You’ve designed your author’s website, you’ve added content, and you’ve increased its visibility. Before you launch, make sure you have the legal and security aspects covered.
Legal
Check the legal requirements in your country and make sure your site adheres to them. Not being aware of the laws governing websites is no defence against conviction for transgression.
- Implement cookie warnings. These are a legal requirement in the EU and the UK.
- Include a copyright statement if required.
- Acquire necessary licensing for any images, fonts, code, plugins, etc., as needed.
- Include a privacy policy when collecting any personal data, such as email addresses. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes obligations on organisations anywhere, so long as they target or collect data related to people in the EU. Under the GDPR it is lawful to ‘process’ (collect, store, use, etc.) people’s data, only with consent from the individual concerned. Specifically:
- Consent must be ‘freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous.’
- Requests for consent must be ‘clearly distinguishable from the other matters’ and presented in ‘clear and plain language.’
- Data subjects can withdraw previously given consent whenever they want, and you have to honor their decision. You can’t simply change the legal basis of the processing to one of the other justifications.
- Children under 13 can only give consent with permission from their parent.
- You need to keep documentary evidence of consent.
Security
- Install an anti-spam solution, such as Akismet to fend off spam.
- Implement login protection. Use proper login names and secure passwords. Save your password securely.
- Set up a backup solution. Verify backups.
