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The Legal Pages Every Online Business Needs: What I Learned the Hard Way

Hello, Friends!

I hope you’ve had a lovely week! Spring storms are happening here in Texas. The temperatures are rising and falling dramatically over and over again, producing storms and strong winds. The trees are starting to bloom, and my mom is watching her tulips eagerly for signs of blooms!

Today’s post is a must-read if you have a website.

Have you ever wondered about the legal side of your blog or online business? All blogs and online businesses must have three legal pages (a privacy policy, a terms and conditions page, and a disclaimer statement) and be ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant.

I don’t know about you, but when I started out, I only knew I needed a privacy page. I wanted to make sure I did it right, so I bought one for myself via a WordPress plugin. Boy, was that a mistake!

I got a hint that all might not be well when the blurb at the bottom of the page stated that the privacy policy may not be what was needed legally. What was the point?

Still, I didn’t know what else to do, and I am guilty of not trying to find a solution. Obviously, I was trying, right? Wasn’t that good enough?
No!

It turns out that if these pages are not what is needed legally, we’re not legally protected. That’s right. The pages protect both visitors to the page and the business owners themselves.

I’ll repeat. These business pages must be in place, or we’re not protected.

Oh, and it’s not legal to copy someone else’s legal pages; that’s copyright infringement. Just another thing I didn’t know!

Check out this short, informative video from Amira Irfan, an actual business lawyer. Here, she reviews three legal pages required of all online businesses—even blogs.

Privacy Page: More Than Just a Checkbox

To recap, I’ll take a quick look at the pages needed.

The privacy page is needed if we collect any information from our readers, including emails, names, cookies, analytics, etc.

The privacy policy explains how this data is used.

So, it is a must if we use Google Analytics, collect emails for a newsletter, or use affiliate links with tracking cookies.

It must comply with both GDPR (European law) and CCPA (California law) because anyone in the world can access our websites.

Again, this protects both website visitors and ourselves. It informs them how their information will be used and protects us from being sued.

Disclosure AND Disclaimer: Managing Expectations & Liability

Concerning the disclosure statement, at first, I thought I was covered because I openly discuss affiliate marketing and, so obviously, profit from affiliate links.

Not so!

Next, I thought I had written my disclosure statement in one post, so I didn’t need to repeat it in the next.

No!

We need both a small disclosure (preferably on every post and the sidebar) and a proper legal disclaimer document.

These aren’t the same things. Who knew? I wasn’t aware.

The disclaimer document states that we are not responsible for our readers’ actions. If we show tutorials or give advice, we are not responsible for what our readers do.

The FTC also requires affiliate marketers to have this disclaimer document.

Terms and Conditions: Setting the Ground Rules

Terms and Conditions set boundaries and protections for yourself.

This explains how a site should be used, safeguard against someone misusing your website, prevent copyright infringement, and outline what is acceptable in comments, guest posts, or testimonials.

If someone does happen to sue you, the terms and conditions outline how such a procedure would take place. For example, I live in Texas. Thanks to my terms and conditions, the person suing would come to my area rather than the proceeding taking place wherever in the world they live. This is a very important detail!

ADA Compliance: Not Just for Physical Businesses

Now, I mentioned ADA compliance.

The ADA was written before the internet became so prevalent.

Though the ADA does not explicitly outline rules for the internet, judges have ruled that websites must follow the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) to be ADA-compliant.

Feel free to watch this 5 1/2 minute video in which Amira explains how and just why a website needs to be ADA-compliant. What does that even mean?

Trust me. This is complicated.

I saved days of hard work wading through the attempt to understand the WCAG language by purchasing Amira’s WCAG checklist.

And, of course, I don’t have the legal background to write an Accessibility Statement.

Amira’s ADA/WCAG bundle is well worth the investment to avoid being sued.

What I Did to Protect Myself

I finally feel relieved to know that my business is on stable legal footing. It is such a weight off my shoulders!

I purchased Amira’s VIP legal pages bundle for a few reasons.

1. I knew I could not follow the legal requirements no matter how hard I tried- I didn’t understand the legalese! I needed at least the starter bundle that includes the privacy policy template, the terms and conditions template, and the disclaimer template.
2. I knew I finally needed to establish my business as an LLC, so I needed the premium bundle to get that document (includes the starter bundle).
3. As my business grows, I can foresee myself needing the documents in the VIP bundle, so I purchased it to save money in the long run (including both the starter and premium bundles).
4. By the way, Amira will inform me via email as the laws change and give me what I need to comply with the new laws. So, I’m also protected in the future. That’s a service provided with any of the legal page bundle purchases.

This is a no-brainer, guys!

Two tips:

1. Just so you know, at the time I’m publishing this post, when you purchase a legal bundle, you can get the ADA & WCAG bundle at a discounted price as an upsell. There’s no need to buy it at full price if you’re going to buy any legal page bundle.
2. I also purchased the upsell to the VIP bundle (available at the time of this post) because as Amira adds to her legal bundles, I will receive them without purchasing them individually.

I am legally covered now and in the future at a fraction of the cost of hiring a business lawyer!

And, it was so easy to complete Amira’s business templates. The areas that need to be filled in are highlighted in yellow, along with what to put in the blanks.

She answered one question for me: Did I need to fill in the company name as Nakina Lawson or Nakina Lawson LLC, and did it need a comma? Since I had just filed my LLC, it needed to be the company name, Nakina Lawson LLC, and no comma was required.

That was the only question I had about the templates, and you guys know from reading my blog that I usually have a steep learning curve!

I tell you, it was so simple!

Not only is my business now legal, but it also serves a broader range of people, assures my readers I’m credible, and ranks higher in SEO.

Click the pic below to look into these legal templates yourself. I sincerely recommend them—and not just because I’m an affiliate!

Conclusion

How did you go about making your business legal?

If you haven’t made your website legal by meeting these four requirements, what are you waiting for?

I urge you to do so for your own protection! It can be so easy, and it feels so good to be officially in good standing!

Ciao for now,