Why Your Small Business Website Needs a Privacy Policy
If you’ve been a small business owner for longer than 5 minutes, you have doubtlessly already run into a strange legal situation that confused you - whether it’s the correct way to register an LLC where you live or how to appropriately record your income for tax season (does anyone else get like quarterly tax flashbacks where once a month you become convinced you’ve forgotten about them and have to double-check if you’ve actually been filing them all year? Just me?).
One area that can become particularly painful is when you decide to make the leap to launching a website for your small business. Even if you aren’t selling a product directly through your website, you have legal obligations and requirements as a small business on the internet.
Having a robust and legally sound Privacy Policy ensures you are following local data laws AND enables you to run ads through Facebook, Instagram and Google.
What even is a Privacy Policy?
A Privacy Policy (as regards to web design) is just a single page on your website that states how your website handles the collection, use and storage of customers’ private data.
But I don’t collect customer data!
Do you have a list of clients that includes their emails? That’s a customer’s private online data. If you get their information from a contact form on your website, then you have collected their private information online and are currently storing it on your list. Presumably you plan to use it to communicate with your customer in some form. And that’s just one way you actually are already collecting, using and storing private data without even thinking about it!
Per the GDPR, the CCPA, and many other acts from various locales across the globe, that means you are legally obligated to clearly explain to your clients how you collect their information and what you do with it.
Oh dang!
I know, right? Here are a few other ways a small business could be using their website in a way that violates privacy laws by not having a policy in place:
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This INCLUDES any ad aimed at gaining leads through Instagram and Facebook - so even a boosted post could be considered risky without the proper protection
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Intending to start an email marketing list? Just by keeping client’s email in a list you are already engaging in a marketing act.
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If a client asks about their data and you don’t know the answer, failure to reply could land you in a privacy dispute - especially if they ask you to remove their data and you aren’t sure how!
Ok, I’ll ChatGPT a Privacy Policy already
Please don’t do this. No matter how advanced a language learning model is, it is not actually legally able to protect your small business.
Instead, trust an actual lawyer.
All small businesses who trust Kiwi Online Marketing with their website design enjoy a free Privacy Policy from Artful Contracts - but even if you aren’t ready to work with us just yet, we are hooking you up with an amazing deal on website protection including a template for a legally sound a Privacy Policy.
Artful Contracts Website Protection Toolkit is just $37 and it’ll enable you keep your business safe from legal disputes regarding privacy issues - as well as enable you to run ads with confidence that you won’t run afoul of any laws.
Wanna save this treat for later? Pin it now and come back when you are hungry for more!
Does this have you worried about other holes in your small businesses’ net?
Artful Contract also offers a full Legal Protection Bundle with solid contracts and more.
Looking for a lighter, DIY solution? Shop their Template Catalog now!
If you end up purchasing from a link on this page, you can feel extra good because you’ll be supporting two women-owned businesses - as an affiliate of Artful Contract, I receive a commission on all purchases made through my links.
