Bloggers: How to Add a Privacy Policy in WordPress

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Part of owning your blog is making sure that you have the right protection in place to protect yourself. A website privacy policy is one policy we highly advise you to have on your blog in order to protect your brand. In this post we are going to teach you how to add a privacy policy in WordPress and why it’s important.

We are not attorney’s so this post is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice. Please consult an attorney to discuss your specific needs.

What is a privacy policy?

A Privacy Policy tells your users when your website collects user information. It also tells users what types of information are collected and how the website uses and discloses user information. The privacy policy also tells the user how the website protects user information.

This post contains affiliate links.

Why is a privacy policy important for blogs?

Disclosing how your website collects user information is not only ethical, several laws actually require privacy policies.

There are 3 laws that make it very important to have a Privacy Policy on your blog.

1. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule “COPPA” requires certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age, and on operators of other websites or online services that have actual knowledge that they are collecting personal information online from a child under 13 years of age. The truth is, you don’t know if a person 13 years old or younger is on your site so it’s good practice to protect yourself just in case.
2. California Consumer Protection Act gives consumers more control over the personal information that businesses collect about them. You can read more about this law here.
3. European Union- General Data Protection Regulation “GDPR“, governs how personal data of individuals in the EU may be processed and transferred. While you may not live in the EU, your readers may, therefore it is really important to comply with this law and protect yourself accordingly.

Now that you know what a privacy policy is and why it’s important, I’m sure you are asking yourself how you can go about getting one.

How do you create a privacy policy?

You have a few different options to consider when you need to add a privacy policy on your blog.

1. Consult an attorney who will write up a privacy policy specifically for you and your business. You will pay a fee to the attorney directly and likely have at least one meeting to discuss the needs of your brand.
2. Purchase a template that has been created by an attorney that you can fill out to fit your needs with their guidance. There are a lot of privacy policy templates online, and some are not from attorney’s, which we would advise against using.

If you are a beginner blogger or do not have complex business needs, a privacy policy template is a great option to get you started.

How do you use a privacy policy template?

We recommend the Privacy Policy template that has been created by Berkley Sweetapple. Berkley’s template has been prepared and reviewed by 5 licensed attorney’s who have taken blogger needs into consideration.

You can purchase templates at BerkleySweetapple.com and use code SPARK20 to receive 20% off.

You will customize your privacy policy using the instructions she provides and it is a quick process. If something changes in your business, or you develop a new offering, you will want to double check that your privacy policy is updated accordingly.

You will also want to consider a terms of use as well for compliance and protection.

How to add a privacy policy in WordPress

1. Create a new page and name it Privacy Policy
2. You will paste your edited privacy policy template into the new page and be sure that it is formatted correctly
3. Publish your privacy policy page
4. Go into the footer and add the Privacy Policy page to your footer so it will show on every page.

Are there any other important disclaimers a blog needs?

This answer depends on what your blog is about, your offerings and services, etc. At a minimum we believe all blogs should have a Privacy Policy and a Terms of Use.

Berkley Sweetapple sells a Website Terms of Use + Privacy Policy bundle that makes adding these to your website easy and affordable. Use code SPARK20 to receive 20% off.

Resources

The legal side of blogging can easily be ignored, but we urge you to consider protecting yourself and your brand from the beginning. We have had some excellent podcast episodes with attorney’s who specifically work with content creators. We have listed those resources below.

• Episode 30 of The Ultimate Blog Podcast: Whitney Bower shares why your blog should be trademarked
• Episode 29 of The Ultimate Blog Podcast: Jamie Lieberman shares her insight on the legal side of having a blog