What Your Website Needs To Be Legal And Profitable This 2023

Intro

Owning a website or a blog is all fun and games until you get sued.

Did you know that most companies' and small business owners' websites are being run illegally due to the lack of legal pages on their sites?

Did you know you can get sued for tens of millions of dollars for not having legal pages on your website?

With proper legal pages and templates, you can avoid risking your website from being sued, but you are setting it up for monetary failure.In being profitable, one must be legal, too. If you’re based in the Sunshine State and ready to reinvent your website into a business, here’s a simple guide on how to start an llc in florida to guarantee your venture's legal status.

Without proper legal compliance, owning a profitable website is next to impossible. We will discuss the main legal pages your website needs to be legal and profitable. And all at an affordable cost.

Worried you'll have to pay a lawyer thousands of dollars to run a legal website? Think again. We will dive into a few resources you will invest a nominal amount. They are drafted by a lawyer who helps people like you create successful, money-making, and legal websites.

First, let us start by stating the facts. There are free legal templates available online as we speak. Do not under any circumstance think these will work for your website and pass in a lawsuit if you are sued. We will share a legal bundle that allows you to get affordable legal templates, all curated by a lawyer.

You may be thinking, "Why do I even need legal pages on my website?"

The short answer is that unless you want to get sued, and unless you're not serious about making money from your website.

98% of websites out there do not have the appropriate legal pages that you need to run that website in the first place. This includes bloggers, as most people are aiming to make more money from blogging.

If you have affiliate links on your website, this applies to you.

If you sell products and services on your site, this applies to you.

If you offer coaching or consulting of any kind, this applies to you.

If you want to work with paid brands and sponsorships, this applies to you.

If you offer or plan to offer subscription services on your blog, this applies to you.

If you collect your visitor's information, this applies to you.

You need to be operating your website LEGALLY; otherwise, you can get your site, blog, or business shut down and pay heavy fines. However, some online resources such as How to Start a Blog can put you on the right track from the get-go.

It will instruct and inform you on how to correctly set up a blog and market it. However, before diving in, you must ask yourself, is this website something I would like to have long-term and earn a profit from? If that is the case, then your website must be legal to be profitable. It can't have one without the other.

Four Main Legal Pages To Ensure Your Website Is Permitted

Privacy Policy

This is a legal document that is required on your website. It is not optional whatsoever, and those without it are running their site, whether it's a blog or a company's website, completely illegal.

This legal document on your website will show you how to collect and protect the information of the visitors and readers on your site.

People need to feel safe knowing that their information is going to be used appropriately on your website. This privacy policy will outline the legal provisions on your website so that it is fully compliant.

Suppose a person visits your website and shares their name, email address, billing, shipping information, debit/credit card information, social security numbers, and bank details. In that case, you are required by law to have a privacy policy page.

These Privacy laws exist all around the world and are not exclusive to North America. It doesn't matter what your website is or who runs it. If it's not legal, then you face the ramifications of being sued.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

This legal page discloses to any visitor from the European Union (EU) on your site to protect their personal information. This compliance law goes for anybody who lives in or outside of the European Union.

If there is any non-compliance with GDPR, then fines go up to "4% of annual revenue, it introduces some of the harshest penalties for a breach of data protection laws anywhere in the world." (gdpreu.org)

In 2020, Marriott Hotels had to pay a $23.8 million fine due to not being GDPR compliant. Other well-known brands and businesses like British Airways and H&M have had to pay these fines due to gross negligence and lack of GDPR compliance. (gdpreu.org)

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPR)

This is a new California law that invokes special protection rights for California citizens. For example, if your business derives over 50% or more of its revenue from selling your consumer's personal and private information, this applies to you. Or, if you receive personal information of 50,000 individuals or more from your website, this also applies to you.

If your website is not CCPR compliant, you can face anywhere from $2,500 to $7,500 per violation.

Disclaimer

A Disclaimer legal page can protect you from lawsuits, and you need to disclaim that you are liable for the content you are sharing on your website. For example, if you own a coaching business where you help entrepreneurs to create a business online, you must have a disclaimer that you don't guarantee results.

There are various forms of disclaimers ranging from an earnings disclaimer to a health or medical one. The point is, you must have legal pages that contain a waiver for your website.

Terms and Conditions

Your Terms and Conditions are a list of rules that you share with your visitors. Or, in this case, your website rules.

It is a document that shares what you permit and what you do not on your website. The Terms and Conditions page is also a crucial template to have if you want to ensure that your content is protected and copyright safe. Every website needs one, so get yours today! If you have these four legal pages, you will have the basics for your legal templates with your VIP legal bundle.

Some other legal pages you may want to consider investing in are the following:

• Guest Blogger Agreement
• Freelance Contract Template (Independent Contractor Agreement)
• Sponsored Posts Contract
• Media Release
• Sweepstakes Agreement
• Consulting Agreement
• Coaching Agreement
• LLC Operating Agreement
• Affiliate Agreement
• Design Service Agreement
• Confidentiality Agreement
• Website Sale Agreement

Conclusion

As always, if you're going to have a website, you want all your legal ducks in a row, especially if your website traffic and revenue have started to increase. Now more than ever, running a website selling products or services like copywriting/blogging offers an opportunity to earn real money, and various online resources will help convert your hobby into a viable source of income.

The last thing you need just as your business takes off is to worry about being slapped with a lawsuit. Following the advice in this article will give you a sense of peace, knowing that you're operating legally. Plus! On the bright side, you're setting up your website for money-making success.