The legal side of blogging is not the most exciting part.. but it is definitely the most important part. Without the necessary legal pages on your website you could be setting yourself up for a lot of problems.
I know.. you’re probably saying.. “but, I am just planning to blog about everyday stuff.”
Nevertheless.. there are certain requirements set forth by the FTC.. the ADA.. and various other government agencies.. regulatory commissions, etc.
WHY DO I NEED LEGAL PAGES ON MY BLOG?
You need certain legal pages on your blog.. quite simply because legal pages are NOT optional. They are required by law!
The fact that you are here researching legal pages for your blog means you are most likely hoping to turn your blog into a business.. and you want to make sure you do things in the right way.
* This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure for more info.
Just like in any physical business, there are protections and precautions you need to take to protect yourself and your online business as well.
You and I both know the amount of blood, sweat, and tears we put into writing each blog post, designing each product, as well as all the other things involved in building our online businesses.
It is so important that we are also setting up the proper legal pages to ensure our blog and all of our hard work are legally protected.
“But, you say.. I haven’t even made any money from my blog yet.” But, you will if you work hard enough! That’s why it’s important to make sure your blog is protected from the beginning.
You don’t need to finally begin seeing some success from all of your hard work.. just to have your blog shut down because you are in violation of federal laws.
And, even without yet making a dime, you definitely do not want to deal with any lawsuits or the nightmare of someone stealing your creative work.
obtaining THE REQUIRED LEGAL PAGES for your blog:
There are a lot of places to obtain your legal page templates. You can have your own attorney draw up your legal pages for you if he/she is familiar with Internet Law.
There are also several attorneys who sell them online.. either separately or in a bundle. These are attorneys who deal with Internet Law on a daily basis and are therefore very familiar with the legal aspects of blogging.
Some people use an AI assistant to help create their legal pages. I don’t think this sounds like the best practice.. since AI is notoriously WRONG about many things.
Legal problems are something I really do not want to have to deal with. For that reason, I prefer to get my legal pages from one of the attorneys who sell them online.
Not only do I feel much better protected.. but also, if you have purchased from one of these attorneys they will keep you in the loop if there are changes in the law that may require updates to your legal pages.
Please do NOT be one of those ignorant people who think it is somehow appropriate to shop around online and steal Legal Pages from someone else’s blog. ?
Legal Pages are written by attorneys and as such.. they are the Intellectual Property of the attorneys who wrote them.
Stealing Copyrighted content is Copyright Infringement.
Copyright Infringement is a Federal crime
punishable by up to 5 years in Federal prison
and fines of up to $250,000 per offense.
DON’T DO THE CRIME IF YOU CAN’T DO THE TIME!
LEGAL PAGES REQUIRED BY LAW AS PER FTC REGULATIONS:
NUMBER ONE: PRIVACY POLICY
The first of the legal pages you will need to concern yourself with is the Privacy Policy. I’m sure you have seen the words “privacy policy” a million times while you’ve scrolled through various sites on the Internet. But, you have likely never clicked on one to read it in detail.
A lot of bloggers don’t realize their sites are collecting different kinds of personal data from website visitors. In short, a privacy policy informs your website visitors as to exactly what kind of information is being collected.. and how that information is handled.
Having a privacy policy also helps to establish trust with your readers, as it shows that you take their privacy seriously. A privacy policy is also a legal requirement in most countries. It is important to make sure that you are in compliance with the laws in your country and any other country where your blog will be read.
Whenever a reader signs up for your newsletter or leaves a comment with their name and email address.. you are collecting personal data.
This may seem insignificant.. but these people have a legal right to know what information is being collected and how that personal information will be handled.
Since having a Privacy Policy is a legal requirement.. any affiliate programs you apply for will want to check your site to be sure there is the required Privacy Policy in place.
* The Privacy Policy is required by law!
NUMBER TWO: AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
in 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) revised their guidelines in regard to endorsements and/or testimonials in order to protect the public from any errant or misleading advertising that may have been paid for by a group or a Company.
This means you are legally required by the FTC to have a Disclosure Statement on your site notifying visitors that your site uses affiliate links.
If you have anything at all on your site that you will be receiving compensation for.. you must have a Disclosure Statement.
You are required to disclose this information in a statement on each page that contains any links to products from which you may receive compensation. There must be a link in your statement to the page where visitors may read the full Disclosure Statement.
The FTC protects Consumer’s Rights and regularly conducts investigations into online infractions. There are exorbitant 5-figure fines for not complying with the law!
* The FTC Disclosure Statement is required by law!
NUMBER THREE: ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT
Accessibility guidelines help make web content accessible to users with sensory, cognitive and mobility disabilities. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and W3C technologies are the common guidelines and standards used by developers of accessible websites.
There is a course.. written by an attorney guiding you through the process of making sure your website is WCAG and ADA Compliant.
* The ADA Accessibility Statement is required by law!
The additional legal pages listed below are NOT required by law.. but will help to ensure that you are protected from any scary (and incredibly expensive) lawsuits.. and can also protect your intellectual property rights.
NUMBER FOUR: Disclaimer
A Disclaimer limits any liability as to whatever advice you may provide on your website or any products you may sell and/or recommend.
A Disclaimer is not required by law.. but it is an extremely important page to have on your site. This is the page that will prevent someone trying to sue you if they acted on some piece of advice on your site and the results were not as expected.
NUMBER FIVE: TERMS OF USE
Your Terms of Use will outline the rights and obligations of your website visitors.. as well as your own rights and obligations.
It advises visitors as to what they are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do on your website. This protects your blog from being misused.
The Terms of Use will also contain a Copyright Statement establishing your Intellectual Property rights to the content on your site.
A Terms of Use page is not required by law. But.. adding one adds an extra layer of protection for you and your business.
PROTECT YOUR BLOG WITH THE PROPER LEGAL PAGES:
I know that the legalities behind a blog can be a bit scary and overwhelming. However, I do hope this post was helpful in giving you a crash course on the legal pages every blog is required to have.
For more information, templates, legal audits, consultations and more be sure to visit our favorite Attorneys who specialize in the protection of bloggers just like you:
About the Author: Sherry Bennett
Ms. Bennett is a Professional Blogger, who has been earning a living online with niche websites for 25+ years.
Through hard work and dedication, she has turned her passion for blogging into a 7-figure business.. and you can do the same.
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* If you are a new blogger just starting your blogging adventure
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