Is your website compliant? Do you know if you are breaking any laws, rules or regulations, or contravening the Terms of Service (TOS) of any companies whose products or services you are advertising or recommending?
As the internet continues growing at such a fast pace and the rules constantly change, it’s absolutely vital that you stay on top of what’s happening and ensure that your website or blog remains compliant with all laws and regulations, especially if having a digital presence is a fundamental part of your business strategy.
Recent laws introduced in 2014 that regulate how businesses promote advertising on their websites state that if you plan to promote anything on your site for profit, then you must follow certain disclosure guidelines to prevent enforceable orders being issued against you by regulatory departments, such as the (US based) Better Business Bureau (BBB). Search online “The Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program,” which regulates behavioral advertising across the internet to learn more.
(Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program)
The new laws has ramifications for various online business activities, including:
- Any form of advertising, e.g. contextual advertising
- Retarget Marketing
- Google Analytics (or other analytics software)
- Affiliate Marketers
- Product Creation
- Bloggers
- etc.
Without legal pages on your web site (e.g. terms and conditions of use, privacy statement, legal disclaimers, etc.), many third-party sites such as Google won’t let you advertise, sites like ClickBank or JVZoo won’t let you list digital products for sale, PayPal could suspend your account, Facebook will suspend web applications, and you won’t be allowed to promote many advertising and online marketing networks.
If your business online is not compliant, you could end up facing a whole range of penalties, including fines, having your website shut down, even jail time!
This article explains the importance of having a compliant website and lists simple and inexpensive solutions that will make your WordPress website or blog compliant quickly and easily.
Is Your Site Breaking Rules Or Regulations?
Disclaimer: We are not lawyers and we do not offer legal advice in this article. 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 wherever your business is located.
Why Making Your Website Compliant Is Important
Consider what the implications to your business would be in the following scenarios:
- A person has a cardiac arrest after purchasing your online workout program.
- The skin care lotion you promote as an affiliate marketer gives someone who purchases from your link an allergic reaction.
- Your opt-in list displays a statement informing prospective subscribers that you will not sell their information, but you have not described exactly what you plan to do with the details you’ve collected.
- Someone steals content from your site and publishes it on their own site.
- You did not tell visitors that you’re an affiliate for the product you’re endorsing and may earn a financial benefit if visitors purchase it.
- You haven’t spelled out the terms and conditions of your refund and return policies.
- Visitors claim that the testimonials on your site are all fake and decide to sue you as a result.
- You didn’t disclose in a product review that you received a free copy of the product.
- Your website includes adult information and you haven’t taken sufficient measures to keep underaged persons from accessing it.
Consider now the actual examples of costly compliance breaches listed below:
- A CPA Marketer failed to provide adequate disclaimers telling visitors they would be required to give up their personal information (including credit card details to complete his offer. Cost = $390,000.
- A social networking app developer copped a whopping $800,000 fine for collecting personal information from mobile device address books without the owners’ knowledge and consent – including storing children’s private details.
- Facebook’s Terms Of Service prohibits using software that scrapes UIDs. Many marketers took a risk and lost. Their accounts were shut down, resulting thousands of dollars in lost revenue.
- An independently-conducted study by Brad Geddes of SearchEngineLand, showed that, of a couple of hundred randomly-chosen websites, more than 90% had infringed at least one of Google’s policies, more than 65% had infringed at least two of Google’s policies, and more than 40% had broken 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 with warnings or lose access entirely to the Google program whose policies they had violated, which could result in loss of income (e.g. AdSense or AdWords).
Can you see how easy it is to risk becoming a target of litigation through non-compliance?
Regardless of whether you are a:
- CPC (Cost Per Conversion) Marketer
- Network Marketer
- Affiliate Promoter
- AdSense Publisher
- Info Product Publisher
- Amazon Affiliate
- EBay Seller
- Publisher Of Adult Content
- Provider Of Freelance, Coaching Or Consulting Services
- Seller Of Any Service Or Product Online
You need to make sure that your online business has the right legal pages and information displayed to all you site users.
Complying With Third-Party Services Terms And Policies
Big companies and government agencies that regulate trade emphasize the need and importance of observing the terms and policies of 3rd-party service providers.
You are expected to let your site users know that your business complies with legal requirements and professional guidelines. This not only increases consumer trust and buyer confidence in your business, it’s also required by most companies you interact with online.
For example:
Google requires your site to display certain information when using many of their services. This includes Google Analytics …
(Google Analytics – Policy Requirements)
Generating revenue with your blog using Google AdSense ads …
(Google AdSense ads - policy requirements)
And even promoting your site using Google AdWords …
(Policy requirements for using Google AdWords)
If you plan to sell products online with merchants such as ClickBank, JVZoo, or other established online merchant sites, you will be required to add a number of legal pages before they will approve your products for sale …
(Policy requirements for selling products via ClickBank)
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also requires that you display clear disclaimers and disclosures to visitors, especially if you plan to sell or promote online with the aid of product testimonials or endorsements …
(FTC – consumer policies and regulations)
New FTC Regulations Require Your Site To Comply
New FTC regulations governing the conduct of businesses online were introduced in March 2012. Search online and you will see that many websites are unaware (or choose to ignore) these requirements. As has already been the case, this often prompts the FTC to make an example of businesses and prosecute companies for breaches of regulation in an effort to get other businesses to comply.
If you plan to do any type 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 interests by making sure that your website complies with FTC regulations and guidelines.
Various business resources provide guidelines for structuring disclaimers and disclosures to help you meet FTC requirements. See the additional references and useful resources section at the end of this article for more information …
(Structure your disclaimers and disclosures correctly to avoid running foul of laws and regulations)
Social Media Applications Also Require Compliance
If you plan to develop applications that will integrate with your site, you will also be required to provide social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, and many others with access to various legal pages …
(Apps for social networks also require compliance)
- If you are unsure whether you are breaking the law, and/or Terms of Service policies and guidelines of companies like Google, Facebook, etc., then you most probably are.
- If you are considering promoting products or services online as an affiliate marketer, or making money online with Google AdSense, eBay or Amazon 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 are required to provide on your site to comply with all 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 take proper precautions to protect yourself and your business interests.
(In addition to legal and regulatory compliance, almost all 3rd-party websites require you to comply with their terms of use)
What Compliance Information Does My Website Need To Be Legally Compliant?
If you suspect that your website lacks in aspects of compliance, then you will find this section helpful.
At its most basic, adding the following legal pages to your site should help your site stay out of trouble with most consumer protection authorities and 3rd-party providers, and even help you avoid possible legal issues):
- About Us Page
- Contact Us
- Privacy Policy
- Terms Of Use
- Disclaimers
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance
As well as the pages above, you may want to consider implementing any of the pages listed below where applicable:
- Affiliate Disclosure (if you sell or promote affiliate products or services)
- Anti-Spam Policy
- Earnings Disclaimer
- External Links Policy
- Financial Disclaimers (e.g. if your website provides money-making information)
- Refund Policy (if you run an e-commerce site)
- Media Terms Of Use (if you allow media downloads on your site)
Types Of Disclosure Pages
It’s important to add correct disclosure information to your site. For example:
- No Material Connection – This lets your visitors be aware that you will not be receiving any kind of payment for writing the post.
- Affiliate Links – Lets your visitors know that you will receive compensation if they act on your recommendation and purchase through affiliate links on your site.
- Review/Sample Copy – Discloses to visitors that you have been given a review or sample copy of the product or service.
- Sponsored Post – Disclosure that lets readers be aware that you were compensated in some form to write the content.
- Third Party Advertising – Lets your visitors know that you’re using online behavioral tracking technology. This is required to satisfy the “enhanced notice” the Better Business Bureau has been requiring website publishers to show prominently on their sites since January 1, 2014.
How To Add Legal Pages To Your Website
Ideally, you should consult a lawyer and ask them to prepare the content of your legal documents. Once this has been created, there are several ways to add them to your website.
Uploading Legal Pages Manually To Your Site
If someone prepares and delivers the legal verbiage for you in standard web page formatting (e.g. HTML), you can simply upload these to your web server, or have someone upload these pages for you.
We recommend creating a legal directory in your server and uploading HTML pages containing your legal documentation to this folder using FTP …
(Upload legal pages to your server using FTP)
You can then add a link to these legal pages in WordPress using custom links in your menu admin area …
(Custom WordPress Menu Feature)
Displaying Legal Web Pages On Your Site
After uploading your legal pages, make sure that these are kept up-to-date and display clearly to visitors. You can add links to your legal pages to the sidebar menu (or place them in the footer section of your website or blog) to ensure that visitors have access to the information from every page …
(It’s important to display links to legal information on all of your website’s pages)
We have created a detailed tutorial about adding links to pages on your sidebar and footer in WordPress using widgets here:
Templates
You can easily find attorney-prepared downloadable forms and agreements just by searching online, or by visiting websites like this one:
Find Legal Forms
(Find Legal Forms – Legal forms)
Go here to learn more:
Alternatively, you can purchase a set of cut and paste website legal templates created by legal attorney Scott Talbert …
Cut And Paste Website Legal Pages
(Website Legal Pages)
These templates feature less passive voice and more plain language phrasing and can be easily customized with simple search and replace to insert your own details, then pasted into your web pages.
The legal forms included in Scott Talbert’s Website Legal Page Templates include:
- Anti-Spam Policy
- Copyright Notice
- Disclaimer: multi-discipline professional disclaimers
- DMCA Compliance
- Federal Trade Commission Compliance (This proprietary FTC page accommodates FTC regulations and guidelines brought into effect in March 2012)
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service & Conditions of Use.
You can either create a new page for every legal form you want added to your website, then paste the content from the templates into your pages and publish or upload the pages to your web server as described previously.
Go here to learn more:
Legal Page Plugins
In addition to using cut & paste templates, another option is to use WordPress plugins.
Here are some great WordPress plugins worth looking into:
WP Legal Pages
(WordPress Plugin – WP Legal Pages)
If the idea of creating legal pages manually feels too time-consuming for you, then consider choosing WP Legal Pages …
The WP Legal Pages plugin is not free, but it’s a low-priced and well-supported plugin that will simplify the job of creating and implementing legal pages on your site and save you a great deal of time.
Some of the benefits of using the WP Legal Pages plugin are:
- Pre-written Templates – The plugin gives you access to over 20 built-in legal page templates created by a team of professional lawyers.
- Very Quick And Easy To Use – Set up most of your basic legal pages in around 3 minutes with a few clicks of the mouse.
- Fully Customizable Pages – The plugin includes customizable and editable legal form templates (e.g. ToS, Disclaimer, Earnings Disclaimer, Privacy Policy and more!)
- Easy To Edit Pages – WYSIWYG editor lets you edit legal pages just like any other WordPress page.
- Custom Shortcodes – Add shortcodes to your website or blog pages and the information is then automatically inserted into your content when published.
- Exclude pages. Exclude pages from menus with a simple check box and delete and manage these like any page on your site.
- Forced Options – Force page lockdown. When users agree to your terms, the page unlocks, giving them access.
- New Features – More features get added to this plugin with every new version.
When you install WordPress Legal Pages, a new menu feature will display inside your WP dashboard menu …
(WordPress Legal Pages – Legal Pages Menu)
This allows you to create, edit and view your legal pages from the admin area …
(WordPress Legal Pages – Settings Area)
You have the option of creating legal pages for different types of sites, such as business websites with products, affiliate websites, medical sites, etc …
(WP Legal Pages Plugin – Page Type)
Select from various pre-configured legal templates …
(WP Legal Pages Plugin – Pre-configured 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
Go here to learn more about using this plugin:
Compliance Bar Plugin – WordPress Plugin For Website Compliance
Compliance Bar is a simple plugin for WordPress websites and blogs with over twenty customizable compliance page templates for your site …
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Legal Suite Pro Plugin
(Legal Suite Pro Plugin For WordPress)
This plugin 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 powered site. You can have legal pages installed and set up on your site in one minute or less and the license allows you to install and use this plugin on all of your websites.
Go here to learn more:
If hiring legal experts to create your online legal documentation is out of your budget, then consider implementing at least some basic type of legal protection on your site until you can afford to hire a legal expert.
We want your business to be legally safe!
Download the FREE Legal Pages Generator tool below, or choose one of the better solutions we discuss in this article, such as using legal content, or a WordPress plugin as described in the section below.
(Legal Pages Generator)
Legal Pages Generator lets you easily generate essential legal documents for your website including Terms of Service, Privacy Statement, Copyright Notice, Website Disclaimer and optional Earnings Disclaimer.
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As we’ve previously pointed out, if you engage in any form of business online (or plan to), you need to make sure that your site is found to comply with legal requirements of government agencies that regulate business online and any guidelines and terms of service (TOS) required by third-party services and products that you may decide to promote or sell online. Your website must comply with a whole set of laws and regulatory guidelines, some of which you may not even be aware of.
Being non-compliant 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?
Disclaimer: Once again, we are not lawyers and we offer no legal advice on our website. You must do your own due diligence and consult a legal expert to ensure that your website fully complies with the law concerning your specific business.
References And Resources
Here is a useful list of additional sites we recommend you visit to better understand what may be required of your website to comply and meet legal obligations:
- Federal Trade Commission Latest List Of Rules & Regulations
- Federal Trade Commission Advertising & Marketing Rules Of the Road
- FTC Advertising And Marketing On The Internet
- Better Business Bureau Website
- 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
- US Patent and Trademark Office
- United States Copyright Office
Additionally …
- Google 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
We hope this article has helped you understand the importance of having a compliant website. Use the information presented above to quickly add all necessary legal pages to your WordPress site using inexpensive legal resources and solutions.
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"This is an awesome training series. I have a pretty good understanding of WordPress already, but this is helping me to move somewhere from intermediate to advanced user!" - Kim Lednum