Since May 25, 2018, business owners, bloggers, online entrepreneurs and everyone else who has anything to do with the Internet have been scrambling to update website policies to comply with new data privacy laws.
This is good news and bad for Internet users. Good news because the new rules compel companies to be more transparent about why they solicit personal data, how their data is being used, and they, the user, have the right to demand a complete closure of any data organisations may have about them.
Bad news because this transparency will likely lead to increased scrutiny of the data collection practices of many websites.
Organisations must change how they collect and use data. They must be transparent about what they do with the data they collect. They must obtain explicit consent from the user before collecting any data. These changes are costly and complex.
Websitepolicies.com-Overview
Obviously WebsitePolicies.Com isn’t the type of website you see every day, hence the first question is what exactly is Website Policies? In my personal opinion and word, it’s an Artificial Intelligence Internet Lawyer, an Expert one at that. It allows users to create legal documents for their websites, mobile apps and other similar platforms
For the users, it‘s simply a form-fill process. It reduces the costs to a fraction of what they would be if done by real lawyers.
But the core-policing is actually done by actual lawyers.
These policies are then customised according to the user needs, brand, regions and other such requirements.
Why do you Need Website Policies?
Next, the obvious question is, “Do I really need those documents?” And if so, “Do I need WebsitePolicies.com to create them and not do it myself?”
There are three reasons why you would want to have those pages on your website:legal,accuracy, trust.
The “Accuracy factor" is the second reason why you’ll need those pages on your site.
It’s required by law across the globe to have a cookie policy page/banner on any website that collects personal information from visitors.
Failing to do so can have serious consequences.
To comply with Canadian law, you must follow the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPED).
Australia has the Privacy Act of 1987, while the UK has the Data Protection Act of 1998. Similarly most other countries have similar laws requiring websites to have privacy policies.
As for the United States, there are various laws that need to be bundled together to get the legal pages done. These include the COPPA, the CALOPPA, the Computer Security Act of 1997, and many others.
And it’s not only “countries”, but also many third-party apps/sites require you to have those Legal Pages ready before you can use them on your website/app!
Types of Policies that You Could Develop With Websitepolicies.com
There is not just one type of legal web page you need, but many. Which ones do you need? We’ll discuss them here.
Privacy Policy
Privacy policies are documents that explain how a business processes information about its customers and employees that are collected as part of its operations, such as tracking online purchases, email addresses, phone numbers, etc. (see definition)
Most websites provide their privacy policies transparently to visitors. On a “Privacy Policy” page, all personal information collected, such as name and address, as well as other things such as order history, cookie and behaviour must be included.
Data should be kept on a user’ s computer, but how long it remains there, who gets access to it, and what it is used for should be specified.
Terms and Conditions
These are less government controlled and more like an agreement between a user and a website/app provider. They may include any number of things the user wants to tell visitors about the nature of the website/app, delivery, quality, etc.
It consists of what you expect when you visit someone else’s home. You want to be greeted warmly, but you don’t want to be bothered by people who aren’t invited. You want to know what you can do there, but you don‘t want to be told what you can’t do.
Refund Policy
Refund policy is not mandatory, but highly recommended if you have an e-commerce site and sell a product or service. It also helps build trust among your customers.
If you have a free refund option, it can actually increase your revenue because customers feel comfortable buying when they have a way out, especially if you offer a full refund.
Refund policy typically describes what customers should do if they want a refund or change a product. But this is not always true.
Cookie Policy and Consent Banner
After the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was passed in May last year, this is something that needs serious attention from website and app owners on the Internet.
Cookie policy is what outlines how you store, use and share user cookies. The way they are stored and everything else associated with them.
Websitepolicies.com-How to Create Policies
To create the policies you need to protect your website, go to the site and click the “Get Started” button to launch a wizard.
You will see two options:
1. Website Builder – This allows you to choose which features you would like to add to your website.
2. Customise Your Site – Allows you to customise your own design.
Choose either one depending on whether you already have a template or not. If you haven’t got one yet, then we recommend using our builder first so you can save time later.
Once you select the type of policy you wish to make, you will get a list of legal templates available. Choose the one you prefer and continue to step 2.
The next screen shows you different sections where you can enter data. For example, under the Privacy & Cookies section, you can specify what kind of cookies you allow users to set on your website.
Under Terms & Conditions, you can write down what terms apply to your services. Under Refund Policy, you can describe what happens if a customer requests a refund.
On a new web page, you would be asked to choose your country from a drop-down menu of countries. You can choose your state, province or region based on your country.
From here, it’ll be a matter of choosing the right values and inputting your website’s domain name and URL.
You can use the free version of Facebook for commercial purposes. However, if you select the “commercial purposes,” you’ll be charged a one-off fee of $14.99.
You would be asked a series of short questions focused on the users of your website. These questions would include such things as how many people visit your site each month, what types of devices they use to access your site, what languages they speak, etc.
This information is used by Websitepolicies.Com to help us understand more about your audience and improve their experience while visiting your website.
It’s important to note that these answers won’t affect your privacy settings at all. They only provide us with additional insights into who visits your website and why.
In the next section, you are going to be asked whether you sell anything on your website.
Note that this section is only accessible to the paid version. To access the rest of the article, click “next.”
You can choose whether you want to inform your users of anything at all. Or, you can opt out completely. If you don’t want to do any of those, just leave it blank.
Next up, you should decide whether you want to display ads on your website.
Again, there are three choices:
• No Ads - Users won't see any advertisements on your website.
• Display Adverts Only - Users will still see some advertising but less than before.
• Show Both Types Of Advertising - Users will see both kinds of advertising on your website.
In case you aren’t sure which option works best for you, we suggest opting in for both options. That way, you can test them out and find out which one performs better for your business.
Now comes the most crucial part of creating an ad blocker. Here, you need to tell Google Analytics that you no longer want to collect certain data.
To do so, simply check off the boxes corresponding to the metrics you want to remove. In our case, we have chosen not to track mobile traffic.
Click Save Changes when done.
Finally, you must agree to the terms and conditions of using the service. This includes agreeing to pay a monthly subscription fee and accepting the company's privacy policies.
After clicking "I Agree," you'll be taken back to the main dashboard. From here, you can view analytics reports and manage other aspects of the account.
Websitepolicies.com-Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
Final Verdict
Overall, Websitepolicies.com is a great tool (see also GetTerms.io review) if you want to learn more about your visitors' habits. However, it does come with its own drawbacks. For example, you cannot create custom rules or filter content based on keywords. Also, you cannot use the free version to get started. So, if you plan on blocking unwanted content from appearing on your site, then you'd probably benefit from trying another solution instead.