As the web becomes increasingly regulated by digitally-conscious countries around the world, website owners need to take action and ensure the full and complete compliance of their sites with the local as well as global digital laws and regulations. Why? Because doing this will save you from many a legal issue in the future, and will allow your brand to grow safely, especially if you are handling and storing sensitive customer information on your servers.

Depending on your industry and niche, as well as your scope of work, you will need to consider numerous compliance issues and find the right solution to each one that will a) safeguard your brand and its reputation, b) safeguard your visitors and their information, and c) appease the governing bodies. In unison, these solutions will close the legal loop and create an air-tight legal structure around your website. Let’s delve into the most essential legal tips you need for a thriving business website.

Ensure full GDPR compliance

As a website owner you’re probably familiar with the concept of GDPR – the European Union’s campaign to regulate the flow of data over the internet in the hopes of safeguarding the privacy of European citizens, harmonizing laws on data protection across the EU region, and to empower companies to take data privacy to a new level. All in all, if you are operating in any capacity in the European market, you will need to ensure full GDPR compliance on your site.

Basically, GDPR gives EU citizens control over their personal and browsing information, which means that they need to confirm with your website that they are ok with you storing their information and using it. Naturally, this means that you must put up a GDPR-compliant notice on your site that the visitor has to accept. It’s a chore, but it is nonetheless essential if you have any visitors from the EU region.

Are you legally using external content?

The problem of licenses and content rights is a prevalent one to this very day, and companies all over the world continue to get slammed with lawsuits because they used an image without asking for permission from the owner, or without buying the material first. This is a rookie mistake you don’t want to make, because you might not only end up paying more than you have to, but you will also risk jeopardizing your brand’s reputation.

The best way to avoid legal issues regarding content is to either make your own, or to find free stock photo sites where you can obtain images free of charge and no questions asked. You can choose between millions of stock photos to serve any purpose, and although it takes away from the authenticity of your brand, it’s better than getting a legal notice from the author, or worse.

Avoid legal issues with higher cybersecurity

Nowadays, implementing rigorous cybersecurity measures is a matter of survival, especially for brands that collect and handle sensitive customer information. It doesn’t matter if you’re running an Ecommerce site, a blog site that works with reputable advertisers, or a service-based business, obtaining a web hosting package that boasts the right hardware and software firewalls should be your no.1 priority. Remember, it takes a single breach to ruin your brand’s reputation, get you in a lot of legal trouble, and drive your clients and customers away for good.

When choosing your web hosting provider, it’s important to assess the quality of their cybersecurity measures. Analyze their hardware and software firewalls by asking for the company’s track record, get in touch with companies that employ their services, and talk to previous clients. Because when it comes to cybersecurity nowadays, it can mean the difference between long-term success and failure.

Include a privacy policy on your site

Another crucial element of a site that enjoys complete legal protection is, of course, the Privacy Policy. This comprehensive legal document should contain everything that pertains to your brand, your products and services, your content, your visitors and customers, and all partners and affiliates. In other words, this document will fully disclose to the public how you collect and use data, all the while notifying the user on their rights, and how they should behave on your site.

It’s not just about protecting the user, it’s also about protecting your brand on all fronts from misuse, slander, theft, cyber-attacks, and more. What’s more, many countries will demand that a site has a Privacy Policy. And remember, it’s always best to have a legal professional craft your policy, even though there is a plugin for everything nowadays.

Don’t forget about terms and conditions

The Terms & Conditions, on the other hand, might not be a legal requirement in most countries, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t put it up on your website. In fact, it can elevate your chances of winning a court battle quickly and without any financial losses if you structure it the right way. The contents of the page serve the purpose of limiting your responsibility in the case that a company, customer, or any individual decides to take legal action against you.

The page ensures that you own the rights to the content you publish, as well as the information stored on your site’s servers, as previously disclosed by your Privacy and Cookie Policies. Your Terms & Conditions will come in handy when accepting and receiving any type of content and information, whether you’re publishing blog posts, or collecting user data. 

Wrapping up

The success of a website is not just about its design, or how well-crafted the product descriptions are – it’s also about protecting your site and your customers from a legal standpoint. Use these tips to build a thriving business website, and future-proof your brand in the process.