There are a few standard “statements” that belong as pages on every website. As of 2008, they are Privacy Statements and Site maps. Before I propose a third, let me explain the first two in detail and why you should include them.
Privacy Statements
Privacy statements, also know as privacy policies or privacy notices, are extremely important documents. If you engage in commerical activity through your site, it may even be legally required. (check with the company that processes your electronic payments for their requirements.) A privacy statement tells visitors what information you are collecting about their visit. Anything that concerns the privacy of their visit should be included. NIST’s, Roche’s, and American Apparel’s are good examples. Each of these examples represent different markets; Government, large corporate, and retail. Regardless of the market or sector a privacy policy should, minimally, contain the following information:
- What information, if any, your website collects
- How long you plan to keep the information
- How the information will be used
- Who to contact if the visitor has any questions
Be careful, as you may not even be aware that your website is collecting information! If you have plugins, ad code, or third-party apps, they may be collecting information which, being displayed on your site, makes you responsible for their activities. Contact these third-parties for more information in their activities. For more information see the official organization that maintains guidelines for privacy policies.
Site Maps
There are two types of site maps. One is an XML Sitemap used specifically for search engines. We won’t go into those today. Instead we’ll focus on the second type of site map: a textual one. A textual site map is like an index of pages in your website that visitors can reference. Site maps usually lists pages in a bulleted, hierarchical format. You can create this page yourself by list your pages and creating links to each of the appropriate pages. There are also software tools and sites that will help automate this task.
For more information about automatically generating an HTML version of a site index, visit the XML-Sitemap site.
Sustainability Statement
Finally, I want to argue for a third type of statement that should be adopted on websites. We should consider writing Sustainability Statements that detail our business relationship to sustainability practices. As more and more consumers are becoming concerned and aware of our relationship to natural resources, they are using their purchasing power to favor businesses that reflecting their values. Sustainability statements are becoming more popular and are frequently found on the websites of larger businesses. From Whole foods to Ikea to the Gap, corporations are catching on. Small businesses, however, have been slow to consider environmental policies.
There is no law requiring businesses to maintain sustainable practices nor are there any standards in writing a sustainability statement. However, this shouldn’t mean that small businesses should pass on this opportunity. Taking time to work sustainable practices into your business is a win-win scenario. First, a sustainability statement will help strengthen your relationship with your customers. Second considering your sustainable pratices will help strengthen the most important relationship of all — to the eco systems that support us. Consider writing a short but honest Sustainability Statement for your website today!
