Feb 26 2021
The world is on the brink of a new era, the age of the technological revolution. “Businesses will be impacted as technology gives birth to new ways of working”, suggests Microsoft.
One of the leading contributors to the dawn of the fourth industrial revolution is the unprecedented scale, speed and ability of our networks to store and process enormous amounts of information.
Businesses are immensely dependent on statistics and information to improve their sales, customer experience and make an impact in the world. With so much data out there, it can be challenging to track and collect everything safely from customers. We are then reminded of the criticality of data protection and privacy.
In the following text, we will explore the steps businesses take to protect their customers’ data. One of these measures we will centre around is publishing a Privacy Policy.
What is a privacy policy, and why is it important?
A Privacy Policy is “A statement or a legal document that states how a company or website collects, handles and processes data of its customers and visitors. It explicitly describes whether that information is kept confidential or is shared with or sold to third parties.”
It is a document that should be easily accessible to customers, informing them on how their data is being collected and processed by your business.
Examples of personal information collected are:
- Name
- Address
- Phone number
- Age
- Sex
- Marital status
- Race
- Nationality
- Religious Interests
Some websites even collect information about how customers interact with their system and use this information to change the customers’ user experience.
In the world of web design and SEO, privacy policies are a must and should be made visible on your WordPress website.
Having a privacy policy on your website increases Google’s trust factor for your brand. Not only is it beneficial to have a privacy policy on your website, but it is also mandatory. If you do not provide this document on your website, you are violating your user’s personal information.
You will also risk your account being suspended by WordPress if you do not include a privacy policy, especially if your business is commercial or an online shop.
People have always desired privacy in their social and private lives, and it has recently become an important topic of conversation relative to world history.
Laws and regulations are continually being released and developed to protect information about people from potentially exploitative and malicious scenarios.
Companies or websites that handle customer data must publish a privacy policy in compliance with the law. Most third-party services also require mention in your privacy policy. See below for some popular examples of third-party services that require website and app owners to post Privacy Policy agreements on their websites.
- Amazon Affiliates
- ClickBank
- Google Play Store
- Google Analytics
- Google AdSense
- Google AdWords
- Facebook Apps
- Twitter Lead Generation
- Apple’s App Store
How to add a privacy policy on WordPress
Websites usually place a link to a Privacy Policy agreement in the footer of their website or on their “About” page. Another popular location for e-commerce stores to put their privacy policy is the checkout page or account registration page.
Your privacy policy must be accurate and should be relatively easy to comprehend. Some examples of information you need to include in your privacy agreement are what information is collected and how it is used, stored and protected.
Company contact information, usage of cookies, log files and tracking, and how a user can opt-out of data collection and usage should be included in the agreement.
Some typical ways in which a WordPress site collects user information include:
- Name and email address in comment forms
- Comment form cookie, which remembers a user’s name or email address.
- Name and email addresses submitted by the user by using a contact form.
- Name and email address submitted to sign up for email list.
- Information collected when users register a website.
- Google Analytics tracking.
- Facebook page plugin and like button cookies.
- Other social media platform widgets that track users.
- Advertising programs like Google Adsense
See the following video on how to add a privacy policy to your WordPress site.
Privacy Policy templates for WordPress
There are few privacy policy generators as thorough, easy and efficient as PrivacyPolicies.com generator and FreePrivacyPolicy.com
WordPress also comes with a primary privacy policy generator; you can check it out at WPBeginner’s privacy policy. They advise to “Simply replace all references to WPBeginner and our parent company with the name of your website or business.”Get into contact with FX Web Studio today to discuss your business’s needs. With top-notch web design and SEO services, you won’t be let down. Book an obligation-free appointment to chat about our affordable search engine optimisation and more, call today on 1300 090 401.
