Creating Your Website: Terms, Privacy Policy, and Disclaimer Pages

This section will be pretty quick and to the point with a few templates and tools you can use to create your own site documentation.

Awhile back it was discussed that Google looks for a few things in determining the legitimacy of a website, including things like an about page, a contact page, a disclosure section, etcetera. These are all typical boilerplate pages that any website will have.

Do you really need a privacy policy on your site?

A privacy policy is recommended if you collect personal data such as email addresses for a newsletter or other service, process payments, use tracking software such as Google Analytics, run display ads such as Google Adsense, or use any online services to operate your website.

Short answer; it’s simply better to have a privacy policy than not have one.

Can I copy a standard policy from somewhere?

While most privacy policies and disclosures are very similar in wording, certain parts of your privacy policy should be tailored to your website or business, so copying a generic policy could unintentionally provide misleading information about your privacy practices, which is something you want to avoid. I recommend using a free policy generator so that the wording is for your own website and business offerings.

What about disclosures, are they different?

Yes. Disclosures are usually about income being earned through partner relationships. If you’re selling anything via affiliate links where you’ll earn a commission, many programs actually require that you have a disclosure somewhere. It could be for something as simple as recommending a book on Amazon. In fact, Amazon requires disclosure to participate in their affiliate program.

• FTC’s “Dot Com Disclosures” Guidelines
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2013/03/130312dotcomdisclosures.pdf
• FTC’s Endorsement Guidelines
https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/advertising-and-marketing/endorsements

Free Tools and Generators:

• DisclosurePolicy.org
• FreePrivacyPolicy.com
• PrivacyPolicies.com
• TermsFeed.com Terms and Conditions Creator
• TermsFeed.com Privacy Policy Generator

Three Bloggers to Follow:

• Kerry Gorgone: http://www.kerrygorgone.com/
• Tricia Meyer: http://www.tricia.me/
• Rachel Brenke: https://www.bloglegally.com/

Both Kerry and Tricia are attorneys that have gone on in their careers to work from home in the world of marketing and all things internet, giving them a unique perspective on the various legal issues that come up. Rachel is a lawyer and business consultant for bloggers. All three of these ladies have smart advice to offer and great articles on their blogs.

Homework and Action Steps:

Create your privacy policy and disclosure if you wish to have them on your site.

Recommended Resources:

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