GDPR Checklist for Any Website

21 June 2024

647 7 mins read

Here is a GDPR compliance checklist for you to acquaint yourself with the procedures you must do to make your website GDPR compliant.

GDPR Checklist for Any Website The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a new piece of legislation that takes effect on May 25, 2018.This regulation mandates that, in order to collect, save, or process personal data from EU users, you must explicitly inform them of how you intend to use their data and provide them the option to opt in or out on your website. We have created a GDPR compliance checklist for you to acquaint yourself with the precise procedures you must do to make your business and website GDPR compliant because the new rule may initially seem complicated.

Table of Contents

What Is GDPR?

The GDPR is the most stringent privacy and security law in the world. Following a GDPR compliance checklist can help ensure that your business avoids penalties, which may cost your organisation tens of millions of euros. Technically, it only has an impact on residents and citizens of the European Union. However, if an American company, for example, conducts business with EU citizens, it has two options: either develop a unique website for the EU market or, as the majority of businesses do, or simply apply the revisions throughout the original website. As a result, the GDPR regulations have an impact on the data protection of citizens in other countries.

Simple GDPR Compliance Checklist For Your Website

Here are some steps you may do to keep your website GDPR compliant.

Know The Data You Hold

In order to prepare for GDPR, you must be aware of the personal information you now possess, where it is stored, and who has access to it. The questions you should ask your team and yourself to assess your preparations for GDPR compliance as listed in the checklist that follows.

What personal information do you have?
Does the data contain sensitive personal information? If so, how do you ensure its security?
Does your website gather personal information from children under the age of 16?
Why is this information required by your website?
How have you obtained consent to process this personal data?
Where is this personal information kept?
Who has access to these data overall?
Are these personal details held by any other parties? If so, how do you regulate on the data that is processed by them?
If so, what measures are in place to prevent access by other parties or use of your personal information for reasons other than those specified in the agreement with that third party?
How long must this personal information be stored? Can any of this data be removed or made anonymous?

Secure Your Website

Your website’s security is a crucial issue that you cannot overlook. You must make sure your website is secure as the owner of the domain. This implies that both the website itself and the data stored there need to be protected from outside intrusions. Hackers and other individuals with harmful intent frequently attack websites.

You can take the following steps to secure your website and safeguard user information:

Install an SSL certificate to encrypt any information exchanged between the site and the server (HTTPS website URL).
Passwords for admin accounts should be strong.
In the event that you permit users to share payment information, add additional levels of security to your server.
Use a CDN provider that can enhance security, such as by shielding websites from DDoS attacks.
To prevent unwanted access to the site, use anti-virus software or services.
Don’t gather, use, or keep personal information longer than is required for your website.
Avoid sending or sharing sensitive personal information with third-party services.
To prevent users from being identified, anonymize personal data before storing it.
Once your website no longer requires them, remove personal information.
Make numerous copies of the data.

Update Privacy Policy

A privacy statement need to be an essential component of your website’s overall content. Additionally, you must make sure that it is simple to access via a link on each page of your website (including those where no personal data collection takes place).A privacy policy’s main objective is to inform site visitors about how their personal data is gathered, used, stored, and released. It should also outline the user’s rights and your duties toward them. Some of these rights include the ability to request the erasure of their data and the right to access their personal information. The policy must be expressed in plain, comprehensible terms. This is unacceptable if a user needs to look for it or click multiple times before they can find it.

Get Consent For Emails

You must check for GDPR compliance if you have a mailing list of EU residents. You need the users’ consent to send emails if you use email marketing services to distribute newsletters or for any other form of contact. It is advised to use double opt-in, which requires visitors to confirm their email addresses after providing them to a website. Email opt-out options should be available to users at all times. The user must be able to click on an unsubscribe link in your emails for it to work, and it must direct them to a page where they may unsubscribe without any hassle.

Add A Cookie Banner

If your website uses optional cookies then you should use a cookie banner to request users’ authorization to store GDPR cookies on their devices. Visitors are made aware of how the website uses cookies and what data they store through the banner. They are also made aware of their right to object to the storing of cookies.

The following are the main factors to take into account while including a cookie banner:

By eliminating legal jargon and lengthy lines, the banner’s language should be simple and direct.
Specify the type of cookies you’re using and why.
Why is it necessary to set cookies?
Describe the user’s options for controlling cookies.
Include a cookie opt-in option so users can choose to receive them.
Users who want to prevent your website from placing any cookies at all should see an opt-out option.
Include a third option to enable consent only for certain cookie categories.
Add a description of your privacy statement and a link to this page.
The banner should not be considered closed or ignored as authorization.
Never load cookies without the users’ prior consent (opt-in).
Opt-out signifies that the cookies should continue to be banned on subsequent visits.
If the user wants to withdraw or modify their consent, they should be able to recall the banner.

Check Forms On Your Website

If your website has any forms that request, contact, or collect personal information, you must make sure that you:

Include a privacy statement that specifies why you are requesting their information, what you plan to do with it, and that they have the right to revoke their consent at any time.
To obtain user consent to gather data, include an opt-in option, such as a checkbox that is not checked or a toggle switch that is turned off.
So that people can decide whether to receive correspondence from you or related services, include a tick (or a comparable choice).
Ideally, include a link to the Privacy Policy for further details.

Review Data Processors Or Third-Party Services

Finding out whether services or companies your business directly uses are GDPR-compliant should be your first step. Any service or business that you use directly from a third party must disclose its privacy policy to you (or indirectly).You should make sure they adhere to your privacy policy if they are working for your business. This implies that they too must adhere to the GDPR.

Review International Data Transfer

If the operation of your company website depends on the transmission of personal data from the EU to non-EU nations, you should make the following provisions:

Before uploading the data, have the appropriate risk assessments been conducted?
Is there a sufficient level of data protection in place in the recipient country or service?
Do you have all required contracts with the beneficiary business/services?

Provide Data Rights Provision

Users of your website have the right to seek updates to or deletion of any personal information you may have on them. They ought to have easy access to the appropriate options for claiming these rights. The GDPR does not specify how to disclose this information. One option is to provide a button or link in the footer of each page on your website, or you can direct them to a page with more in-depth instructions on how to manage their data. Some websites also choose to let users make their requests via email. You should outline how you adhere to this rule in your privacy policy.

Analyze And Mitigate Data Breach

Here are some things you should do to get ready in case there is a data breach.

As you process information, keep a record of your actions.
Until you address the issue, block all access to your website.
Investigate everything in detail, including where, when, and how it happened, the type of data involved, the people affected, and the impact.
Within 72 hours, report the breach to the proper supervisory authority with all the information you have. The categories and an approximate count of the users who are affected, the classifications and an approximate count of the personal data records affected, and any actions taken or planned by the company in response to the breach, including actions to minimise any potential negative effects.
If there is a greater risk to users’ rights and freedoms as a result of the breach, alert the affected users and let them know what they may do to secure their data.
To stop upcoming website security breaches, update your policies and procedures.
Create a plan of action in case there is another data breach or one that is anticipated in the future.

Conclusion

You can hopefully get your website GDPR-compliant by using our 10-step GDPR checklist. Regarding GDPR compliance, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy or solution. Each website (or business) works in a different way and must adhere to GDPR in a certain way. This means that maintaining compliance requires careful planning, analysis, and the development of procedures that are unique to your business requirements. Vakilsearch is your best bet if you’d like to keep up with GDPR best practices, industry insights, and significant developments in regulatory compliance.

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