3 Legal Blog Must-Haves: Blog Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, and Disclaimer
Mục Lục
If there’s anything you must have on your blog on the day of a launch (or any day after), it’s a blog privacy policy to protect yourself.
It’s important that you include a blog privacy policy on your site as soon as possible.
If you are new to blogging, you may have heard about this important legal page but have yet to incorporate it in your blog. That’s ok! I’m going to share with you today what it is and how to write one.
Remember that even though blogging feels like a fun hobby because you have full control of what ideas you share online with your readers from around the world. But there’s also the business side of it.
You are also the boss of your blog, which helps you generate income. You are responsible for the content you generate on your blog, and as a result, should keep in mind that various countries and territories impose rules that apply to bloggers.
That’s where a blog privacy policy, terms of use and disclaimer page keep you and your readers safe.
In this post, you’ll learn what a blog privacy policy is and other legal pages you need such as the terms of use and Disclaimer pages.
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Want to skip the reading and get legal pages for a blog written by a lawyer?
Check out these legally sound legal pages for your blog here.
Otherwise, keep reading so you can full details on:
- what legal pages are,
- how they protect you,
- where you put them in your WordPress blog
- and what important things you need to add after you create these legal pages.
What is a blog Privacy Policy page?
In your blog, it is important that you provide a blog privacy policy as it shows that you comply with applicable privacy regulations.
You need a privacy policy especially if your page gathers your visitors’ personal information for marketing or analytics purposes. Many sites are programmed to do this automatically.
So what exactly is a “blog privacy policy”?
The privacy policy is a separate page on your blog that outlines your blog’s data processing practices.
Moreover, it provides your readers the details about how you will collect and utilize their personal data.
It needs to address children’s privacy, personal information, GDPR provisions, cookie policies and more. Countries and third-party services’ regulations often require this agreement from bloggers.
It basically says, “This is what information my site collects from you and what we do with that information.”
Jump down to learn how to write a legal proof one.
3 Reasons Why You Need a Blog Privacy Policy
You may ask why you need to include a privacy policy for your blog.
Whether you set up your site in Blogger, WordPress (my recommendation) or other service providers, you need to have this agreement if you collect personal information on your blog due to the following reasons:
1. Your blog’s visitors have the right to the protection of their personal data.
Online users have privacy rights. Thus, they expect you to have a blog privacy policy. You must respect them and express that you care by assuring that their privacy prerogatives are safeguarded when they visit your blog.
2. Countries and state laws mandate you to comply with their international privacy rules.
Governments of nations and states implement global privacy laws. Bloggers like you are usually subjected to comply with them. Examples of these rules are the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR in Europe, the California Consumer Privacy Act or CCPA, and the California Online Privacy Protection Act or CalOPPA.
3. Third-party companies require you to have a blog privacy policy.
These service providers will let you use their service if you have the agreement on your page. For instance, a privacy policy is a requirement of Google Analytics, and the agreement discloses your blog’s usage of the company’s online service and its cookies.
A blog privacy policy also shields you from legal penalties. These three factors inform you that it is a must for you to have a blog privacy policy.
Nevertheless, it would be best if you remember that this agreement is not enough to protect you and your blog’s visitors. You also need other legal pages, which are the terms of use and the disclaimer page.
What is a Terms of Use page?
As a blogger, it is important that you also have a Terms of Use in addition to your blog privacy.
It is similar to the blog privacy policy as it is also an agreement between you and your blog’s readers or visitors and partners.
It basically says, “If you use my site, you are going to abide by these rules.”
When you hear about the expression “terms of use” as a blogger, this agreement can be a legally binding one, which your user, reader, or visitor must consent to and abide by to use your blog, service, or website.
Furthermore, terms of use have other names like “terms and conditions” and “terms of service.” All three names mean the same thing.
You probably see any of these three names on various online portals such as social media and e-commerce websites that store users’ personal data of any type.
Jump down to learn how to write a legal proof one.
Why do you need a Terms of Use page?
You may ask why you should have the terms of use page in your blog. This agreement is a must regarding products, user activity, accounts and technology because it can safeguard you.
Having strong terms of use prevents you from getting blamed by your visitors when things go awry. Furthermore, they help you define the allowed conduct on your blog.
For example, on this site you’re on now, I tell my readers like you that they can use my site for information but not as professional advice. That way it doesn’t hold me liable to how a reader chooses to use the information I share here.
The terms of use are also relevant for your site because they enable you to ensure that your profile or brand is reflected in a positive manner, especially if you permit your blog’s visitors to comment on your content or posts.
Do you feel worried about your users’ negative actions on your blog? With terms of use, you do not have to because these rules you defined safeguard you from their potential violations or unruly behavior on your site.
Finally, you should include terms of use in your blog to control possible damages and outline how you want disputes resolved between you and your users. In this manner, you can ensure that court proceedings are unnecessary.
What is a Disclaimer page?
Besides the terms of use, you should also include a disclaimer page in your blog.
This written statement in a blog is a requirement of countries or state laws.
It informs your users, readers, or visitors about your monetary relationship with the companies, brands, and products you mention on your site.
Additionally, it helps prevent you from being held liable for anything published on your blog based on the type of advice that you give. In short, it helps prevent you from being sued!
It basically says, “This is the relationship I have with brands, companies, products and services mentioned in my blog and nothing is my blog should be taken as professional advice.”
Jump down to learn how to write a legal proof one.
2 Reasons Why You Need a Disclaimer Page
You may ask why you must incorporate a disclaimer statement in your blog whenever you share a business organization, brand, or product, and you receive compensation. The following are the two main reasons:
1. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) mandates bloggers to have affiliate disclosures in their online portals.
As an independent government agency, the FTC promotes consumer protection. Therefore, it ensures that your visitors fully comprehend that you will be paid for sharing details included in your post.
2. Bloggers’ affiliate partners require them to disclose their collaboration properly.
The companies you partner with also require you to comply with the FTC’s rules. Therefore, they need to see your disclaimer page in your blog.
How to Write a Blog Privacy Policy, Terms of Use and Disclaimer
There are a couple of ways to create a privacy policy as a blogger: the legally sound way and free or cheap method.
Legally Sound Method I Use Myself
To make your legal pages legally sound and specific to your blog, I highly recommend getting these lawyer written pages. I use these pages myself on my blog.
They are specifically written for bloggers, and the best part is, you get lifetime updates every time there’s new worldwide or country-specific policies we need to be aware of (i.e. GDPR and CCPA implemented in 2018).
These three legal pages will protect your website from lawsuits and from being shutdown.
They are super easy to use because essentially, it’s set up in a way like a privacy policy generator in which you simply plug in your info.
Free or Cheap Method
If you are brand new to blogging, you might be on a budget. As a result, you might want to write your blog privacy policy the free way.
Although doing it the legally sound way is definitely better at protecting you, this way is ok for a short period such as when you are setting up your blog but once you have a post or two up on your blog, do it the legally sound method.
Again, do this at your own risk!
- Completely Free Options:
- If you have WordPress, go to Settings -> Privacy. WordPress helps you create your own Privacy Policy page based on what you have installed in on your blog.
- You can use Free Privacy Policy as a privacy policy generator for blogger. They also have Terms of Use and Disclaimer pages. Depending on what options you choose, it may not be completely free. Try to select the options that make it completely free and Google the items that cost money to input it yourself.
- Cheap Option: You can get an approx. $20 (as of Oct. 2021) Privacy Policy page from Etsy. But you should still use the Free Privacy Policy
for a Terms & Condition and Disclaimer page.
If you decide to pay for the legal bundle, only get the Starter bundle. This is what I have and is enough as it includes the three pages you need.
It includes 9 bonus disclaimers, which will be handy for sponsored posts and affiliate marketing.
How to Add These Legal Pages to Your Blog
Now that you have your legally sound legal pages, you might be wondering where to put them in your blog. I’ve actually had a lot of students in my free Facebook group ask me, “Where do I put a blog privacy policy on my blog?”
You basically want them where it’s very accessible by your readers. They should not have to search for it.
As a result, the footer is a great spot to add them because no matter what page or post you’re on, it’s always there.
Another great spot is in a Drop Down Menu option in your main menu.
How To in WordPress
To add these pages to your blog:
- In your WordPress dashboard on the left, add a new page.
- Title it Privacy Policy, Disclaimer or Terms and Conditions, whichever you’re working on.
- Copy and paste in your legal pages into each separate page.
- Publish the pages.
- Then again, in your WordPress dashboard on the left, go to Appearance -> Menus.
- Add the pages to your Footer menu and/or your Main menu.
Important Things to Do After Creating Legal Pages
After you create your legal pages and they are up and running on your blog, you need to do two more final things!
- Tell WordPress where your Privacy Policy page is.
- Have a pop up that tells people about your privacy policy.
To tell WordPress where your Privacy Policy page is, go to your WP-Admin dashboard on the left. Select Settings -> Privacy and choose your Privacy Policy page in the dropdown.
As for the pop-up that tells people about your Privacy Policy or that you collect cookies, go to Plugins and search for “cookie pop up”. Install one that has a GDPR notice embedded in it!
As you can see, a blog privacy policy, terms of use, and a disclaimer page are essential legal components of your site not only to protect yourself but from getting it shut down.
You can best express yourself or promote your profile, products, or services hassle-free and safe against legal disputes if these three important agreements are all in your blog.
Again, if you have the money, I highly recommend getting custom legal pages to make your blog legally sound.
Get them here.
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