easier and save you a great deal of time and effort.
Some of the reasons to consider using WP Legal Pages are:
- Pre-written Legal Templates – The plugin gives you access to over 20 built-in legal templates created by a team of professional lawyers.
- Very Quick And Easy To Use – You can set up most of the basic legal pages you need in around 3 minutes with just a few clicks of the mouse.
- Customizable Pages – Includes fully customizable and completely editable legal form templates (e.g. Terms Of Service, Disclaimer, Earnings Disclaimer, Privacy Policy and more!)
- Easy To Edit Pages – Full WYSIWYG editor lets you edit all legal pages just like any WP page.
- Shortcodes – You can add shortcodes to your WordPress pages and the information is then automatically inserted into your pages when you publish.
- Exclude pages. Exclude pages from menus with a simple check box and delete and manage these like every other WP page.
- Forced Options – Force page or post lockdown. When a user agrees to your legal terms, the page unlocks, giving them access.
- New Features – The plugin is updated with new features when new versions are released.
When you install WordPress Legal Pages, a new menu feature will be added to your dashboard section …
(WP Legal Pages – Menu)
This lets you create, edit and view your legal pages from the admin area …
(WordPress Legal Pages Plugin For WordPress – Settings Screen)
The plugin gives you the option of creating legal pages for different types of websites, such as business websites with products, affiliate websites, medical sites, etc …
(WP Legal Pages Plugin – Create different legal pages)
You can also choose from various pre-configured legal templates …
(WP Legal Pages Plugin – Legal Templates)
Legal page templates include:
- Terms of Use (Users are forced to agree to Terms and Conditions before using site)
- Linking Policy
- External Links Policy
- Terms and Conditions
- Refund Policy
- Affiliate Disclosure
- Privacy Policy
- Affiliate Agreement
- Facebook Privacy Policy
- Earnings Disclaimer
- Antispam Policy
- DoubleClick DART Cookies Policy
- Disclaimer Template
- FTC Disclosure Statement Template
- Medical Disclaimer Template
- Testimonials Disclosure – As per FTC guidelines
- Amazon Affiliate Disclosure Template
- DMCA Policy Template
- California Privacy Rights Policy Template
- Digital Goods Refund Policy Template
- COPPA – Children’s Online Privacy Policy Template
- Blog Comments Policy Template
- Newsletter Subscription Policy and Disclaimer Template
- FTC Disclaimer Widget
To learn more this WordPress plugin, visit this site:
Compliance Bar Plugin – WordPress Plugin For Website Compliance
Compliance Bar is a simple plugin for WordPress users containing over 20 customizable legal pages for your online presence …
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Legal Suite Pro
(Legal Suite Pro)
Legal Suite Pro Plugin For WordPress lets you easily install professionally-written legal pages such as:
- Anti-Spam Policy
- Copyright Notice
- DMCA Compliance
- FTC Compliance
- Privacy Policy
- Social Media Disclosure
- Medical Disclaimer
- Terms And Conditions
- Earnings Disclaimer
(Legal Suite Pro Plugin – Professionally-written legal forms)
Additionally:
- Drag & Drop FTC Disclaimer Widget: Add an FTC Disclaimer to any WordPress sidebar or widget area.
- Customizable EU Cookie Compliance Bar: Display an EU cookie compliance bar if you are getting traffic from the EU and your sites use cookies.
With just one-click you can install almost all of the legal pages your site needs and these professionally written legal pages can be created in your theme and/or as a standalone page outside of your theme.
The plugin developers secured rights to high quality, professionally written legal disclaimers and packaged them into a plugin that can be installed quickly on any WordPress site. Your legal pages can be installed and set up on your site in less than one minute and the license allows you to install and use the plugin on all of your sites (even sites that you decide to sell or flip).
For more information, go here:
If using the services of legal experts to create your legal pages is currently out of your budget, consider implementing some basic form of legal protection on your website until you can afford legal services.
We want your site to be legally safe!
Download the Legal Pages Generator software below (for FREE!), or choose one of the better solutions we discuss in this article, such as using attorney-drafted legal page templates, or a legal pages plugin as described in the section below.
(Legal Pages Generator Software)
Legal Pages Generator Software lets you easily generate essential legal documents for your website including ToS, Privacy Statement, Copyright Notice, Website Disclaimer and optional Earnings Disclaimer.
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As we’ve previously pointed out, if you are making money online (or plan to), you need to ensure that your site remains compliant with all government legal requirements and the terms of service (TOS) and guidelines of third-party services and products that you may decide to promote or use online. Your website or blog must comply with various regulations, some of which you may not even be aware of.
Non-compliance puts you at risk of suffering both financial losses and the loss of your reputation. Why risk your money and reputation, when you can protect yourself so inexpensively?
Legal Disclaimer: Once again, we are not lawyers and we provide no legal advice in this article. We strongly advise you to 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 concerning your specific business.
References And Resources
Here is a useful list of sites we recommend you visit to help you better understand what your site may require to stay compliant and meet its legal requirements and guidelines:
- Federal Trade Commission Latest List Of Rules & Regulations
- Federal Trade Commission Advertising & Marketing Rules Of the Road
- FTC Advertising And Marketing On The Internet
- Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program
- Dot Com Disclosures: Information About Online Advertising
- Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act
- CAN-SPAM Act Guide
- Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule
- FTC Regulatory Review Web Page
- FTC Rules and Guides Currently Under Review
- The Department of Commerce Internet Policy Task Force – Commercial Data Privacy and Innovation in the Internet Economy: A Dynamic Policy Framework
- FTC Staff Report: Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising
- FTC Final Guides Governing Endorsements and Testimonials
- United States Patent and Trademark Office
- US Copyright Office
Plus …
- Analytics Help – Policy requirements for Google Analytics Advertising Features
- Google AdSense Program Policies Explained
- AdSense Help – Required Content
- Google AdWords – Information Collection And Use
- AdWords Help – What to include in your privacy policy for remarketing
- ClickBank – Creating Your First Product
- Facebook Platform Policies
Hopefully, this article has helped you understand the importance of having a compliant website. Use the information above to quickly and easily add all necessary legal pages to your website or blog using simple methods and resources.
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