Yes, your website needs a privacy policy

Having a privacy policy on your website is not only a customer-friendly thing to do, but an ever-growing body of laws also requires it. Not posting and following adequate privacy policies and practices could expose your business to fines, lawsuits, and bad press. The good news is that a service called Termageddon makes it easy to add a privacy policy to your site—and you can use our special discount promo code to save money.

Our clients often ask: “Do I really need a privacy policy for my website?” Typically, they believe they might not need one because they are a startup or small business catering primarily to local or regional customers. Privacy policies are only something bigger corporations need to worry about, right?

Unfortunately, no.

All website owners should have privacy policies. And probably policies detailing cookie use, terms of service, and disclaimers, too.

Here is why. Your website undoubtedly collects visitors’ information (for example, contact forms, Google Analytics, social media tracking pixels, and user comments). As a result, your site should have a privacy policy describing your data privacy practices to comply with legal requirements. This advice applies to anyone with a web presence but is a must-have for any commercial website.

Below, I will cover:

• The reasons business owners need to consider privacy laws.
• How Termageddon, a tool we recommend to clients, can help you meet privacy-related legal requirements. Plus, you can use our discount code to save on your Termageddon subscription.

What is a privacy policy, and why does your website need one?

A privacy policy is a legal document that explains how a website collects, uses, and manages the personal information of its users. You can typically find a website’s privacy policy link on the footer or site map. Various privacy and data protection laws worldwide require website owners to include a privacy policy and follow certain best practices.

Here are some examples of privacy laws for various countries and states:

You might have skimmed the list to the right and thought your business was not in one of the listed places, so maybe you don’t need to worry. Again, no.  

The above list is not exhaustive, and more laws are being added all the time. For example, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia added privacy laws effective in 2023. More regions undoubtedly will follow.

But there are more reasons website owners need to consider privacy laws worldwide:

1. The internet is a global medium, and your website is accessible from anywhere in the world. As a result, you, as a website owner, may be subject to the data protection laws of those jurisdictions, even if your business is located elsewhere. For example, companies worldwide must follow the GDPR if they collect data from EU residents. It does not matter if your company is not in the European Union.
2. Not complying with data protection laws can cause substantial fines, damage to reputation, and legal action. For example, a website owner who violates GDPR privacy protections can face penalties of up to 4% of their annual global revenue or €20 million, whichever is greater.
3. Privacy is not just a legal requirement. People everywhere are increasingly and understandably concerned about online data privacy. Not having a privacy policy or following data protection best practices might generate ill will among your customers and harm your business’ reputation.

You should have a privacy policy to be a good internet citizen and protect your business interests from legal, financial, and reputational harm.  

Termageddon makes it easy to add a privacy policy to your website

Unless you have legal counsel specialized in global privacy law, very few businesses have the expertise or resources to draft and maintain privacy policies for their website. Even if you hired an attorney to draft a policy for you today, it could be outdated tomorrow.

So how do you add a privacy policy to your website as a startup or small to medium-sized business?

Termageddon offers an affordable and convenient way to generate and update your website’s policies. The key features include:

• Termageddon auto-generates privacy policies, disclaimer policies, terms of use, and cookie policies based on your website’s industry, location, and data collection practices.
• The tool gives you peace of mind by keeping your website policies current with the latest privacy and data protection laws.
• You can customize your policies if necessary. Your changes won’t get overwritten.
• Termageddon recently added a cookie consent tool at no additional cost.
• The service sends proactive notices when privacy and related laws change so that you can stay aware of new requirements.

As a certified agency partner of Termageddon, we do not just recommend the service to our clients; we use it ourselves. Termageddon powers our cookie consent tool and automatically keeps our privacy, cookie, terms of use, and disclaimer policies up-to-date.  

Best of all, you can save 10% on Termageddon with our discount code AGILITY1.

If you need help setting up Termageddon on your WordPress website, contact us to learn about our web care plans and turnkey privacy policy setup packages.