As the internet becomes increasingly regulated, businesses are taking steps to protect their customer’s data with a privacy policy. WordPress is a popular platform for creating websites, and it allows you to easily add a privacy policy to your site without any coding knowledge. In this article, we’ll discuss why it’s important to have a privacy policy on your website and how you can add one using WordPress. We’ll also provide some tips on what you should include in your privacy policy to make sure it covers all of the necessary topics. By the end of this guide, you should have all the information you need to create an effective and compliant privacy policy for your website.
What is a Privacy Policy?
The purpose of a privacy policy is to disclose the ways a party gathers, uses, discloses, and manages a customer’s or client’s data. It is a legal requirement to protect that data. A privacy policy can be customized to include specific information related to the gathering and handling of personal data on websites, apps, and other online services.
When it comes to WordPress, you will need to install and activate the WordPress Privacy Policy Plugin. This plugin helps you create a comprehensive privacy policy for your website. The plugin automates the process of creating a privacy policy by automatically generating one for you based on your website’s content and settings. You can then edit the generated policy to add any additional details that you want to include.
Why You Need a Privacy Policy
Most internet users are aware of the need for a privacy policy when it comes to sharing personal information online. A privacy policy is a statement or a legal document that outlines the kind of information that a website collects from its users, how this information is used, and under what circumstances it may be shared with third parties.
For website owners, a privacy policy is essential in order to protect themselves from potential liabilities. It also helps build trust with their users by showing that they respect their privacy and are committed to safeguarding their personal information.
If you have a WordPress website, then you can easily add a privacy policy page using one of the many available plugins. Alternatively, you can also create your own privacy policy template and add it to your WordPress site.
Your privacy policy should include the following information
The following information should be included in your privacy policy:
What personal data do you collect and why do you collect it
How you use personal data
With whom you share personal data
What measures do you take to protect personal data
How long do you retain personal data
What rights do users have with respect to their personal data
How to contact you with questions or concerns about your privacy policy or personal data
How to Add a Privacy Policy in WordPress
If you run a website, chances are you need a privacy policy. A privacy policy is a statement or legal document that discloses some or all of the ways a party gathers, uses, discloses, and manages a customer or client’s data. It fulfils a legal requirement to protect your visitors’ privacy.
We will show you how to easily add a privacy policy to WordPress in this article. We will also share why you need one and what should be included in it.
Why Do You Need a Privacy Policy?
There are several reasons why you might need a privacy policy for your WordPress website.
If you are running an online store powered by WooCommerce or another eCommerce plugin, then you are legally required to have a privacy policy that tells customers what information you collect about them, how you use that information, and whether you share it with anyone else.
Another reason why you might need a privacy policy is if your website collects personal information from users through contact forms, surveys, opt-in forms, and other similar means. Even if you don’t run an online store, collecting this type of information still requires disclosure under many data protection laws.
Finally, having a privacy policy builds trust with your website visitors. If they know that their personal data is being collected and used responsibly, they are more likely to do business with you and recommend your site to others.
What Should Be Included in a Privacy
Writing a Privacy Policy and Adding It to Your WordPress Site (Manually)
The easiest way to add a privacy policy to your WordPress website is to manually configure the template provided by WordPress.
The first step is to find and edit the privacy template
Open your WordPress admin and click the Privacy tab. You’ll find a generic privacy policy template there:
If you haven’t already made a privacy policy, click on the Create button if you don’t already have one.
To use an existing page, select it from the drop-down menu next to Change Your Privacy Policy Page and then click Use This Page:
Your WordPress site will automatically generate a policy with a few personalized details. You can edit sections, including comments, cookies, and media:
You can read the default information, and tweak it to fit your needs, such as How long we retain your data, What rights you have over your data, and Who we share your data with.
The second step is to publish your privacy policy and add it to your menu
If you’re satisfied with your disclosure, click on Publish. You can also preview your disclosure by selecting Preview:
It is important to keep in mind that publishing this page will override any previous privacy policies.
It’s time to add your privacy policy to your menu so that users can easily find it.
Menus > Appearances:
In the Most Recent tab, click on Privacy Policy in the Add menu items section.
On the right-hand side, you can drag the page to the order you want, and then click on Save Menu at the bottom left.
Adding a Privacy Policy (With a Plugin)
You can also add a WordPress privacy policy with a plugin if you don’t feel comfortable editing the disclosure information.
Using the WP AutoTerms Plugin, we will create custom disclosures that comply with GDPR, Amazon Associates affiliate disclosures, and more.
The first step is to install and activate the WP AutoTerms plugin
Installing and activating the WP AutoTerms plugin is the first step. Go to Plugins > Add New:
In the search bar, type “WP AutoTerms”:
Once WP AutoTerms has been installed and activated, it should appear in the left menu sidebar.
Second step is to Add a privacy policy page to your website
On the WP AutoTerms > Add Legal Pages page, you will find several options, including a Simple Privacy Policy and disclosures for the GDPR and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
Let’s add a Simple Privacy Policy to this tutorial:
Does it also contain a section called What kind of personal information do you collect from users? Here, you can check boxes for names, email addresses, phone numbers, and physical addresses.
Take the time to fill out this information accurately so that you can make a detailed disclosure. Other questions will also be asked, such as whether you use Google AdSense advertising and whether you will disclose any data to law enforcement agents.
The third step is to create your privacy policy
By clicking Create, the privacy policy will be generated based on the information you provided.
Publish the page or preview it on the front end from there:
You can also add this page to your menu, as we showed you in the previous tutorial. Voila! You have now created a valid privacy page for your WordPress site.
Alternatives to Adding a Privacy Policy in WordPress
If you’re looking for an alternative to adding a privacy policy in WordPress, there are a few options available. You can use a plugin like WP Privacy Policy Generator to generate a privacy policy for your site, or you can hand-code one yourself.
Another option is to use a service like Iubenda, which offers a variety of pre-made privacy policy templates that you can customize to fit your needs. And lastly, you could always hire a lawyer to draft a privacy policy for you.
Conclusion
We hope this tutorial has provided you with a comprehensive guide to adding a privacy policy in WordPress. It is important to remember that having an up-to-date and accurate privacy policy on your website is essential if you want to protect the personal data of visitors, making it easier for them to trust your business. If you follow all of these steps, then creating and adding your own privacy policy should be a breeze.
