Running a website is essential for any modern business, but the legal framework around websites is changing all the time. How can you make sure you keep on the right side of the law?

For many years now UK business websites have been obliged to display enough information for the company to be identified – usually the address, legal company name (i.e. not a ‘trading as’ or brand name) and registration number.

The two other major legal requirements are to do with data protection and tracking cookies.

Data Protection Act

If you’re engaged in e-commerce or collecting names, email addresses or phone number on input forms, you need to have a privacy policy which tells people how you keep, process and use their details. This is all part of the Data Protection Act (DPA), which can be quite complicated.

Fortunately, most of the DPA’s legal requirements are about the use of personal data within a company rather than on a website. It’s usually sufficient to have a DPA-compliant policy in the terms and conditions section of your website.

The only other requirement is to provide a mechanism for changing or deleting user records. Although this can be done on the website, from a legal point of view it’s sufficient to ask people to email or write in with a request to change or delete information.

Cookies

Since 2012, all UK websites that use cookies to track users’ activity have been required to tell people that they are doing it. Usually this is done by having a banner that users click to say that they consent to cookies being used, with a link to the website’s cookie policies.

All websites that use cookies should, therefore, have cookie policies that describe what cookies they drop and what they are used for. Ironically, whether people agree or disagree with cookies being used, their preference will usually be recorded with a cookie.

Want to make sure your website stays compliant? Contact us at Profectus Marketing for more advice.