10 Tips to Make Sure Your Website Stays on the Right Side of the Law

When you have a website, there are certain rules and regulations that you need to follow if you want to ensure your website is legally compliant and mitigate the risk of any legal issues. From copyright to duties towards avoiding plagiarism, there are some basic website legal requirements one should know before making the website go live.This is a guest contribution by Sanjeev Pandey.This post will delve into some of the elements you should include and rules that you should follow. Well also share tools to help make compliance easier for you, like a  WordPress privacy policy plugin or a site to help you generate a Terms Conditions page.Lets get started, beginning with the new topic that everyone is talking about.Editors note   we are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. When in doubt, talk to a real lawyer. European Unions General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). If you havent heard of this regulation that was launched in early 2018, though, you need to familiarize yourse lf with it if you have any connection to the European Union.This regulation is huge, so we cannot cover it all in this post. But to help you learn more, here are some of the in-depth guides weve written on the subject.First, you should review our general guide to WordPress and the GDPR. Then, you can consider these actionable tips for GDPR compliance.With that out of the way, lets get to the tips!1. Make sure you can legally use all content (like images)Depending on what you are going to publish on your website, you might have to apply for specific licenses to use that content. This is quite important when it comes to preventing plagiarism, recognizing others’ talent, and appreciating their work.For example, for some images, you must request permission before using them (though you can also find free stock photo sites). Even if you get the license, you must keep in mind that you aren’t the only one with it and you might not be able to use that image however you want.Wh ile Unsplash lets you use its images for free, many stock photo sites are not so generousBefore you can obtain the license, you may even have to sign an agreement. In such a scenario, make sure you are reading the print cautiously and know how you can use the image and what are the terms to use it.2. Include a Privacy Policy that explains how you handle users dataMoving forward, a privacy policy is one of the most important legal requirements for any website. This policy clearly defines how you are going to use your visitors’ data. Not only is it a significant part of legal requirements in several countries, but a privacy policy also helps establish trust with your visitors.If you have no idea of how to put a privacy policy on your website, you can always use a  WordPress privacy policy plugin to make the procedure easier, like WP Legal Pages: WP Legal Pages: Simple WordPress Privacy Policy Generator Plugin Author(s): WPEka ClubCurrent Version: 2.3.0Last Updated: October 16, 2019wplegalpages.2.3.0.zip 80%Ratings 152,801Downloads WP 5.0+Requires Heres a complete guide on how to create a privacy policy for your site and what to include in it.3. Include a Terms Conditions page, tooUndeniably, Terms Conditions page seems to be the unhappiest page on the entire website, however, it holds importance as well. Although it might not be a necessity by the law in some countries, to be on the safe side, you must add it to your website.This page turns out to be beneficial when it comes to limiting your responsibility in case a customer has dragged you to the court. In such a situation, having a Terms Conditions page on the website also secures your right to the content that you have published on your website.If youre not sure what to include, you can use TermsFeed to help you generate a Terms Conditions page.4. Maintain a strict security policy to avoid negligenceAny sort of lapse in your sites security can increase the chances of damages done to your whole company. These days, security cracks are becoming quite common.In July 2018, there were more than 145 million leaked records because of cyber-attacks. Shocking, isn’t it? Apparently, in a year, the damage done to the information technology because of a security breach is more than $1.5 trillion.Since the security breach types vary depending on your domain and niche market, you must cautiously create such plans for security that match the requirements of your website and strengthen its vulnerabilities. Create a strict security policy, as well as a plan for what happens if there is a breach. It will give your visitors confidence that their information is safe with you.For WordPress users, a security plugin can provide a good baseline level of security.5. Include any relevant disclaimers to keep users informedSometimes, problems occur because websites knowingly compel someone to be certain about something that may end up causing them an extreme loss.If your website is caus ing them damage, then you, as the owner, can be held responsible for the entire situation. Therefore, you should put disclaimers on the website in case there are omissions or errors, or you are using any third-party’s links.6. Pay attention to rules about transactions (e.g. an eCommerce store)If your website includes online transactions, you need to pay special attention to security and regulations.A recent report published in Trustwave states that approximately 90% of data breaches impact small-scale merchants. So if your website deals in an online transaction, its essential to consider the security of your customers’ data.Make sure that you encrypt all the data passing between your site and your visitors computers  with HTTPS. Also, make sure that you are only using a reliable payment gateway to prevent unnecessary problems in the future.Also, look into terminology like PCI compliance.7. Properly inform visitors about how you use cookiesIf you want to stay on the g ood side of the Electronic Privacy Communications Regulation, you need to inform users if you use any type of tracking cookie (which is most sites).If you fail to notify your users about this activity, you may have to pay a large amount as a fine payment.Learn how to create a cookie consent notice here.8. Maintain consistent information across your siteTo maintain consistency, make sure to post the same information on your website as you’ve posted on other platforms. This information includes your registered address, email ID, contact number, etc.Not only does this ensure that visitors know exactly who theyre dealing with, but it also helps you build trust with them.9. Make your site accessible to all usersIf you want to make your website accessible to all visitors, youll need to put some special attention into following good web accessibility practices. Although many sites ignore accessibility, this legal requirement is quite a necessity if your intention is to treat everyo ne equally and stay on the good side of regulation like the ADA.10. Avoid intentionally (or unintentionally) taking others contentIf you want your website to thrive, you need to regularly share new content.While you may think of publishing content written by others as a way to do this, know that it might generate several issues for you in the future. What if the content isn’t original and you are taking it from another site that has copied it from another?Although it might be difficult to prevent taking up content from other sites altogether, avoid it as much as you can. You can hire creative and professional content writers who can either generate authentic content or rewrite the existing content to make it unique.Final thoughtsWhile you may consider the fact that you are going to gain a lot of advantages from a business website, there are several website legal requirements as well that you must keep in mind, as mentioned above. Therefore, you can either use tools, such as a   WordPress privacy policy plugin or can even go to a next level and hire a lawyer to craft unique documents.All in all, make sure that you are protecting yourself and your business from legal problems. That’s all that matters.If you have any questions on how to make sure your site stays on the light side of the force, ask away in the comments. About the author: Sanjeev Pandey loves everything about WordPress. Working with WPeka, a constant search for new tools and Plugins keeps him hungry all the time.