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4 minute read
As is the case with most aspects of business, a website is privy to its own set of laws that need to be adhered to in order to avoid issues further down the line. The digital domain is a relatively new legal field which means that the laws around it change frequently and website owners need to be vigilant in order to stay on top of the latest legislation. Below are a series of considerations that will help your website stay compliant.
The Companies Act 2006 is one of the oldest pieces of online UK legislation and pertains to the identity of the business running the website. In order to meet this legislation, businesses need to make certain details readily available online; it’s all pretty simple stuff that most will have on hand to begin with. Whether stored on the footer, the contact us page, or the about us page, every website should make the following information clear to users:
GDPR is a somewhat delicate part of online law that is constantly evolving in order to try and safeguard the data of online users. Since GDPR regulations were refreshed in 2018, a whole assortment of international conglomerates have been caught out for their creative management of user data with the current record fine standing at $1.3 billion which was handed to Meta in 2023 after they were found to be transferring data between the EU and US. GDPR violations are being taken more and more seriously with fines of up to 20 million euros or 4% of the firms’ annual global revenue (whichever is higher) being handed out for those that fail to be transparent.
Users should always be alerted to the presence of cookies and be able to easily revoke consent for data collection. All forms should also default to ‘no’ when asking to collect email, telephone or identification data with the user needing to actively check a box or click a button to allow this.
It’s in the best interest of a business as well as its customers to ensure that a website is easy to use for whoever might need it. Coming in tandem with UX & UI Design, accessibility is a vital facet in a company’s meeting of online regulation. The Equality Act 2010 looked to level the playing field for users with additional needs by encouraging websites to be more conscious of features such as screen readers, speech recognition tools, and other assistive technologies. Catering to every type of user is pretty much impossible, but it’s important that businesses make attempts to make their website as accessible as possible.
It’s relatively common for websites to fall prey to copyright infringement with use of licensed images frequently being the chief offender. Copyright is triggered when a business makes use of someone else’s work and – whether knowingly or not – tries to pass this off as their own. Avoiding copyright is purely a matter of due diligence with businesses needing to get in the habit of checking content before uploading; there are plenty of online locations to find copyright-free images or content. Simply citing the original source is often seen as an indicator of good faith and can be enough to dissuade the owners from taking action. However, even by doing so a business can be flagged for copyright so it’s best to always seek permission from the original owners.
Due to the delicate nature of legislation around websites, we always encourage people to get an outside opinion during their web design process. Our team of experts are happy to provide additional insight if you believe your website might be in breach.
Interested in a web development project? At Supersonic Playground we provide an eclectic range of development services designed to help businesses establish themselves within the digital space. Get in touch with a member of our team here.
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