As content creators, we want to improve our blogging skills and attract more readers. But did you know there are legal pages that you need on your blog to protect your business? It’s better to be safe than sorry, especially about legal challenges in your industry. In this post, I’m sharing the importance of legal policies for your website. Plus, where you can find lawyer-approved templates for them. Keep reading to learn more!

Wondering the general website pages you need for your small business? Read 5 Essential Pages to Include on Your Small Business Website.

What are the legal requirements for my blog?

Blogs must have certain pages for collecting emails, privacy, and compliance laws. Want to avoid getting sued, or having your information used by someone else?

First, don’t worry! Following the legal requirements for your blog is not as complicated as it sounds! Do these four things to ensure you fulfill your blog’s legal requirements.

1. Make sure your name isn’t trademarked.

If you create a website with a similar name (or the same name!) as someone else, they can take legal action against you. A good rule of thumb is to make your blog name something specific that many people wouldn’t think to use. For example, a blog titled “Best Cookies Blog” probably already exists. That name, while descriptive, is pretty general. Using something longer or more specific, like “Baking with your full name,” is a better option. It would be less likely that someone out there 1) has your name and 2) has created a baking blog. Convertkit recommends searching for your blog’s name on Google as well as checking the US Patent Database to see if the name is in use.

2. Don’t forget to include all required legal pages for your blog

(more on each page below!).

3. Have signed legal contracts with anyone who works on your website.

You should have a contract in place with anyone you do business with. Anyone who purchases your products or services should sign a contract. You also want contracts for any brand partnerships, and website collaborators. This protects your business in a few ways. Contracts define a refund policy, and determine the owners to anything creative collaboratively.

4. Have a copyright symbol on your website to protect someone from stealing your intellectual content.

You can also have something that says “all rights reserved” or “no reproduction without permission.” Fulfill your blog’s legal requirements and protect your website, blog, and images at the same time! 

What legal pages do I need for my blog?

Make sure you have all the following legal pages for your blog to protect yourself and your business! 

Privacy Policy

Your blog’s privacy policy tells website visitors what you plan to do with all their information. If you collect emails for a newsletter or email subscription, you need to tell people precisely what you will do with their emails. 

For example, you have to say you will not sell their email addresses and will only use them for your newsletter. Alternatively, your privacy policy can include language about sending promotional emails from your business. 

Your privacy policy is an essential legal page for your blog because it protects your customer’s data. If you sell services or products on your website, you also collect people’s credit card and financial information. You need to state in your privacy policy that you will not use their financial information for anything other than their purchases. 

Do you use Google Analytics to track clicks and searches across your website? If you do, your privacy policy needs to disclose that. This way, website visitors know that you are tracking their movements on your website. Everyone has a right to privacy. We owe it to our blog visitors to alert them of how we collect, and use their private information.

Disclosures

Part of any blog’s legal requirements is your disclosures. Disclosures are essential because they tell people if you earn a commission to promote something. People respond to what you put on your blog in good faith, and they deserve to know (and you are legally obligated to tell them!) if you are making money by promoting a particular product or service.

She Means Blogging says that a disclosure is simply a “legal statement that informs your readers about your relationship with the products, brands, and affiliate partners you recommend on your blog.”

What does this look like? Well, any time you promote something on your blog (like with an affiliate link) you need to tell website visitors! A simple disclosure that it is an affiliate link and you make a commission if they buy using it will suffice. You also need to have a disclosure for any sponsored content you write or promote.

Disclaimers

Disclaimers are different from disclosures, even though confusing them is easy! A disclaimer protects you from liability for anyone using your blog for medical, financial, or legal advice. Disclaimers are particularly important for those three fields. But, anyone in a professional capacity can use disclaimers to protect themselves legally from any wrongdoing.

If you are concerned that what you are saying in your blog may be misconstrued as official “advice” – it’s a good idea to put a disclaimer on it!

Want to know more about disclaimers? Keep reading because I give more details below!

Terms and Conditions/Terms of Use

The terms and conditions (terms of use) page on your blog list all the rules people have to obey when using your site. This protects you from copyright infringement and protects your intellectual property. The Savvy Couple says terms are also essential for blog legal requirements because it tells website visitors how you settle disputes and handle refunds.

If you don’t set up your terms and conditions properly when you begin your blog, you could be sued and may not be able to win . How your business handles chargebacks and refunds should be clearly outlined.  Your website’s terms and conditions are there to protect you. Set them up correctly in the beginning and you could save yourself a lot of headaches down the road!

What legal disclaimers do I need on my website?

Disclaimers are a vital part of your blog’s legal requirements. You need disclaimers so that website visitors don’t believe your blog is a substitute for advice they should be getting from a professional. For instance, if you are a lawyer, you likely have a disclaimer that your blog does not constitute legal advice and website visitors should consult with an attorney. This way, someone can’t take you to court if they follow your blog’s advice and don’t like their results.

In addition to legal advice disclaimers, you should also have disclaimers for medical and financial advice. If you are an entrepreneur in the wellness or nutrition space, having a disclaimer that you are not providing medical, nutritional, or fitness advice is crucial. This protects your business against legal action if someone tries a new diet or fitness plan without first seeking medical advice from their licensed physician or physical therapist. You could be liable for those injuries without a disclaimer on your website. No one wants that! A similar principle applies to the financial industry. Having a financial disclaimer means you cannot be held liable if someone misuses their money based on your website content or blog. Although you aren’t legally required to include these disclaimers, leaving them out is a huge legal risk for your website.

Providing disclaimers on your website is very easy, and offers you a lot of protection. If you do not have disclaimers as part of the legal pages for your blog, you need to move this to the top of your to-do list!

Where can I find a blogging legal bundle to make my life easier?

Note: This post contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a commission if you purchase a product using my link!

Thankfully, there are lawyers dedicated to serving online entrepreneurs with templates for your website.

When I first started my business, I was recommended Artful Contracts by a group of copywriters (and yes, this is an affiliate link! I have to disclose it!). 

Artful Contracts provides legal templates, trademark registration, and even free trainings for everything “legal” you need to do for your business! The Website Protection Toolkit comes with templates for you to use for your privacy policy, disclaimers, and terms and conditions for $447 using my code “MIKAYLA” (which gives you 10% off the original price!)

Additionally, there is a mini-course included with purchase that will guide you through the process. If you want your website to be legally legit, it doesn’t get much easier than that!

As a minority-owned small business myself, I love any opportunity to support other minority-owned businesses! Recently I connected with Yasmine and her team at Coaches & Company. Coaches & Co. provides legal templates and premium business tools created for the unique business model of many content creators. The team is super friendly and responsive on Instagram if you want to learn more and check them out!

The Coach’s Quick Start Bundle includes everything you need for your online business – including 9 lawyer-created, ready-to-use contract templates, and of course, your website privacy policy and terms & conditions for your website or sales page!

If you just want the website terms of use and privacy policy, you can grab it for $397.

It’s time to focus on the legal pages for your blog

Feeling overwhelmed by all the legal requirements of being an online content creator? You don’t need to be! With this blog post, you now are armed with the knowledge of legal templates to support your online business. 

So, if you’ve been putting off adding the legal pages to your blog, don’t wait any longer! And if your blog isn’t live yet – great! Now you have time to set everything up correctly before you get too busy running your business.