You have probably never thought about a privacy policy, EULA, Disclaimer, or Terms of Use Document…or read one, but they are an important part of having a website. In short, your website probably needs a set of website policies. In this article, I will discuss the importance of privacy policies, share links to important resources, and offer you a discount on a great tool that will help set up your site’s policies.
What Laws Require a Privacy Policy?
There are several domestic and international laws that apply to website privacy laws. Whether or not they apply to you or your business varies depending on the law and the things your website does. For example, there have been American companies fined for failure to comply with GDPR, a law in the European Union. An article on Tech HQ from May, 2022 notes the following:
As of March 31, 2022, findings from CYTRIO’s data privacy research uncovered that 90% of companies are not fully compliant with CCPA and CPRA Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) requirements. Further, 95% of companies are using error-prone and time-consuming manual processes for GDPR DSAR requirements.
https://techhq.com/2022/05/95-of-american-companies-not-gdpr-compliant/
In short, it may be rare for a website to be fully compliant with the many laws out there but it certainly helps to get ahead of the game and make sure you are good to go.
If you wish to do a more thorough reading on these laws, I recommend this article from my partners at Termageddon. This article provides a deep list of laws to help you to understand the relevant data. This will help you figure out if these laws apply to your business. Termageddon provides a service where they will maintain an auto updating privacy policy on your website that is compliant with relevant laws. It is really a cool product and they provide a 10% discount to all of my readers if you use the code STRATEGIC2.
Why Do Companies Have a Privacy Policy?
Like I said, you haven’t noticed but most websites have a Privacy Policy. Honestly, it is unusual to come across a website without a Privacy Policy. There are two main reasons for why companies have a Privacy Policy.
Firstly, Privacy Policies are legally required for most websites and not having one can result in fines or even lawsuits. Secondly, customers are becoming more aware of their privacy and how their data is used. If a website doesn’t have a Privacy Policy, customers may look for a business that does, leading to a decrease in sales. This article will explain why so many businesses have a Privacy Policy. Again, this article if from my partners at Termageddon and you can use their awesome tool at a 10% discount with my code STRATEGIC2. In fact, all of the information in this article is simply summaries of the four articles I have linked here. Hans and Donata (founders of Termageddon) KNOW THEIR STUFF!
Couldn’t I Just Copy Someone Else’s Stuff?
In short, “ehhhhhhhh.”
Here’s how i think about it: Will you probably be fine? Hard to say. Is it worth the risk? Probably not. Privacy Policies and other similar documents are unique to a business and may need to be customized to your information or needs. Also, not using a tool like Termageddon runs the risk of your policy not being up to date. As with everything else in this post, Termageddon has a great article and you can use my code STRATEGIC2 for a 10% discount. If you are reading all of these, please accept my apologies for continuing to talk about the code. I just don’t want anyone to miss it.
Couldn’t I Use a Static Policy?
Listen, everyone loves to “set it and forget it.” But with changing privacy laws, you really shouldn’t use a static policy and hope for the best. Termageddon goes into this deeper here and you can use my code STRATEGIC2 for a 10% discount. Personally, I am more comfortable knowing that my policy is always right and having Hans and Donata an email away is awesome. To me, Termageddon is a worthwhile investment in your site, but I can understand the counter argument. There are tools out there that will generate a static policy for you. A simple Google search will show you some options.
Let’s Make Cool Stuff Together
If you need help with anything in designing your website and deploying it, nothing would being me more joy than helping you make a website you are proud of. I also offer Social Media and Email Marketing services and would love to begin a conversation. Head to my contact page and fill out the form for us to get started!
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