For the majority of website owners – the sites that collect some form of customer and visitor information – privacy policy is a must. This comprehensive document will share, in great detail, the privacy information that pertains to the customer, their use of your website, and how you collect, collate, and store their data. Needless to say, this is one of the most important pages on your site, especially if you collect sensitive customer data such as credit card information.

What’s more, a privacy policy is not something you can choose whether or not you want on your site, as many countries around the world have strict laws when it comes to personal online data and how websites use it. With all of that in mind, here are five professional tips that will help you write the best privacy policy page for your site.

Use customer-friendly language

Assuming that you have already covered every technical step involved in the creation of a new page of your site, let’s address the challenge of writing a privacy policy that the customers will actually understand. Because clarity in writing, wording, and tone of voice can mean the difference between a privacy policy that protects your brand against lawsuits and, well, a lawsuit.

Nobody would blame you for thinking that the privacy policy page should be different from all other pages on your site in terms of the writing style you use, and the tone of voice you portray. However, using too much technical jargon in combination with a tone of voice that is not consistent with your brand identity might not only confuse the readers but deter them from the page completely.

To avoid this, be sure to optimize the content to the unique preferences of your demographic. Likewise, make sure that the copy on the page is consistent with the rest of the content on your website in order to make it more familiar and appealing to the reader.

Follow the legal letter to the T

While the policy itself doesn’t need to resemble an exhaustive legal document with so much technobabble that it’s completely incomprehensible to the reader, that doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t follow the letter of the law. In fact, it’s imperative that your privacy policy conveys the law on online personal data privacy clearly and consistently, all the while complying with the latest regulations, the likes of the GDPR and others.

This will cover your company from any legal loopholes and liabilities on all fronts, which will deter lawsuits or at least help you win the case if someone does file a suit against your brand. You will be required to inform the user on the kind of information you collect, why you collect it, what you do with it, where you store it, and whom you share it with. Leave nothing out, and don’t forget about third-party advertisers and other partners that might have the right to this data.

Choose the ideal template for your site

Unless you’re a legal professional who is well-versed in interned and international law, you will need to get a privacy policy template. No, there is no need to hire a legal advisor, nor is there a need to write your policy from scratch. With a plethora of useful business document templates readily available in the digital realm, you can easily find the privacy policy template that suits your company and the industry you operate in.

Once you have the template, you can make minor adjustments to the wording and tone of voice to make them more in line with your brand’s voice and identity in general. Don’t try to rewrite or erase any of the legal terms, and make sure that the core concepts that provide clear legal information stays intact. As for everything else, it’s yours to change as you see fit.

Keep it brief, transparent, and honest

Depending on the size of your company, your business model, your partners, the amount of data you collect, and the industry you operate in, your privacy policy might vary in length to a significant degree. Your job is to make it as brief, honest, and transparent as possible in order to motivate people to actually read through it without losing their minds. This is not an easy goal to achieve, so here’s a quick three-step process:

• First, look for any elements in your template that don’t pertain to your brand’s architecture or your industry, and eliminate those sections.
• Next, search for any fluff, extraneous details, and duplicated content, and eliminate those as well.
• And finally, be sure to organize your privacy policy for better readability with subheadings, bullet points, and bolded text that highlights important areas.

Make it as specific as you can

The last thing you need to remember is that your privacy policy needs to be as specific as possible. Specificity is one of the keys to a bulletproof privacy policy, as it leaves no room for any guesswork – what is written in there pertains exactly to the customer, your niche, and your brand. Avoid any vague language and make sure that the information is consistent with the industry standards.

Conclusion

A privacy policy is one of the most important, brand-saving documents on your website. So there really is a need to pay special attention to its structure, tone of voice and wording, as well as the information it contains. With these tips in mind, go ahead and create a privacy policy that will future-proof your WordPress site for years to come.