Do not get sued! Yikes!
Every website these days (yes, even your teeny tiny lil humble artist portfolio) must have five legal items on it to make sure you are compliant for visitors in the US and the EU. I was unaware until recently just how essential these things are, so as soon as I figured out how to be compliant, I wanted to share them with you!
5 Things you Definitely Need on Your Art Website:
Privacy Policy You have to tell folks what kind of data your website tracks and how you’re going to use it. There are different requirements for the US and Europe so you’d better make sure to follow all the rules!
Cookie Banner + Policy Letting people know you are taking analytics and giving them the option to opt out of non-essential monitoring. This is also about the personal privacy of your website visitors.
Terms + Conditions This tells folks that if they are on your website, it’s on your terms. This lets people know what to expect so they can’t get upset and sue you for being offended by your content, or if they simply don’t like the way you do business. This part tells people, hey , if you don’t like it, then leave because by staying on my website you are agreeing to using my website in the way that I, the creator, see fit. This also let’s folks know that they cannot take your content off your website and use it as their own, but if they submit comments or images to your site, then you can use them for anything.
Disclaimer The disclaimer tells people that your website and its content are your opinion and any instruction or advice they get from you is their own responsibility and you do not guarantee everything to be perfect or without flaw. It also let’s people know that you do not guarantee any company, product, or third party that may be featured on your website either.
Refund Policy Definitely essential if you ever want to sell goods or services, that way there is no question should an issue ever arise. This one can be written by you in casual, understandable English according to however your particular policies are and don’t need to be written in legalese.
Here are the companies I used for my legal jargon:
I am not affiliated with them and get no money from you using their services, nor can I legally bind myself to or guarantee their products. This is just a simple recommendation of what I am using for my website.
https://www.websitepolicies.com/
10.3.2021