Why your author website needs a privacy policy
Following on from my post last week about how adding a favicon can give your author website a pro touch, I thought it might be useful to address another thing that your website really should have – but which I often see is missing from websites authors have built themselves.
So yes, in case you hadn’t already guessed, it’s a privacy policy. Let’s discuss this in more depth, as most of the authors I speak to aren’t even sure what a privacy policy is.
But before I start – a massive disclaimer here – I am NOT a lawyer (despite the fact my dad was desperate for me to become one – sorry Dad) and so please do not take this as legal advice from a professional or expert on data protection laws!
Instead, see this as a starting point and introduction to the concepts you should cover in your author website privacy policy from a website designer who’s read a lot about it.
Also, please bear in mind that laws differ depending on what country you live in. I am in the UK, where we have GDPR, which is the main legislation that covers data protection, but other countries have different policies and legislation that must be adhered to.
Right now that’s out of the way…
Firs things first then, what is a privacy policy?
A privacy policy is basically a document that details exactly how you use the personal information you collect from visitors on your author website.
Examples of personal information you might collect on your author website include:
· Names
· Dates of birth
· Email addresses
· Shipping addresses (if you are sending out books through your site)
· Phone numbers
A privacy policy usually covers:
· The types of information collected by the website
· The purpose for collecting the data
· Data storage, security and access
· Who has access to that data
Do I need a privacy policy for my author site?
Most probably yes! If have an author mailing list and ask people to subscribe on your website then you definitely need one. But even if you don’t have a mailing list, if you record data about who visits your website, then you need a privacy policy detailing how this data is handled.
Put simply, if your author website is hosted on Squarespace then even if you aren’t collecting email addresses via a newsletter sign-up form, you will still need a privacy policy as Squarespace collects analytics about who visits your website, which pages they visit and where they come from in the world etc etc
But it’s not as scary as it sounds, I promise. As author websites are pretty light on the old data-collection front (generally speaking, they collect way less data than an e-commerce site such as a jewellery designer who sells their designs online, for example), you are should be fine with a short-but-sweet privacy policy that covers all the basics.
Where can I get a privacy policy?
The most obvious place to get a privacy policy is from a lawyer who specialises in GDPR. But of course this isn’t cheap, and there are lots of places online you can download a standard privacy policy template which you can then customise to suit your website.
Here is a really good site where you can download a comprehensive privacy policy – but there are plenty more places online, so have a Google and do your research to make sure you find the right privacy policy for you.
If you want to learn more about privacy policies and the legal requirements, then take a look at the ICO website.
Get my author website privacy policy template!
Sign up to my newsletter below and I’ll send you my basic privacy policy template. It’s a good starting point for author websites and covers all the basics such as collecting email addresses, competition entries and any free giveaways.
But remember it is your responsibility to check that it meets your needs, and add or remove any relevant information, before adding it to your website!
Sign up to my monthly newsletter below and I’ll send you my author website privacy policy template…
Where to put your author privacy policy
Once you’ve got your privacy policy sorted, it’s usually best to host it on its own page, and link to it from the footer of your website, so that people can find it easily. It’s also important to review it from time to time, and keep an eye on any changes in GDPR laws that might affect you and your site.
Hope that was helpful! As always, do leave me a comment below if you have any specific questions!
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