The Legal Aspects of a Website
We live in a very litigious world. It’s an exhausting and annoying fact, but a fact nonetheless. As a web designer, I keep this in mind whenever I am designing websites for my clients. There are two things that help keep websites legally safe: GDPR Compliance and Legal Website Protection. Let’s take a closer look at what these do and why they are so important.
GDPR Compliance
GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation. It is a law that was passed in the European Union to protect users from having their data sold and redistributed without their knowledge. GDPR is relevant for any business or person who collects emails for an email list. If your business never serves people who live in the EU, you probably don’t need to worry about it. However, if your business has an online presence with a chance of serving people who live in the EU, you need to have a GDPR compliant website.
To be GDPR compliant, a new email subscriber needs to take an action that clearly states you have their permission to send them marketing emails. Some website owners try to get by this law by offering a freebie, like a checklist or PDF. But unless there is a separate question that specifically asks about marketing emails, they are not GDPR compliant and cannot send marketing emails. If they do send any, they risk being sued.
If you want a more in-depth article about GDPR Compliance, I included one of my favorite articles about it:
Legal Website Protection
Here are the 3 legal pages you need on your website:
Terms of Use
Disclaimer
Privacy Policy
My first recommendation is to have a lawyer look over your website and business plan so they can drawing up these 3 documents for you. However, I know this is not always a realistic possibility, especially for smaller businesses who don’t have a very big budget. My next recommendation is to purchase templates for each of the 3 documents from a business called The Online Genius.
The Online Genius is run by a lawyer who specializes in helping online entrepreneurs and companies keep their websites safe. One of his packages has all 3 templates with instructional videos on how to customize them for your own business. If you are interested in purchasing these* for your own website, you can find them here:
*I am an affiliate, which means I make a small percentage when someone buys the templates, but I used these long before I ever considered becoming an affiliate.
You can probably tell that I love The Online Genius; and you would be right! When I first started my business, I felt like I was running on nothing but hope and a prayer (and coffee). However, when I found The Online Genius, his simple templates and easy explanations made me feel like I had just won the litigious lottery. I no longer stress about waking up to a silly lawsuit that would completely bankrupt me. I know I am safe and have the documents that are necessary to keep it that way. I hope you too can find the same sense of security for your own website!
With love,
-Heather
Heather Brockell is a Web Designer and Copywriter based out of North Dakota, USA. When she isn’t designing websites or writing, she performs as a professional figure skater and singer in ice shows all around the country.
Want to hire Heather to create something magical for your online presence?