Is your WordPress website compliant? Do you know if you are breaking any rules or regulations, or contravening the Terms of Service (TOS) of any companies whose products or services you offer or recommend?
Internet laws, regulations, and guidelines were designed to protect consumers and apply to any person who sells, markets or promotes products or services online. Anyone who owns a website risks being sued for not following compliance laws. Feigning ignorance about legal requirements will not excuse you from being slapped with a legal notice.
Recent laws introduced in 2014 regulating how businesses promote advertising on their websites clearly state that if you plan to promote anything on your website for profit, then you must follow certain disclosure guidelines to prevent enforceable orders being issued against you by regulatory agencies, such as the Better Business Bureau, also called the BBB. Look up “The Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program,” which regulates behavioral advertising across the internet for more details.
(Better Business Bureau – Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program)
The introduction of new laws has legal ramifications for various business categories, including:
- Any form of advertising, like contextual advertising
- Retarget Marketing
- Google Analytics (or other analytics software)
- Affiliate Marketers
- 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 such as Google won’t let you advertise, digital marketplaces like ClickBank or JVZoo won’t approve your digital products on their network, PayPal may suspend your account and withhold payment of your funds, Facebook will reject your web applications, and you won’t be accepted into a number of advertising and affiliate marketing networks.
If you are not compliant, you could face a number of penalties, including fines, having your website shut down, even jail time!
This guide explains why it’s important to have a legally compliant website and describes simple and cost-effective methods and solutions to help make your website or blog compliant.
Is Your Site Compliant?
Disclaimer: Please note that we are not lawyers and we do not provide legal advice. As stated above, the purpose of this article is to help make you aware that your website may be subject to certain legal requirements in accordance with federal, regional or local laws governing business practices online and that you may be required to comply with the terms of service of providers whose products or services you recommend on your website or blog
Why Ensuring That Your Website Is Compliant Is Important
Is your business at risk? Consider for one moment what could happen to your business if these scenarios were to happen:
- Someone suffers a cardiac arrest after purchasing your online workout program.
- The skin care products you sell as an affiliate gives people allergic reactions.
- You’ve informed subscribers that you won’t sell their information, but you haven’t spelled out exactly what you plan to do with it.
- Someone copies your content and puts it up on their own website.
- There is no statement on your site letting your site users know that you’re an affiliate for the product you’re endorsing that you may get paid an affiliate commission if visitors buy it.
- You did not spell out the conditions of your return policies.
- Visitors claim that the testimonials on your site are fake and try to sue you as a result.
- You did not disclose in a product review that you were given a free copy of the product.
- Your site contains adult information and you haven’t taken sufficient measures to keep underage persons from accessing it.
Consider also the documented case studies of costly compliance breaches below:
- A CPA Marketer failed to provide adequate disclaimers telling visitors they would have to give up their personal information to complete an offer they were promoting. 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 children’s private details.
- Facebook’s Terms Of Service does not allow users to scrape 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 picked at random, more than 90% were breaking at least one of Google’s policies, more than 65% were breaking at least 2 of Google’s policies, and more than 40% had breached at least 3 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 with the violation, which could result in loss of income (e.g. AdSense or AdWords).
Can you see how easy it is to be exposed to the risks of litigation through non-compliance?
Regardless of whether you are a:
- CPA Marketer
- MLM Networker
- Affiliate Marketer
- AdWords User
- Niche Publisher
- Amazon Affiliate
- e-Commerce Store Owner
- Adult Content Publisher
- Freelancer, Coach or Consultant
- Online Seller Of Any Product Or Service
It’s vitally important to make sure that your website complies with all laws governing the use of your site, wherever you are located.
Compliance With Third-Party Companies Terms And Policies
Compliance with third-party services terms and policies is important.
You must let your visitors know that your website complies will all legal requirements and professional guidelines. This not only increases trust and confidence in your business, it’s also a requirement of many companies you engage with online.
For example:
Google requires websites to display legal information when using their services. This includes Google Analytics …
(Google Analytics – Policy Requirements)
Earning revenue online with your sites using Google AdSense advertising …
(Google AdSense display advertising - policy requirements)
Or promoting your site using Google AdWords …
(Google AdWords – Policy Requirements)
If you plan to sell information products through companies such as ClickBank, JVZoo, or other established online merchant networks, you are required to add certain legal pages to your site before they will approve your products for selling via their marketplace …
(Policy requirements digital product vendors selling via ClickBank)
The Federal Trade Commission also requires you to add clear disclaimers and disclosures to visitors, especially if you plan to use testimonials or product endorsements …
(Federal Trade Commission – consumer guidelines and regulations)
New FTC Regulations Require Your Site To Be Compliant
New FTC regulations governing the conduct of doing business online were introduced in March 2012. A quick search online will easily reveal that many websites are still unaware (or choose to flaunt) these requirements. As documented on their website, this typically ends up with the FTC making an example of businesses and prosecuting companies in an effort to get other businesses to comply.
If you do any type of business online, therefore, it’s best not to take chances. Even if your business is not located in the U.S. we strongly recommend protecting your business by making sure that your site complies with FTC guidelines.
Many sites provide guidelines for structuring disclaimers and disclosures to help you comply with FTC requirements. See our additional references and resources section at the end of this article for more information …
(Structuring your disclaimers and disclosures correctly is important to avoid running foul of laws and regulations)
Social Media Apps Also Have Compliance Requirements
If you are planning to create apps for your site, sites like Facebook, Twitter, and others require you to provide information about your legal pages …
(Apps for social networking sites also require compliance)
- If you are unsure as to whether or not you are breaking the law, and/or Terms of Service policies and guidelines of service providers like Google, Facebook, etc., then it’s best to assume that you most probably are.
- If you plan to promote services or products online as an affiliate marketer, or make money online 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 are required to display on your site to comply with all Terms Of Service and policy requirements - don’t risk having your accounts terminated.
- If you have ever wondered if “borrowing” a Copyright Notice is Copyright infringement, then it’s best to act now and take proper precautions to avoid becoming a magnet for litigation.
(In addition to legal and regulatory compliance, almost all 3rd-party websites require you to comply with their policies)
What Compliance Information Pages Should You Add To Your Website To Be Legally Compliant?
If you suspect that your web site is lacking in areas of compliance, then this section will help you.
Adding the following compliance pages to your website will keep your business out of trouble with many regulatory authorities and 3rd-party providers, and even help to avoid potential legal issues):
- About Us Page
- Contact Us
- Privacy Statement
- Terms And Conditions
- Disclaimer Pages
- General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance
As well as the above, you may want to look into including one or more of these legal pages where applicable:
- Affiliate Agreement (if you sell products or services through an affiliate program)
- Anti-Spam Policy
- Earnings Disclaimer
- External Links Policy
- Health Disclaimers (e.g. if your website provides general health or medical advice)
- Refund Policy (if you sell products or services online)
- Audio/Video Terms Of Use (if you allow users to download media on your site)
Disclosure Pages – Types
Adding correct disclosure information to your website is important. For example:
- No Material Connection – Lets users know that you will not be receiving any kind of payment for writing the article.
- Affiliate Links – Lets visitors be aware that you may be compensated if they buy through your affiliate link.
- Review Or Sample Copy – Lets readers be aware that you have been given a review or sample copy of the product.
- Sponsored Post – Discloses to visitors that you were compensated in some way to write the post.
- Third Party Advertising – Lets users 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 display prominently on their sites since January 1, 2014.
How To Add Legal Pages To Your Website
Ideally, you will consult a lawyer and ask them to prepare the content of your legal documents. Once this has been done, there are several ways to add them to your website.
Uploading Legal Web Pages Manually To Your Site
If someone prepares the legal content for you in typical web page format (e.g. HTML), you can simply upload these to your site, or have someone upload them for you.
We recommend creating a legals folder in your server and uploading your legal pages to this directory (e.g. using FTP) …
(Create a ‘legals’ folder in your web server and upload pages via FTP)
You can then easily add a link to these pages from your WordPress site using custom links in your menu feature …
(Custom WordPress Menu Feature)
Displaying Legal Pages On Your Site
After uploading your legal pages, make sure that these are fully up-to-date and clearly accessible to all site visitors. You can add links to your legal pages to the sidebar menu (or place them in the footer section of your site) so that users have access to legal information from every page …
(It’s important to display links to your legal pages on all of your website’s pages)
We have written a detailed tutorial on adding links to pages on your sidebar and footer in WordPress using widgets here:
Legal Templates
You can find attorney-drafted downloadable forms and agreements just by searching online, or going to sites like the ones shown below:
Find Legal Forms
For more details, go here:
Alternatively, you can purchase a package of website legal templates drafted by legal attorney Scott Talbert …
Cut And Paste Website Legal Pages
(Scott Talbert’s Website Legal Templates)
Cut & Paste website templates were created by an attorney and feature less passive voice and more plain language phrasing and can be customized with simple 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 Form Templates include:
- Anti-Spam Policy
- Copyright Notice
- Disclaimer
- DMCA Compliance
- FTC Compliance (This proprietary FTC page reflects FTC regulations and guidelines brought into effect in March 2012)
- Privacy Policy
- ToS & Conditions of Use.
You can either create a new WordPress page for each legal form you want added to your site, then paste the content from the templates into your pages and publish or upload your legal pages to your server as previously described.
More information:
Legal Page Plugins
In addition to using templates, you can simplify things by using WordPress plugins.
Here are some great plugins for WordPress users you should check out:
WP Legal Pages Plugin
(WP Legal Pages Plugin)
If you don’t want to spend time creating legal pages manually, then consider choosing WordPress Legal Pages instead …
This plugin is not free, but it’s a low-priced and well-supported plugin that will help make the job of creating and implementing legal pages on your website a lot easier and save you time.
Some of the benefits of using the WordPress Legal Pages are:
- Built-in Legal Templates – The plugin gives you access to over 20 built-in legal templates created by professional lawyers.
- Quick And Easy To Use – Set up most of the legal pages you need in around 3 minutes with a few clicks of the mouse.
- Fully Customizable Pages – The plugin includes fully 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 like every other page on your website.
- Custom Shortcodes Integration – You can add shortcodes to your WordPress pages and the information will be automatically inserted into your pages when you publish.
- Exclude pages. The plugin lets you exclude pages from menus with a simple checkbox and delete and manage these like any WP page.
- Forced Options – Force page or post lock down. Page unlocks when users agree to your legal terms.
- New Features – The plugin is updated with new features when new versions are released.
When you install WordPress Legal Pages, a new menu item will display inside your dashboard area …
(WP Legal Pages Plugin – Legal Pages Menu)
This allows you to view, create and edit your legal pages from the admin area …
(WordPress Legal Pages Plugin For WordPress – Settings)
You can easily create legal pages for different types of websites, such as business websites with products, affiliate websites, AdSense sites, etc …
(WP Legal Pages Plugin – Create different legal pages)
You can also choose from several pre-configured legal templates …
(WP Legal Pages Plugin – Pre-configured 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, go here:
Compliance Bar – WP Website Compliance Plugin
Compliance Bar Plugin is a total compliance and disclaimer solution for your online presence …
Learn more here:
Legal Suite Pro
(Legal Suite Pro For WordPress)
Legal Suite Pro 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 of Service
- Earnings Disclaimer
(Legal Suite Pro – 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 less than one minute and the plugin licensing is very flexible, allowing you to install and use this plugin on all of your sites.
Go here for more details:
If using the services of a lawyer to create your legal pages is out of your budget, then consider implementing at least some basic type of legal protection on your website until you can afford a lawyer.
We want your website to be legally protected!
Download the FREE Legal Pages Generator software below, or use one of the better solutions we discuss in this article, such as using legal forms, or a WordPress plugin as described in the section below.
(Legal Pages Generator)
Legal Pages Generator Software allows you to easily generate necessary legal documents for your website including ToS, Privacy Policy, Copyright Notice, Website Disclaimer and optional Earnings Disclaimer.
***
As we’ve previously pointed out, if you do any type of business online (or are planning to), you need to make sure that your site complies with legal requirements of government agencies that regulate how business online is done and any terms of service and guidelines required by third-party products and services that you may be promoting or selling online. Your digital presence must comply with a whole range of regulations, many of which you may not 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, please note that we are not lawyers and we cannot provide legal advice here. We strongly advise you to do your own due diligence and consult legal experts to ensure that your website is compliant with the law concerning your specific business.
Additional Resources
Below is a useful list of additional sites we recommend you visit to help you better understand what your site may require to comply and meet legal requirements and guidelines:
- FTC Latest List Of Rules & Regulations
- FTC Advertising & Marketing Rules Of the Road
- FTC Advertising And Marketing On The Internet
- Better Business Bureau – 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
- US Patent and Trademark Office
- United States Copyright Office
In Addition …
- 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 why it’s important to have a compliant website. Use the information above to quickly and easily add essential legal pages to your site.
***
"These tutorials have so much information and are easy to understand. If you use WordPress or plan to in the future these will help you with everything you need to know." - Valisa (Mesa, Arizona)