Are you using website legal forms? Recently, search engines like Google have begun to penalize websites that do not have certain forms. Legal forms offer protections for you and your website. Today, we are looking at three legal forms you need and why.

Think about all the websites that you visit on a daily basis. Did you watch a video on YouTube? Post a comment on Facebook? Make an online purchase for something you were obviously impulse buying? Each one of these sites has common legal forms that you’ve probably never read. But, that doesn’t make them any less important. In fact, if you’re not using these three legal forms you’re breaking the law. Pause for dramatic effect. Now, let’s take a look at what you might be guilty of.

The information presented in this article is generalized. Your website may need specific forms or services that most likely is not listed below. Emu Web Marketing understands the need for your online business to be legally compliant in conjunction with marketing best practices. Contact us to see how we can help you today.

Legal Forms You Need… But Probably Never Read

Prepare yourself. Three website legal forms that you need are: Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, and Disclaimers. That wasn’t so bad, right? You can find examples of these forms on nearly every major site that you see. Scroll, all the way to the bottom and you’ll find them listened in the footer. The information contained in these website legal forms are needed to satisfy laws that deal with data collection and usage of content or services.

Privacy Policy

The privacy policy is required on every website, online business or service. This policy details how personal information is collected and used. In other words, it protects your clients’ information. For example, if you generate leads through email collection, appointment setting or opt-ins, this Legally, your consumers are obligated to this information. Privacy Policies are extended documents the touch on each and every aspect of your site. Specific sections of your privacy policy are dedicated to protecting or staying compliant with certain laws.

Additional Sections:

  • CAN-SPAM (which actually says that you can’t spam)
  • GDPR (a compliance condition regarding European consumers)
  • CCPA (a compliance condition regarding California consumers)
  • Many, many more.

Terms and Conditions

You can think of these as the rule book for your website. The rules are how a consumer can or cannot use the information or services of your site. However, it also lists the actions you will take if someone breaks the rules. For example, the visitors of your site are not allowed to plagiarize your content. In your terms and conditions, you state that you may pursue legal action against the violator.

As a moderator and manager of a website, you must inform the general public that your site has a standard of behavior and respect towards other consumers. By doing so, you protect your consumers. These website legal forms also have other components not listed here. Regardless, you are required to have this document available for your users.

Disclaimers

Disclaimers are meant to protect you from legal action that may come from disputes or misinterpretations of the content you provide. Firstly, a disclaimer can come in the form of a full legal document. But, it most often comes in the form of a statement you place in your posts. There are a couple of them in this article you’re reading. Can you pick them out?

Above all, this website legal form or statement essentially protects you from those who take what you create and apply it to their circumstances. For instance, without a disclaimer, a person who had negative results as a consequence of your content could seek legal action. For example, say you mentioned a random product in one of your posts. Then, a reader sees that, impulsively purchases the product and it causes her serious harm. Without a disclaimer, she could say that you were promoting dangerous materials. A properly written disclaimer would have informed her that you were not affiliated with the product.

Website legal forms are extremely important. The absence of one can have your site taken down. While you need these forms, it is not advised to use free ones from the internet. Consequently, legal forms that are incorrectly written will not have the coverage your site need to protect you.

At Emu Web Marketing, we are not lawyers. This article cannot be used in place of personalized legal advice. But, we are always current with compliance laws and needs. We protect our clients’ sites with properly written legal forms, and use expert marketing skills to help our clients succeed. Local clients in the Tampa, Florida, we can help you be noticed online. Contact us today.