Most websites should have at a minimum a Privacy Policy and a website disclaimer. If your website is into selling, a solid and comprehensive Terms and Conditions is indispensable. Data privacy is at the core of having these in place. Complying with these legals are essential and every developer asks you these things before making your website go live. It only goes to show that these are integral to what makes a website legit. You may ask, why do I need website legals? In this article, we will share to you why website legals are a must for ALL websites.
- Building trust and credibility of your website.
Aside from the obvious reason which is to be legally protected, having website legals is about building trust. It shows how professional, ethical and responsible you are as a website. It speaks to your brand and website visitors will likely believe you and transact with you. On this note, it is important to consider putting up a disclaimer on the website should you publish commentaries, articles, recommendations, articles, offers, etc. Then you should consider protecting yourself from visitors to your website who rely on your information and then try and sue you. You can do this with a Website Disclaimer.You never know, the information you publish could be out of date; any advice you offer may be misused or misinterpreted by your visitors; and so on. Again, most websites are providing information, so you should probably have, at least, a general Website Disclaimer to protect yourself and your business.
- Compliance with the law.
If your website is in any way attempting to collect any personal information from users, under the law, this necessitates a formal privacy policy. This is quite familiar in websites which sell stuff, they ask for your contact details and let you check a box with their privacy policy. This is essential as the check mark on the box signifies the consent of the customer that he or she has read and consented to the privacy policy of your website.
A Privacy Policy states how you will keep all personal information safe and secure and that you will not sell it without their permission. Since almost all websites have contact forms, most websites should have a Privacy Policy. So that should be your first priority. Every website should have a privacy policy – a clear disclosure of how you’ll be using any data that you collect. You should have one not just because it’s part of the website legal requirements in most countries today, but because it helps to build trust among your clients. Even if you’re just collecting people’s names or email addresses, rather than their credit card numbers, reassuring them that their data will be kept private will give them the confidence they need to keep coming back to your site.
- It gives you protection in case of disputes.
We can never predict what will happen when an unsatisfied customer brings an action against you. A website equipped with legal requirements is essential to limit your liability and ensure the protection of your rights to your website. These privacy policies are essentially a contract of adhesion, a contract where the other party prepares the stipulations and all the other party does is to read and merely agree. However, these stipulations can save you in court in case of an action brought against you. You may invoke as a defense your stipulations and that by clicking the customer can no longer deny what he or she has consented.
- It gives you the edge because you know your rights, legally.
Every website is powered by software. Whatever software you’re using, it’s important to know your rights with it. WordPress, for instance, is released under a General Public License. It’s a free software license that allows anyone to use, study or modify the software, so long as they meet the specified terms of the General Public License. As a website owner, it means that no one can take WordPress back from you, or prevent you from improving or modifying it. Most website owners may not spend a lot of time thinking about software licensing, or whether their software is under General Public License, but it’s important to know your rights around something that you’ll be using every day.
- It streamlines payment policies.
For websites which sell products and services, an important feature under the payment gateway is Online Payment Policy which comprehensively explains the terms dealing with refunds, cancellations and conditions. This is important to avoid miscommunication as the buyers also have the right to know how their money is handled in case unforeseen circumstances arise pending the arrival of their orders. Under the Australian Consumer Law, it states that a website is required to post clear Terms and Conditions to include refund policy, shipping information, warranty details if any and other details. The same law also provides for a penalty for erring ecommerce sites.
These are the reasons why your website must need to comply with legal requirements before it goes live. The paramount considerations to remember when it comes to website legals are these two things: 1) How you want the website interactions to happen; and 2) How you intend the content you got from the users to be used, if any. Compliance with the law should never be dispensed with as this will not only raise the credibility of your website but will save you time and money in the future.