Creating a privacy policy for your WordPress website

All the privacy policy documents (and other templates) on Docular have been updated for the GDPR, and this tool is particularly useful for creating privacy policies for websites operated by business in the UK and EU.

Step 1: Create a Docular account

First you should create a Docular account, here:

Step 2: Choose your privacy policy template

The Docular library includes a range of different website privacy policy templates. In general, we recommend using the generic privacy policy template for simpler websites and the generic privacy and cookies policy template for more sophisticated websites.

The privacy policy comes in both free and paid versions. The key difference between the documents is that the free version includes a credit for Docular which should not be removed from the document.

For the full range of policies, see:

Step 3: Adding and starting to edit your policy

Once you have chosen your template, click “ADD TO MY DOCUMENTS” or “ADD TO CART” on the template description page. After competing any necessary checkout process, you can now create your own particular instance of the template for editing, here:

Step 5: Editing your privacy policy

By applying controls to the editing process and automating some functions, Docular’s online editor makes it relatively easy to create professional-looking legal documents. However, because of the complexities introduced by the GDPR, you do need to be careful when editing your privacy policy.

Issues which you should take care to get right include:

• ensuring that the privacy policy relates only to data with respect to which you are a data controller (as opposed to a data processor);
• specifying the proper bases for processing each category of personal data;
• where you select legitimate interests as the proper basis for processing, identifying what those legitimate interests are;
• identifying all those the categories of person to whom data may be disclosed;
• where you are passing personal data to others acting as data controllers with respect to that data, or where processing is based upon consent, you should (according to the regulatory guidance) specifically identify persons to whom the data may be disclosed;
• specifying appropriate retention periods for each category of personal data, taking into account legal and management reasons for retaining data on the one hand, and the principle of limiting retention of personal data upon the other.

Ensure that you save your privacy policy before exiting the editor.

Step 6: Install and activate plugin

Next you should install the Docular plugin into your WordPress site. You can get the Docular plugin from:

Now activate the plugin via the plugins settings page in your site. Once activated, you should see the Docular bird icon in the left-hand admin menu in your WordPress site. Click on the icon. On the Docular page, you should see a line specifying your domain. Take a note of that domain.

Step 7: Creating your API keys

You need to create a pair of keys to pull your policy into your WordPress website. Now return to Docular, and navigate – whilst logged-in – to:

Insert the domain you took a note of and click “ADD DOMAIN”. Docular will generate an API Domain Key for you. Take a note of this. Next, navigate to your document instance (under “MY DOCUMENTS”) and click “API DOCUMENT KEYS”. Select the relevant API Domain Key and click “ADD”. Docular will now generate an API Document Key for you. Take a note of this

Step 8: Insert keys into WordPress site

On the Docular plug-in page on your WordPress site, you should add your Domain API Key. Once this is added, you will see a list of the documents with respect to which Document API Keys have been generated for your domain.

Step 9: Publishing your policy

On the Docular plug-in page on your site, click “GET SHORTCODE”. Copy and paste the shortcode into any page on your WordPress website. Your policy will now appear on that page.

Step 10: Updating your policy

If you make any changes to the document using the Docular editor, the document will cease to be marked as “FRESH” on your website. Click “REFRESH” to pull in the latest changes.

If you have any questions about this process, please do ask in the comments below.