When I design a website, I make sure it follows best practice at the time it goes live. But website law does not stand still. Rules around cookies, privacy and data protection change regularly. That means a site that was fine a year or two ago may no longer meet current legal requirements. This is not a design issue. It is part of ongoing website maintenance.
What usually goes out of date
Most problems are not obvious. Your site will still look and work as expected, but parts of it may no longer be compliant.
The most common areas I see are:
- Cookie consent banners that no longer meet current standards
- Privacy policies missing required details
- Unclear or outdated cookie information
- Contact or business details that need to be displayed more clearly
- Terms and conditions that no longer reflect how the site works
These issues are easy to miss, especially if you are focused on running your business.
Why this matters
Legal pages are not just box ticking.
They help you:
- Be clear about how you use visitor data
- Build trust with people using your site
- Reduce the risk of complaints or enforcement action
- Show that your business takes privacy seriously
For many small businesses, the biggest risk is not doing something wrong on purpose, but simply not realising the rules have changed.
This is part of website maintenance
Just like software updates and backups, legal checks are part of keeping a website healthy.
Even well built sites need:
- Regular reviews
- Small adjustments as rules change
- Updates to reflect how the business has evolved
That is why I now treat legal checks as a standard maintenance task rather than a one off job.
How I can help
As part of my maintenance work, I offer a simple legal check for existing and past clients.
I will:
- Review your current cookie setup
- Check your privacy and legal pages
- Update anything that needs bringing in line with current requirements
- Confirm what was changed once the work is done
I keep this practical and jargon free. You do not need to research the rules or work out what applies to your site.
Next steps
If you are not sure when your site’s legal pages were last reviewed, it is probably time to check.
If you would like me to look over your site as part of ongoing maintenance, get in touch and I can explain the next steps.
