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Blogging is not just about writing down your thoughts, and including keywords in order to attract a specific type of audience. You need to let people know that you are credible and legal. A legal statement is an important blogging aspect you should never forget about. Do you know how to write a blog disclaimer? If you need some fabulous tips, please continue reading this article.
Legal statements exist to protect you as a blogger, and let people know what your policies are. This way, your readers know instantly that you are trustworthy and reputable. A disclaimer statement is an important detail you should never forget to include.
What is a disclaimer?
A disclaimer is a legal statement that tends to limit your liability as a blogger. It is advice given to others, telling them that you can’t be held liable for your blog details. This can be a short sentence included at the sidebar or footer, a much longer statement on a separate page, or a paragraph in the blog’s terms and conditions.
However, you should remember that a blog disclaimer or any of your blog’s legal statements doesn’t guarantee that an individual won’t come after you legally due to his or her reliance on a blog post. Though, it never hurts to include disclaimers whenever you can.
Are you running your own online business? Then, protecting yourself through a disclaimer becomes even more important. Minimize the risks of legal action as much as possible.
Why do you need a website or blog disclaimer?
It’s necessary to put a blog disclaimer on a blog post in order to communicate to your readers that while you are providing excellent information, they can’t rely totally on it. There are tons of free website disclaimer examples online that can help beginners.
You can look at it this way.
Do you love reading finance blogs? Let’s say that there’s a finance blog that you love reading regularly. Let’s say, it’s writer talked about her recent investment in a new blog post. She earned 10% in return, so she’s very excited to share her techniques to her readers.
In her blog post, she outlines every detail in order to get good ROI. The way she wrote it, she seems like a seasoned professional. Beginners would definitely think that her strategies are good–you yourself would love to follow her plan. But, are you sure that you will get the same exact results?
Well, first, you need to consider that there is a chance that this blogger is not really an expert.
Maybe, she wasn’t even expecting that many people to read her posts on financial advice. Also, even if she is indeed a financial expert, it’s still wrong to give out financial advice to readers whose situations she doesn’t completely understand.
What if you decided to follow her, and you ended up getting bad results? You would lose all of your investment because of advice that you thought came from an experienced professional. You can even sue her because your results weren’t as great as hers.
Now, if she has an informative, clear blog disclaimer in place, it would be clear to her readers how the information in her blog post should be used. It shouldn’t be considered as financial advice from an expert.
Including a disclaimer to posts sounds easy, right? All you need is a reliable English disclaimer generator and lots of content disclaimer examples! And of course a blog lol – I highly recommend using wordpress.org
Do you REALLY need to make a disclaimer?
Any blogger or website owner who gives any kind of advice should have disclaimers on their platforms. However, here are the following niches that MUST have one–very important, because of their content!
- Food blogs
- Medical blogs
- Financial blogs
- Health-related blogs
Keep in mind that other niches use disclaimers, too. But, these are the ones that need them the most. And often today, almost every blog needs a legal disclaimer because of things like GDPR. It is a big deal, I would suggest reading about “how GDPR affects bloggers.“
So if you are asking…..
Do you need a disclaimer on a blog?
Yes, every blog needs a disclaimer. No matter what. It protects you from lawsuits.
You don’t want to be legally held responsible for anything that you might write or put on your blog.
How to write your blog disclaimer? And what makes a typical disclaimer.
In general, you need to communicate to your readers that they shouldn’t rely on your blog details to accomplish their goals. If they do, then you can’t be held liable. As for the things that you should include in your disclaimer, well that is up to you – but I am going to share with you a few below.
Feel free to also scan around disclaimer websites and liability disclaimer examples. The more you know the better off you will be.
Just don’t make any promises or guarantees regarding the information’s accuracy, completeness, and reliability. Remind your readers that the details found on your blog are not a substitute for any professional advice.
If you are currently looking for a legal disclaimer, disclaimer of liability sample, or copyright disclaimer sample then you are in the right place! Before looking into more legal disclaimer templates, legal disclaimer generators, and disclaimer statement examples, read on. Lots of things to learn before you start working on a basic disclaimer template!
How do I write a disclaimer for my blog?
Below are some of the basics that you must know about before writing your blog disclaimer:
1. Your Level of Expertise
What’s a disclaimer? It’s proof about your expertise level. Share with your readers that you are an expert on the subject that you are writing about. However, indicate that even though you’re already an expert, your content is for information purposes only. They shouldn’t see it as an official or professional advice on that matter.
2. Views and Opinions on your disclaimer
Remind them that your blog contains your very own opinions, and these don’t reflect the views and the opinions of any company or organization you are affiliated with. You need to make it clear that your content is not an official statement of an agency you maybe or are working with. You’ll see this a lot on many general disclaimer examples! Any views or opinions expressed in your blog should be properly addressed in your disclaimer.
3. Reservation of your Rights
In this part, indicate that you, as the owner of the blog, reserve the right to change how it is maintained. It’s up to you if you want to change the overall content and focus.
3. Nature of the Website
A blog is different from a website. In order to improve your online presence, you need to let your target readers know the true nature of your platform. This may seem obvious, but it’s still important to point out.
4. Terms of Use
Don’t forget to incorporate in your blog disclaimer that your content is accurate, yet there may be some mistakes, errors and omissions.
5. Hold Harmless Clause
This specific clause is where you tell your readers that the details on your website are only for informational or/and entertainment purposes. Emphasize the fact that it shouldn’t be seen as legitimate, official advice from an expert professional.
If they want to rely on any information on your blog, they can do so at their own risk. This is one of the most common disclaimers written by bloggers. Rest assured you’ll easily find disclaimer statement examples!
6. Not a Professional
This would depend on your level of expertise. If you are not a professional, this becomes even more crucial. Whatever subject you are writing about, it’s essential to point out that you are not at all an expert. Thus, all of the information included on the post shouldn’t be regarded as a professional advice. Indicate clearly that you are not an attorney, tax expert, health expert, engineer or any type of professional.
What is the difference between website disclaimers, and terms and conditions?
Website disclaimers and terms and conditions are not really the same. Before taking your blogging game to the next level, it’s crucial to understand the main difference between the two.
Instead of attempting to lessen liabilities through website and blog disclaimers, a person who is using a website’s terms and conditions is presenting a specific set of rules with regards to using that website.
Here are some of the items that can be included on a terms and conditions page.
- Establishing and structuring the legal relationship between the website’s owners and users
- Imposing limitations on the website’s use
- Granting permission to use specific materials found on the website
- Communicating the rules regarding who can legally use the website
It’s true that some overlaps may exist between the two, but thinking that they are exactly the same is wrong. A disclaimer can be included in a terms and conditions page, but these are considered as different issues that must be handled separately.
Get access to “Tips: Writing a Legal Disclaimer for Your Business’ Facebook Fan Page” by joining our Free Resource Library, just click below!
What should be included in your terms and conditions?
- Intellectual Property rights. Safeguard your content. It must not be misused, copied or stolen. You also have the right to terminate anyone’s use of your website, and your right to amend your legal pages.
- Lawful website use. In this part, explain what is considered lawful content and use of your website (such as no spamming, profane or abusive content being uploaded to your site).
- Exchange or refund policies. If you sell any products or services, you want to make sure your buyers accept your terms and conditions and know what your refund or exchange policies are.
I can’t emphasize enough how much having comprehensive Terms and Conditions on your blog can protect you from legal liability and help resolve many disputes in the future.
Disclaimer vs Disclosure
Shall you write a disclaimer or disclosure? Some people confuse a “website disclaimer” or “blog disclaimer” with a “blog disclosure.” Are you one of them?! Typically, all affiliate disclosures are included as part of the disclaimer. However, a disclosure is where you reveal all the necessary details to your visitors regarding a service or product, so they can make well-informed decisions. If you need a blog disclosure policy template, feel free to look around reliable platforms with well-written personal disclaimer examples. There’s also lots of disclaimer policy generators and affiliate disclaimer generators around that you can use.
What are the things you must include in your website and blog disclaimer?
Websites come in different sizes and shapes. This is the reason why it’s impossible to state exactly what must be included in a blog disclaimer. Your disclaimer will highly depend on the kind of website you own.
So, how can you come up with a disclaimer that perfectly fits your business needs? If you want to know how to write a legal disclaimer, liability disclaimer or any kind of website disclaimer, there are quite a lot of things you should know first. Here are the details that you should include, as long as it matches the purpose and content of your brand.
Disclaim physical liability
Are you selling some physical products on your website? Then, include a disclaimer for any kind of physical harm caused by your products. Selling defective products is one thing you should never do, and it’s still possible to face legal actions even with a disclaimer in place. Though, putting an inclusion can still help you in the long run. Almost every retail professional use a blog disclaimer generator to write this kind of disclaimer.
Disclaim third-party responsibility
Many people are running ads on their blogs or websites. If you are one of them, then most likely your ads are being served by a third-party platform whom you have no control. Through a blog disclaimer, you can avoid legal responsibilities for the damage caused by those advertisements, or any other third-party content on your pages. Your disclaimer must state that you are not responsible for the failures or actions created by third parties.
Claim ownership over your content
We all want to have ownership over our website or blog content. Whether you have personally written the posts, or paid to have them produced for you, claim ownership over the copyright of that content in your disclaimer. But of course, this wouldn’t guarantee that no person could ever copy your work. It’s a good start, though. It’s always better to have a copyright statement for your blog.
Disclaim liability for the accuracy of your information
What if you make some unintentional errors in your content? This is where another importance of a disclaimer comes in. In fact, one of its primary purposes! Remember that even it it was an unintentional mistake, you can be left open to legal action. In order to prevent this, state in your disclaimer that the accuracy of the information in your post is not guaranteed.
So what is a disclaimer? It’s an important part of your website! Draft your’s thoroughly!
If needed, look for a disclaimer website where you can find a good disclaimer notice sample. Contemplate on the needs of your business, your content, and possible legal challenges that may come your way. Do you think you will need a website legal disclaimer, article disclaimer or liability disclaimer? I bet you do now after reading through all of this! As long as you address the issues properly, you will have a good chance of steering clear of legal troubles because nobody wants that!
Do you need a website disclaimer generator?
Sometimes newbie bloggers and website owners struggle to come up with good disclaimers for their posts. Some of them even try to copy from other websites. That honestly isn’t really helpful, though. You should not attempt to copy a disclaimer from another site because that platform contains content that is different from your own.
Just look at a disclaimer website and disclaimer examples as references. By reading a well-written disclaimer statement sample, you should be able to write your own. Or you could hire someone to write one for you by going to Fiverr.com
How to Create a Disclaimer: A Step-by-Step Blog Disclaimer Guide
1. Regarding Sponsors and Advertisers
Explain to your readers that you’re not responsible for the actions of your sponsors and advertisers. For instance, if a person bought a product based on that link from your blog, they should take action with that same exact company to resolve any issues, not with you.
2. Sharing Letters to Readers
Let them know what happens to the emails, tweets, messages and letters they send you. Do you have certain policies? Can you keep everything confidential? Are you willing to share parts of those letters with other subscribers? Will you claim ownership over those letters, and later include them in an upcoming blog post or book? On the other hand, let them know if you’re allowing the writer to keep ownership. Put this in your blog disclaimer.
3. Copyright Policies
The disclaimer should reflect that you are the legal copyright holder of all the materials on your blog. This means that others can’t use it to publish or reprint it without your written consent. This only means that you need to ensure that all your images and text content are your own.
If you use any kind of content from others, you have to quote or credit them correctly. This is crucial in writing a blog disclaimer. It becomes even more important when you are using photos. To be safe: Always ask for permission, or use royalty free stock images. Check out Haute Stock or Getty Images.
4. Only for Entertainment Purposes
Explain to your readers that all the details provided on your blog are only for entertainment purposes. Through your website disclaimer, make it clear that you are not providing medical or legal advice, or any other professional advice from different professions. They should understand that they are reading and/or using any of the information from your blog at their own risk.
6. Reserve Rights
Through your website disclaimer, write down that you reserve the right to change the focus on your blog. Whether you want to shut it down, sell it, or change the terms of use (go to a paid platform), it’s all up to you. This happens mostly if you are working with brands. Make sure you have completed everything in your contract to them. But after that, you have reserve rights.
5. Privacy Statement / Privacy Policy
Tell your readers that you are not planning to sell any of their personal or contact information to another company. It should be clear that you are not putting their information on spam lists. You can see an example of this is on any disclaimer website.
Keep in mind, though, that you are always responsible for anything that gets posted on your website. Therefore, if something considered defamation, slander or libel, you can be sued even if it wasn’t you posting it. In order to learn more about this, make sure to research a blog disclaimer sample, and sample privacy policy for a blog.
How to write a privacy policy for a blog? What are the details that you should include?
- Children’s Privacy. Make it clear that you are not, in any way, collecting information from any person under 13 years of age. Even if you do accidentally, then you need to specify how you will delete that information.
- Personal Information. Elaborate on personal information collected–how it is collected and for what purpose. For instance, if you want your readers to sign up for freebies through an email opt-in, they have the right to know how their personal details will be used. Also, under what circumstances you will disclose it to third parties.
- Cookie Policy. This is one of the first things you have probably read about after searching “what is a disclaimer” or “how to write a disclaimer for a blog” on Google. We all know that websites use cookies to collect details such as geographic location, IP address, and time and date of visitors. You should know that the law requires you, as the website owner, to inform visitors about this in your Privacy Policy. Some bloggers separate this under Cookie policy, in addition to a Privacy Policy. However, most of the time, this it is regarded as part of your Privacy Policy.
- Email Marketing. Any blog disclaimer should contain a statement telling visitors that they have the right to unsubscribe, or opt out of your email list.
- Third-party Privacy Policies. Many standard disclaimer examples contain statements on third-party privacy policies. Sometimes, it confuses blog owners. Since almost every website is posting third-party links to advertise or offer third-party products or services, you should dismiss liability for these third-party websites.
Still now sure how to word a disclaimer? Then, you still need to read more simple disclaimer examples!
It’s true that writing one can be a challenging job, especially for someone who has never written one! That’s okay. Just browse around different guides online, and disclaimer information examples.
Last-minute details to remember before writing your website and blog disclaimer!
First, you can always google “What is a disclaimer, and how to write one effectively? or How to write a disclosure” I would start exploring by looking at a basic disclaimer sample for a website. Keep in mind that writing it may not be that exciting, but it can help you with your blogging career. And remember what I have already stated, without a disclaimer, you maybe exposed to various legal issues that may arise from individuals reading your content.
A liability disclaimer, legal disclaimer, or any type of disclaimer keeps you safe, and makes your website appear more professional. The trick is to write one that covers each area that applies to your blog. You can also attract new audiences by doing this!
In the last part of this article, you will see links to well-written disclaimer examples. I’m sure a disclaimer website, and a legal disclaimer example can help you have a smooth start to writing your own! However, before you begin, here some last-minute reminders you need to know.
Convey your own personal opinions.
A blog disclaimer is crucial in this aspect. Communicate well to your readers that you are managing and updating a personal blog. This means that all the posts and articles contain your own personal opinions.
Want to see a disclaimer sample text?
“I, the writer of the content that can be found in this blog, can assure you, the reader, that any of the opinions expressed in this post are of my own. These are the results of the way in which my somewhat dysfunctional, disorganized mind interprets a specific concept or situation.”
Tell your readers that you don’t have bad intentions.
Explain in your blog and website disclaimer that your post contains your own opinions. These opinions are not meant to humiliate, purge, defame or/and injure anyone should they decide to reuse or act upon any details provided by you.
Want to see a disclaimer sample text?
“I, the writer, would like to communicate to you, my reader, that were I to accidentally defame, humiliate, purge, or/and hurt any person’s feelings as a result of them reading or/and acting upon all or any of the details, or/and advice found here at my website, it is completely unintentional of me to do so.”
Your blog is not to be held responsible for the comments of other users.
You need to mention the fact that any comments left by another author or any independent reader are the sole responsibility of that individual.
Want to see a disclaimer sample text?
“Any comments that can be found at this website are the opinions or/and the property of their individual authors. Thus, I, the author/owner of this website can not be held responsible for the fact that the minds of the authors may just well be as dysfunctional as my own. Also, it is not a practice of my own to edit the comments left here by other people.”
Initiate transparency.
Include one or two paragraphs requesting people to communicate with you directly through email should they wish for you to remove any kind of content that they consider as unnecessary, harmful or sensitive.
Want to see a disclaimer sample text?
“Should you, as the reader, identify any such content that is malicious, unnecessary, sensitive or/and harmful, I request that you reach out to me via email, so I can rectify the issue. Failing that you may like to just weep and sit incessantly ;-)!”
Get access to “Tips: Writing a Legal Disclaimer for Your Business’ Facebook Fan Page” by joining our Free Resource Library, just click below!
Consult with your attorney regarding the need for a legal statement.
This is one of the last things you may like to include in your disclaimer is a legal statement referring to any applicable laws and/or regulations pertaining to your country of residence. Feel free to discuss this with your lawyer. Even if you look through different disclaimer statement examples, it wouldn’t be right to do this on your own! This is something you really need to speak to your attorney about.
It’s so convenient to create a disclaimer, most especially if you are using a disclaimer text example and free disclaimer generator. But, when should you consult a lawyer?
If you think you need to look at different disclaimer examples, and draft your own, go ahead. Then, consult your attorney. Let him or her check the legal language. Should you omit something, or include a few more details? Not all bloggers and website owners know how to make a disclaimer, so it’s normal to do this kind of consultation.
However, if you are very concerned about this matter, simply searching “what is a disclaimer,” and consulting a legal professional won’t satisfy you. Just let your lawyer review your website, and draft a privacy policy, and blog legal disclaimer for you.
While small websites don’t really encounter legal issues, it’s still important to include a disclaimer to inform visitors about your responsibilities as a website owner or blogger.
However, if your website sells potentially dangerous activities like bungee jumping, water rafting or other adventure vacations, a disclaimer from a disclaimer generator is not sufficient. Don’t search for a legal opinion disclaimer sample, or generic disclaimer template. In this case, you really need the guidance of a lawyer for a liability disclaimer. All your potential clients need to sign this contract before finalizing their purchases.
Reminder: There are some cases where, a personal disclaimer, a legal disclaimer or any type of website disclaimer need to be placed on some web pages because of its content like paid promotions or recommendations.
Is a disclaimer a warning?
A disclaimer is a warning of some sort if you want to look at it that way. A very common form is a disclaimer is like a warning sign or label. Essentially, it is a statement that is used to limit your obligations or rights.
Write your website disclaimer verbiage now!
Every successful blogger should know how to write a disclaimer for its website. It’s an important piece of detail but, can it really protect you against possible legal actions? The truth is, there is nothing you can do to prevent any possible legal action. Nevertheless, it’s an effective approach to protect yourself from various liability claims. Don’t worry, as long as yours is relevant and well written, then it can help the legal side of your brand and business.
Do you still need a no-affiliation disclaimer template, no-liability disclaimer template and to review more legal disclaimer samples? Read on!
Writing a Blog Disclaimer: Using Free Disclaimer Examples and Blog Disclaimer Templates
If you are here you are probably STILL wondering how can you effectively come up with a standard website disclaimer?
Then where to put the disclaimer on your website? And…what is the most popular option for newbies?
If you are still a bit confused about how and where to start, all you need are some examples of a basic disclaimer template!
You could also google “disclaimer page generator, general disclaimer sample for a website and other different disclaimer examples”.
Whether you are looking for a content disclaimer, legal disclaimer, author disclaimer, editorial disclaimer, product review disclaimer or a copyright disclaimer sample, you will love the resources I am going to provide you in the next section!
You can even read funny legal disclaimers on these platforms. These links redirect to good advice on disclaimer examples, as well as an online disclaimer generator that you can use for your posts.
Time to go over these website disclaimer examples.
Do you want to create a customized professional disclaimer for your blog? Try this for free. You can also look into these tools. You can always look at more examples.
Make sure that your blog disclaimer looks professional. Here are 30 disclaimer examples you can look at. And if you want even more Entrepreneur tips then stay and read more on my blog!
Really, it doesn’t matter if you are searching for information on a travel blog disclaimer template, food blog disclaimer, copyright disclaimer for blog, psychology blog disclaimer, stock blog disclaimer, beauty blog disclaimer, health blog disclaimer and views expressed disclaimer – you can use the information on my blog.
HAVE YOU EVER TRIED WRITING YOUR OWN BLOG DISCLAIMER? ANY TIPS YOU WANT TO SHARE? I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Thanks for this very detailed post. I waited to launch my post so I could add my disclosure & disclaimer. I have not included any information on affiliates since I am not ready for that step yet.
Hye, I have see your blogs its all are very much interested. Really appreciate you .
I wanted to add my blog so now I add my disclaimer page.