Why Have a Privacy Policy and Terms of Use?

The Web has truly become an interactive, on-going, world-wide conversation. No matter where you go online, all kinds of information is sent your way. And within the context of that information there are opportunities for you to provide input. Whether it is comments on a blog, suggestions through a contact form or simply taking a poll, you are part of the creation of online content.

It is very rare these days to have a site that is purely information. Most sites have some way of taking in information, and in some cases that information is used within the site content. It is therefore very important to include a privacy policy and terms of use in any site you create. These two pages provide you the opportunity to make your users aware of what their responsibilities are, and what your promises are.

What is a Privacy Policy?
A privacy policy talks about how information taken into a site is used by the company who owns the site. The most basic portion of a privacy policy talks about what the company does with email addresses that are submitted through comments or contact forms. If there is any means of gathering information on your site, you need to alert your users how that information might be used.

You can generate a free privacy policy template which will give you the basics for a good privacy policy. You can then edit the policy to suit your company's procedures.

What are Terms of Use?
Terms of use talk about the user's responsibility in using your website. It talks about copyright, linking, security, intellectual property rights, tone of comments and acceptance of the terms. The terms of use are most critical if you have a site that has user-generated content (i.e. commenting, wiki or message board). The privacy policy can be included in the terms of use if you would rather not have two separate pages, but it is advisable to keep them separate as this makes it easier for users to find your privacy policy.

You can create your own terms of use by using the free template at Clickdocs. You can download it in Word format and edit it as needed before posting it to your website.