How to Use Termageddon for Privacy Policies on WordPress

When trying to get a website online for your business, you’re probably wrapped up thinking about the exciting stuff–like nailing down your new brand photography, choosing the right colors and fonts, and creating copy that converts. But there’s a whole other side of getting your new website online that many people overlook: the legal stuff.

And while the legal stuff is WAY less exciting than branding or customer conversion, it’s incredibly important!

That’s because business websites are chock full of plugins and embedded third-party apps that are probably collecting data on your visitors. And guess what? That means you’re legally required to have a privacy policy. And if you don’t, you could be breaking the law. Yikes!

But don’t panic! If you’re reading this and realizing you don’t have a privacy policy, you’re in the right place. We’re about to introduce you to your new best friend in the world of website policies: Termageddon.

Before we dive in, just a quick reminder that I’m not a lawyer (so this isn’t official legal advice!) This is just smart-business-stuff advice–a best practice, if you will. 

Why you need a privacy policy for your WordPress site

There are a few reasons you need a privacy policy for your WordPress blog or website:

1. In many places, it’s the law. Various regulations (like GDPR and CPRA) require you to have a privacy policy to keep website visitors informed about if and how you’re collecting and using their data.It’s not the same in every state, but it’s better safe than sorry when it comes to privacy policies, since you’ll have website visitors from many states and countries.

2. Trust is everything. And a privacy policy makes your site look more trustworthy! 

3. Cover your assets: A well-crafted privacy policy may protect your business from potential legal issues down the road.

The website policies you need

Again–I want to stress that I’m not a lawyer, but there are a handful of policies that we recommend our clients have on their websites.

1. Privacy Policy: This is the big one. It tells users what data you’re collecting and how you’re using it.
2. Cookie Policy: This goes hand-in-hand with your privacy policy. It explains how you use cookies on your site.
3. Terms of Service: While optional, this is a good idea to outline the rules for using your site or service.

Why we love Termageddon (and you will too!)

Let’s be real: the idea of creating legal documents for your website is overwhelming, intimidating, and (for most people who are also not lawyers) unappealing to say the least. It’s scary to do these things without a lawyer, but hiring one to create custom policies can be expensive. So, if you want to be legal, but you’re not ready to hire a lawyer, what can you do?

Enter Termageddon’s website privacy policy generator. We love it, we use it, and we recommend it to all our clients for privacy policies, cookie management, and all that legal stuff that goes on your website. Here’s why:

1. It’s affordable: Way, way cheaper than hiring a lawyer.
2. It’s easy to use, even if you’ve never done anything like this before and feel totally lost when it comes to legalese.
3. It’s comprehensive: All you have to do is answer a whole bunch of questions that you can actually understand, and Termageddon turns them into legally sound documents.
4. It’s always up-to-date: As laws change, Termageddon updates your policies automatically.
5. It’s customizable: It creates policies tailored to your specific business needs.
6. It plays nice with WordPress: Easy integration? Check!

How to use Termageddon for privacy policies on WordPress

Ready to learn how to add website privacy policies using Termageddon? Let’s break it down step by step. We’re going to start with the Privacy Policy, since it’s the most important and serves as the backbone for your Cookies Consent Policy. 

1. Sign up for a Termageddon account and purchase a license.
2. Click Assign License and follow the prompts to assign the access you just purchased to your website.
3. Now, click on the website you’ve assigned the license to.
4. Click the Add Policy box to start adding policies. I recommend starting with the Privacy Policy, since it’s the most important and it’s the backbone of your Cookies Consent Policy.
5. Follow the prompts and answer questions about your business. Don’t worry if it seems like a lot – it’s all important stuff! If you have trouble answering any questions, just click on the little question mark to get tutorial help. If you’re still lost after reading the help articles, Termageddon’s customer service team is fantastic and will help you out.
6. Once you’re done, you’ll have a shiny new privacy policy. Time to get it on your site!
7. Click View Embed Code and copy the code.
8. Log into your WordPress account, add a new page and title it Privacy Policy.
9. Add an HTML block to that page and paste in the code.
10. Add the link to this new page in the legal bar in your footer.

Voila! You now have a professional, legally sound privacy policy on your WordPress site. The best part? Every time you update the policies in Termageddon, they’ll automatically update on your site. No manual changes needed!

Adding the Cookie Policy and Consent Tool

Now that you’ve got your privacy policy sorted, let’s tackle the cookie policy and consent tool. This takes a few extra steps, but it is what allows your website to display correctly for visitors, so don’t skip it. Once you’re done, you’ll have a pop-up on your website that informs people about the third-party tools you use on your website and types of data they collect.

1. Head back to Termageddon, click Add Policy, and look for the Cookies Consent Policy.
2. Choose your branding options if you want to change the color to match your brand.
3. Choose between the fingerprint icon display option or the privacy settings hyperlink (I recommend the hyperlink).
4. Now, you’ll need to choose the way your pop-up box appears. It’s a little repetitive because it asks for both GDPR and CPRA–and then asks you for the first and second layer appearances. Choose whichever look you prefer, but be sure to keep your choices consistent for the GDPR and CPRA settings so visitors will have a consistent user experience, no matter where they’re visiting from.
5. Answer the questions (pro tip: the defaults are usually fine).
6. When asked for the privacy policy URL, use the link to the page you just created in WordPress.
7. Time to scan your site for third-party apps with tracking tools. (Note: Your site needs to be live for this to work.)
8. Enter [yourdomain]/sitemap.xml” and select “yes” under “Is the scan URL a sitemap URL?” Run the scan.
9. Review the list of services it finds. Add any missing ones manually.
10. Click Submit.
11. Copy the embed code, and create a new “Cookies Policy” page in WordPress just like you did for the privacy policy.

And there you have it! Your WordPress site now has professional, up-to-date privacy and cookie policies, plus a cookie consent tool. You’re now officially adulting in the world of website compliance!

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You can repeat the process for your website Terms of Service and any other important website policies you want to add–but at a minimum, make sure you add the Privacy Policy and Cookies Consent Tool to your site.

Creating website policies doesn’t have to be a nightmare

With Termageddon, you can easily generate and manage privacy policies on your WordPress site, stay compliant with ever-changing laws, and give your visitors the transparency they deserve. It’s a win-win-win!

Ready to get started?

We’re have a special treat for you! Use our discount code to get 10% off your Termageddon subscription. Your website (and your peace of mind) will thank you!

Happy policy-making!