Many websites are built fast and hardened late. If your site collects emails for a newsletter, runs analytics, embeds a chat widget, or processes payments, you carry concrete legal duties. Compliance is not a document pack you publish once and forget. It is an operating habit: understand what data you take in, explain it in plain language, get the right permissions, and back it with security and housekeeping.

What compliance means in practice

Start by treating the website like a product, not a brochure. Map the user journeys that actually exist on your pages. For each journey, identify the data points collected, the purpose, the legal basis, the vendors involved, and how long you keep the data. Your public pages should mirror the reality behind the scenes. If you switch analytics providers or add a heatmap, your documentation and cookie controls should change with it. That is the rhythm of a compliant site.

Compliance is not just documents. It is:

  • accurate, accessible policies that mirror reality
  • lawful data collection with auditable consent or another valid legal basis
  • transparent cookie choices with real technical enforcement
  • fair consumer information and contract terms for online services
  • proportionate security and a plan for incidents.

Privacy and data protection

Your privacy notice is the anchor. It should tell people who you are and how to reach you, what data you collect and why, the legal grounds for each purpose, who processes data on your behalf, how long you keep it, whether you transfer it outside the EEA, and how users can exercise their rights. Avoid generic language. If you use a CRM, name it. If you rely on legitimate interests, explain the interest and the safeguards. Place the notice where people can find it easily: a permanent footer link, plus contextual links near forms. Behind the page, keep records of processing, signed processor agreements, and a clear deletion routine. If you engage in profiling, large scale tracking,  new technologies or process sensitive data, run and file a DPIA.

Your privacy notice should clearly answer:

  • who you are, how to contact you, DPO contact if applicable
  • what personal data you collect and why, for each feature
  • legal basis per purpose – consent, contract, legitimate interests, etc
  • who you share data with – named processors and categories
  • retention periods or criteria per data category
  • international transfers outside the EEA and safeguards
  • user rights and how to exercise them, including complaint routes
  • date of last update and change history

Behind the page – controls you actually need:

  • data map and records of processing activities
  • data processing agreements with vendors and hosting providers
  • transfer assessments and safeguards for any non-EEA provider
  • role-based access, least privilege, and deletion routines
  • DPIAs for high-risk features – tracking, large-scale profiling, sensitive data

Cookies and tracking

Consent is required for non‑essential cookies and similar technologies. In practice, that means analytics, advertising tags, social pixels, and many A/B testing tools must wait until the visitor opts in. Give users a clear banner with balanced choices that actually control the tags. A good consent platform blocks scripts by default, integrates with your tag manager, and stores a consent log you can export. Configure analytics with privacy in mind: limit retention, enable IP anonymisation where supported, and disable advertising features unless the user has opted in. If you later add a new vendor or purpose, refresh consent for returning users.

Terms and conditions

If you sell services, subscriptions, or digital content, your terms should read like a contract a person can follow. Set out who the contracting entity is, how prices are shown, what happens after someone orders, how renewals and cancellations work, what the refund and complaint routes are, and where the boundaries of liability sit under applicable law. Explain how you update the terms and how customers will be notified. Link the terms in the footer and reference them at checkout or account creation so acceptance is unambiguous.

If you sell services, subscriptions, or downloads, your terms should cover:

  • who the contracting entity is and how prices, taxes, and currencies are shown
  • ordering, fulfilment, subscriptions and cancellations
  • payments, refunds, and chargeback handling
  • warranties, disclaimers, and liability caps allowed by law
  • acceptable use – prohibited conduct and content
  • IP ownership of your content and user content licensing
  • governing law, forum, and dispute resolution
  • how you update terms and how users are notified

Publish your T&Cs in the footer and reference them during checkout or account creation.

Consumer information for online sales

Before a user commits, they should see who you are, what the service includes, the total price with taxes and recurring fees, when they will gain access, and any technical requirements. Where withdrawal rights apply, explain them clearly and provide a model form. After purchase, send a confirmation on a durable medium that includes the key terms and contact details. This is as much about clarity and trust as it is about legal form.

Platforms and user content

If your site allows reviews, comments, listings, or creator uploads, adopt simple rules for acceptable content and a visible way to report illegal material. When you remove something, keep a record of why and what was affected. If you label content as sponsored, do so plainly. Even small communities benefit from a clean reporting inbox and a short moderation playbook.

If you host reviews, comments, forums, listings or creator content:

  • publish clear terms and content policies
  • provide notice-and-action channels for illegal content
  • send statements of reasons when you moderate or remove content
  • tag ads and sponsored content clearly
  • keep a transparency report if you are a larger platform

Even small platforms should implement a simple abuse workflow and keep timestamped records.

Security and incident response

Security is not one-size-fits-all, but there are patterns most sites should follow. Serve the site over HTTPS and set strict transport security. Protect the admin area with strong authentication and restrict who can access production systems. Keep your CMS, plugins, and dependencies patched on a clear cadence. Encrypt backups and test restores. Rotate keys and revoke old access when people change roles. Keep a short incident plan that covers detecting an issue, containing it, investigating scope, deciding whether to notify users or authorities, and learning from the event.

Baseline controls expected for most sites:

  • enforce HTTPS, HSTS, and secure cookies
  • strong auth for admin areas, 2FA for staff accounts
  • least privilege on hosting and CMS, rotate API keys
  • patching cadence and monitored dependencies
  • encrypted backups with restore drills
  • vendor risk checks and minimal production access.

Special cases to plan for

Children require extra care. Build experiences that avoid profiling minors and obtain appropriate parental permission where the law requires it. Sensitive data such as health or biometric information demands stronger safeguards and typically explicit consent unless another narrow legal basis applies. If any data leaves the EEA, document how and why, choose a valid transfer mechanism, assess the risks, and apply technical and contractual protections.

Common pitfalls

  • Lack of policies.
  • Subscribing people automatically to newsletters.
  • A privacy policy that describes tools you do not use or omits tools you do use.
  • Cookie banners that look compliant but do not actually block tags.
  • Legitimate interests used as a shortcut for marketing or analytics without a real balancing test.
  • Missing or outdated processor agreements.
  • Dark patterns around consent or cancellations.
  • Stale patches and shared admin accounts.

What a good website looks like

Navigation that always shows privacy, cookies, and terms. A banner that lets users decline non‑essential cookies as easily as accepting them and that truly controls tags. Forms that collect the minimum needed and explain why. Checkout pages that spell out price, renewal, and withdrawal in plain language. Admin areas with multi‑factor authentication and a short list of authorised users. Behind the scenes, a tidy record of processing, current processor agreements, a transfer file for any non‑EEA vendor, and a simple incident log.

Compliance is a living process. Review tracking and vendors quarterly, or sooner after a major feature change. Re‑read your notices at the same time and update the date on the page. Treat every new integration as a mini‑project: purpose, legal basis, cookie impact, contract, and a rollback plan.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. For regulated sectors or cross‑border operations, adapt the checklist to your specific obligations and document the decisions you make along the way.