The boring side of blogging deserves attention too. Every blog needs a few legal pages: privacy policy, disclosures, and often a terms of service. Missing them isn’t only a legal risk. It also hurts ad network approvals, weakens trust signals, and can quietly work against your SEO. This post is the practical checklist for getting them right without hiring a full legal team.
Why these pages matter
- Legal compliance (GDPR, CCPA, FTC, and other regional laws).
- Ad network approval (AdSense and Mediavine both require them).
- Affiliate program requirements (Amazon Associates requires specific disclosure language).
- Trust signals to readers.
- Protection if disputes arise.
You don’t get to wait until later on these. Ad networks and affiliate programs check for them before they approve you, and readers notice their absence more than you’d expect.
Privacy Policy
This is the most important page on the list. It’s required by GDPR in the EU, CCPA in California, and a growing list of other regional privacy laws.
What it covers
- What data you collect (analytics, email signups, comments, and so on).
- How you collect it (cookies, forms, server logs).
- What you do with it.
- Who you share it with (analytics providers, email tools, ad networks).
- How long you keep it.
- User rights (access, deletion, opt-out).
- How users can contact you about their data.
- How you handle children’s data (COPPA in the US).
What it shouldn’t be
- A generic template that isn’t tailored to your blog.
- Copy-pasted from another site (their data flows almost certainly differ from yours).
- Out of date. Review it at least once a year.
Cookie Policy
If you have EU visitors, and most blogs do, you need explicit cookie consent, not just a policy page.
Here’s what’s actually required:
- A banner appearing on the first visit.
- Options to accept all, reject non-essential, or customize.
- A cookie policy page explaining each cookie category.
- Genuine compliance: non-essential cookies shouldn’t load until the visitor consents, which is the part many sites quietly skip.
The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office has been explicit that a banner alone isn’t enough. Non-essential cookies still need to be blocked until someone actually opts in, and pre-ticked boxes or “by continuing to browse you agree” language don’t count as valid consent. Worth reading their cookie guidance directly if you want the specifics.
Plugins that handle this well: CookieYes, Complianz, Iubenda, and Cookiebot.
Affiliate / Disclosure Policy
If you use affiliate links, run sponsored posts, or review products you received for free, this section applies to you.
FTC requirements (US)
- Disclose affiliate relationships clearly and conspicuously.
- Include a per-post disclosure wherever affiliate links appear, not just once somewhere on the site.
- Place the disclosure near the affiliate links themselves, not buried on a separate page.
The FTC’s own guidance uses a four-factor test for what counts as clear and conspicuous: proximity to the claim, prominence on the page, plain-language presentation, and placement the reader can’t avoid before reaching the endorsement. It’s worth reading their Endorsement Guides FAQ directly rather than relying on secondhand summaries, since the requirements get updated periodically.
Acceptable disclosure phrases
- “This post contains affiliate links. If you click and purchase, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.”
- “Disclosure: I’m an Amazon Associate, and this post contains affiliate links.”
Don’t bury it in the footer. Put it near the top of any post that includes affiliate links.
Amazon Associates has its own exact wording requirement
If you’re in the Amazon Associates program specifically, a generic affiliate disclosure isn’t enough on its own. The Associates Operating Agreement requires you to state, word for word, “As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.” You can’t paraphrase it or swap in your own version. Pair that required statement with a plain-language disclosure near the actual links, and you’ve covered both the program’s rule and the FTC’s.
For sponsored content
Use language like “Sponsored by [brand]” or “Paid partnership with [brand].” Keep it clear and unambiguous, not softened into vague marketing-speak.
For gifted product
Say plainly: “I received this product for free in exchange for an honest review.”
Disclosure page
Beyond per-post disclosure, it helps to have a dedicated page covering:
- Which affiliate programs you participate in.
- How sponsored content works on your site.
- Your editorial independence statement.
- How readers can contact you with concerns.
Terms of Service / Terms of Use
This one is optional for pure content blogs but required if any of the following apply to you:
- You have user accounts.
- You sell products or memberships.
- You allow user-generated content (comments are a gray area; most blogs don’t need a ToS just for comments).
What it covers
- Acceptable use rules.
- User account responsibilities.
- Payment terms, if applicable.
- Refund policy, if applicable.
- Intellectual property and your content rights.
- Limitation of liability.
- Dispute resolution and governing law.
Comment Policy
Not legally required, but genuinely useful to have written down.
A good comment policy states:
- What kind of comments are welcome.
- What gets moderated or removed.
- How users can contact you about moderation decisions.
Having this written down in advance makes moderation calls easier when a comment actually needs removing. For more on that, see our guide to comment moderation strategy.
Editorial Policy
Optional, but it builds trust with readers who are paying attention.
A solid editorial policy covers:
- How you choose topics.
- Your standards for accuracy.
- How you handle corrections.
- Your relationship with sponsors and affiliates.
- Your stance on editorial independence.
This matters most in YMYL niches like health and finance, where readers and search engines alike scrutinize trustworthiness more closely.
About / Contact
These aren’t technically legal pages, but they’re expected, and skipping them costs you more than you’d think.
- Your real name, or a clearly stated pseudonym.
- A photo.
- What the blog is about.
- Your experience or credentials.
- How to reach you, whether email or a contact form.
Ad networks check About pages before approving you. So do affiliate program reviewers.
Tools for generating legal pages
Termly
- Free tier with basic policies.
- Paid tiers currently run about $10 to $15 per month billed annually, for more comprehensive coverage.
- Updates as laws change.
Iubenda
- Privacy and cookie policy generator.
- Starts around €7+ per year for the basic plan.
- Strong multi-language support.
WPLegalPages
- WordPress plugin that generates policies for you.
- Free and Pro tiers available.
Complianz
- WordPress plugin generating cookie policy, privacy policy, and consent banner together.
- Free and paid tiers.
DIY templates
Free templates exist from many sources, but use them with caution:
- Templates aren’t tailored to your specific data flows.
- Outdated templates miss newer requirements.
- Free templates often don’t get updated as laws change.
Treat them as a starting point, then modify for your actual situation.
Real lawyer
For sites selling products or services, or operating in regulated niches, it’s often worth $200 to $500 for a lawyer-reviewed set of policies.
Page placement
Standard practice looks like this:
- Footer links: Privacy, Terms (if applicable), Disclosure, Contact.
- Cookie banner shown on the first visit.
- Per-post affiliate disclosure near the top of the post.
- About and Contact accessible from the main navigation.
If you’re setting this up on a theme like Aurora, footer widget areas make this straightforward. You can drop a small policy-links menu into the footer once and never think about it again.
Updating policies
Review these once a year and check for:
- New data flows. Did you add a new analytics tool or a new email integration?
- Law changes, including GDPR amendments and new state privacy laws.
- New affiliate programs.
- New sponsored content arrangements.
Note the “last updated” date on each policy. Some laws require notifying users of material changes, so this date isn’t just decoration.
GDPR specifics
If you have any EU visitors at all, you’ll need:
- A privacy policy compliant with GDPR.
- Cookie consent before any non-essential cookies load.
- A process for honoring access and deletion requests.
- Data Processing Agreements with vendors that handle user data on your behalf.
- A documented lawful basis for data processing, whether that’s consent, legitimate interest, or contract.
CCPA / CPRA (California)
The California Consumer Privacy Act applies to many sites, even ones based outside California, depending on traffic and revenue thresholds.
- A “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link.
- Clear disclosure of what data you collect.
- User rights to access and delete their data.
This is often handled by the same plugin or policy that already covers GDPR.
Email list compliance
If you collect emails, make sure you have:
- A clear opt-in, single or double.
- A clear statement of what someone is signing up for at the point of signup.
- An unsubscribe link in every email, required under CAN-SPAM in the US and GDPR in the EU.
- A process to honor unsubscribes promptly.
Children’s privacy (COPPA)
If your audience could include anyone under 13 in the US, COPPA applies. The FTC’s COPPA compliance FAQ lays out the specifics, but the core rules are:
- Don’t collect personal data from under-13s without verifiable parental consent.
- Follow the specific COPPA compliance steps if your content actually targets kids.
Most adult-targeted blogs handle this with a simple statement that the site isn’t intended for children under 13.
Common mistakes
- Copy-pasting another site’s privacy policy wholesale.
- Never updating policies after the initial setup.
- Putting affiliate disclosure only on a hidden page instead of per-post.
- Running a cookie banner that doesn’t actually block cookies until consent is given.
- Promising “we never share your data” while using analytics tools that do.
A quieter kind of trust signal
Legal pages don’t just keep you compliant. They’re also part of the overall trust picture readers and search engines form about your site, alongside things like page speed, clean layout, and a theme that doesn’t feel thrown together. A fast, well-structured theme like Aurora handles the technical side of that trust signal, while these pages handle the legal and ethical side. Together they tell readers the site is run by someone who takes it seriously.
The unglamorous part that pays off
Legal pages are unsexy but essential. The privacy policy is mandatory, and it should be tailored to your actual data flows rather than copied from somewhere else. Add cookie consent if you get EU traffic. Per-post affiliate disclosure is required by the FTC, and if you’re in Amazon Associates specifically, you need their exact required wording too. Termly, Iubenda, and Complianz can generate compliant pages for you, and it’s worth reviewing them annually. Link to all of them from your footer. About and Contact pages aren’t legal documents, but ad networks and affiliate programs check them anyway. The setup takes a couple of hours, and the protection it buys you lasts for years. If you’d rather cover the disclosure side more thoroughly, our guide to cookie consent and GDPR basics for bloggers goes deeper on the consent mechanics, and our affiliate marketing guide covers the business side of the disclosures you’ll be writing.
