When you’re designing your website (or working with a web designer to do it for you), a lot of the talk is likely centered around the aesthetics and strategy of your website. 

Things like what brand photos you need, what fonts pair well together, what copy will go on your home and sales pages, and how the overall flow will guide visitors toward taking action.

And all of that is for sure important! You want your website to look good and function in a way that reflects your brand. But the part that many business owners overlook when designing their website is that none of those things really matter if your website isn’t legally protected.

And no… a cookie banner alone isn’t enough to make your site compliant.

What actually protects you (and keeps you out of hot water with regulators, payment processors, or even unhappy clients) are the legal pages you put in place.

The good news though is that website compliance – despite sounding very serious and complicated – isn’t all that difficult at all! You really only need 3 key pages for your website to be compliant (in addition to your cookie policy!) and in this blog post I’m breaking down what they are. 

What is a Cookie Policy? (And Why Isn’t It Enough For Website Compliance)

Before we get into the 3 key legal pages that every website needs, let’s talk about your Cookie Policy. Because no, it’s not enough for your website compliance, but it IS an essential part of it!

At some point in time (honestly probably everyday), you’ve probably seen those little pop-ups on websites asking if you’ll accept cookies – that’s a Cookie Policy at work. 🍪

A Cookie Policy explains how your website collects, uses, and stores tracking data through cookies and similar technologies. And while it’s important to have one (especially if you’re running ads, using analytics, or retargeting), a Cookie Policy on its own isn’t enough to make your website legally compliant.

A Cookie Policy only covers one piece of the puzzle: data collection.

❌ It doesn’t explain your refund terms for digital products.

❌ It doesn’t protect your intellectual property.

❌ It doesn’t set boundaries for how visitors interact with your content.

Those protections come from your Privacy Policy, Terms of Use and Disclaimers working together, which you’re about to learn more about!

The 3 Legal Pages Every Website Needs for Compliance

Website Terms of Use

First things first, every website needs a Terms of Use and you can think of this like the rulebook for your website that sets the boundaries for how visitors can interact with your site and how your content, products, or services can be used.

Your Website Terms of Use should cover things like whether your customers can use any of the images on your site, including your logo when referencing your content, how they may backlink to your website and quote your blogs, how old they have to be to access your site, and more. 

It's considered best practice in web design to have your Terms of Use linked in the footer of your site for easy access!

Privacy Policy

Next up is your Privacy Policy and this one isn’t just a “nice to have.” If your website collects any personal information (and spoiler: if you run a business online, it does), you are required by law to have a Privacy Policy.

And if you’re wondering what counts as “personal information”, generally it’s:

• Names and email addresses from your opt-in forms
• Billing information from your checkout process
• Even IP addresses and cookie tracking from your analytics
  
  

A Privacy Policy outlines what information you collect, how you store it, and how you use it. This not only keeps you compliant with privacy laws like GDPR and CCPA, but it also builds trust with your audience by showing you take their data seriously.

And if you fail to have one in place? Wellll, you’re looking at some potential hefty consequences, like up to $7,500 per VISITOR. 🤯 I don’t know about you, but I don’t have $7,500 that I just want to throw around. So if you want to be safe than sorry, don’t skip this one!

Website Disclaimers

As an online business owner, you’re naturally going to be creating content that people will look to as advice. And some industries run a much greater risk of liability. 

For example, if you’re a health coach sharing nutrition tips, someone could interpret your blog post as medical advice and then blame you if they don’t get the results they expected.

Or if you’re a business coach, a client might assume you’re guaranteeing a specific income outcome. Or if you’re an affiliate marketer, you could get into hot water if you don’t clearly state that you’re earning a commission on the products you recommend.

That’s where disclaimers come in! A disclaimer is essentially your way of saying, “Here’s what this website is not responsible for.”

They set the boundaries for how your content should be used, and they make it clear that readers, clients, or customers are ultimately responsible for their own results.

A few common disclaimers include:

• Health and Wellness Disclaimer – these clarify that your content is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice
• Earnings Disclaimer – these state that you don’t guarantee results or income based on strategies you share
• Affiliate Disclaimer – these disclose relationships with brands when you share affiliate links or sponsored content
• General Disclaimer – a non-industry specific agreement that protects you and your business from potential legal issues by informing users of your website or course of any limitations or risks associated with using your content
  
  

Overall, by having the right disclaimers in place, you protect yourself from unnecessary liability while still providing valuable content to your audience.

The Easiest Way to Legally Protect Your Website 

So, there ya have it! The 3 key legal pages your website needs (in addition to your cookie policy) to ensure that you’re fully compliant. 

And if you’re reading this thinking, “yikes, I don’t have any of these set up,” don’t panic. Implementing them is actually easier than you may think and you don’t need to hire a lawyer on retainer to draft the policies for you!

*collective sigh*

You just need attorney-drafted templates that cover your bases and can be customized quickly to your business! Which is exactly what you’ll find in the Website Protection Bundle.

It includes your Website Terms of Use and Website Privacy Policy, so you can know that your website is legally protected!

And if you need a disclaimer? We’ve got those too! Click here to browse the TBL Disclaimer Contract Templates and grab the one that best fits your industry.

With all the right legal website pages in place, you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing your website is fully protected and your clients and customers will trust you more too. 🙌🏼

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If you like what you just read and want more cool lawyer things in your life, here’s a few ways to stay connected:

Let’s be pen pals! Subscribe to my email list to receive all of my best biz tips and behind the scenes goodies to keep your business bringing in sales (legally of course).

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Come hang with me on the ‘gram! I often do AMA’s on stories, so you can submit your specific questions when they come up.

And if you’re in need of legal resources that you can ACTUALLY understand? Here’s a few ways I can help:

Step into TBL’s free library of legal resources for creative entrepreneurs where we throw open the doors and spill the tea on what works and what doesn't when it comes to legal protection, systems and sales.

Browse the contract template shop to find what’s missing in your biz and easily implement it with a plug and play template!

Need something else? Send me a DM! Always happy to lend a legal hand when I can.