Is your Website GDPR Compliant?
GDPR aka General Data Protection Regulation goes into effect today, May 25, 2018. You might have heard about this over the past few weeks as you’ve opened up your email to find numerous updates to privacy policies. So the question is what should you focus on as a website owner and what tools are at your disposal to ensure you’ve compliant with the new law?
While running a search on Google will generate more articles than you can ever read, and there’s so much conflicting information, I figured let me create a video which is featured above and also write some of the basic topics you should focus on.
Note: I’m not a lawyer and if you’re in any way confused on what needs to be done, or if you’re business site takes in more user data than you can go over, then definitely consider consulting an attorney to get a more detailed overview of what your business should focus on.
For small business websites, realtors and everyday bloggers, the tips I mention in this article are generally going to have you covered. I also link to some additional resources so you can get even more detailed information on what the law requires. So with that being said, let’s talk about GDPR and your website.
About GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation
This law was passed on April 14, 2016 with a two year transition period to give websites the opportunity to have enough time to prepare. While this law is a European Law to protect the privacy and give greater control of a persons data, this law applies to everyone who owns a website since 25% of website traffic comes from Europe.
General Compliance for Websites
This is what you should focus on if you want to make sure your website is compliant with GDPR.
- Privacy Policy – You should make sure your Privacy Policy is up to date and provides accurate information that’s pertinent to your website.
- Checkbox Consent – When a person fills out one of your contact forms, you should have an UN-Checked Checkbox. In the past, websites would have the box pre-checked. this is no longer allowed.
- Cookie Notice – You will also likely want to have a notification mentioning the fact that your website uses Cookies for a better experience and for the functionality of your website.
- Right to Data – A person has the right to request any data that your website has on them and also, they have the right to request that you remove any data you have, from your website.
- Breach Notification – If your website gets breached or data is compromised, you’re required to inform your users of the breach and how it may impact them.
WordPress and GDPR
Fortunately, in the latest update to WordPress 4.9.6, there’s some basic tools that help you ensure your website is compliant. If you login to your site admin area, you will find there’s some additional resources for you.
- In the Settings Section, you will find a Privacy Link which gives you a basic template you can use to create a privacy policy. This is a cookie cutter template and you should fine-tune it for your website.
- In the Tools Section, you’ll find two additional links. The first is an Export Personal Data Link which you can use to provide the data you have on a user when it’s requested by that user. The second is a Erase Personal Data Link which is how you’ll erase their data if they request you to do so. Note, you will have to verify the identity of the user via their email and a confirmation which you can send them.
What Additional Tools Does WordPress Provide
One of the things I really like about WordPress is the fact that there’s so many ways to enhance it and add functionality by installing a plugin. Obviously the plugins you use matter, but there are a lot of high quality, free plugins you can find on the official WordPress Website. Here are a few that are focused on GDPR.
- WP GDPR Compliance – This plugin assists website and webshop owners to comply with European privacy regulations known as GDPR.
- GDPR – This plugin is meant to assist a Controller, Data Processor, and Data Protection Officer (DPO) with efforts to meet the obligations and rights enacted under the GDPR.
- GDPR Cookie Compliance – General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European regulation to strengthen and unify the data protection of EU citizens.
- GDPR Cookie Consent – This plugin has various features that will help you be compliant with GDPR
Some resources for Learning WordPress
WordPress is the most popular CMS Content Management System used by everyday bloggers, small business websites and Fortune 500 sites. Here are a few links of videos and articles I created to help you learn how to use WordPress to power your website and blog.
- Learn To Code a WordPress Theme
- What To Look for in a WordPress Theme
- Should You Learn WordPress
- Top 10 WordPress Plugins
- WordPress Security, SEO & Social Media
The links above will help get you started with WordPress.
GDPR Resources
This article is meant to give you some basic information to help you get started, but there’s so much that goes into this new law and it’s vital that you make sure you’re in compliance. With that being said, below is a list of reputable resources that give you more detailed information to help you with GDPR.
GDPR & WordPress Guided Tour
As mentioned earlier, I created a video to show you some ways to make sure your WordPress Website is compliant with GDPR. Here’s the direct link to the video GDPR WordPress Video. Take a look at it and get your website ready for the new changes.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read this article. If you found it helpful, make sure to subscribe to both this website and my YouTube Channel. Also, please share with others who may need to read this.