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This allows users to take ownership of their data and provides a means to have it removed from your site if they so wish. It’s also worthwhile to look for plugins that are compatible with the WordPress personal data export and erase tools, launched in version 4.9.6. Look for a plugin that either doesn’t collect data or allows you to turn it off. If not, the beauty of the WordPress community is that there are usually plenty of alternative options. Reputable plugins should have these functions turned off by default and allow you to opt-in. Again, you’ll want to review exactly what they are looking to harvest from your site. It may be that they’re only interested in anonymous data that shows what other plugins you’re using, your hosting environment, and so on. When it comes to plugins, more and more, we are seeing them ask to collect data. It may not make sense for everybody, but it can be a great option if you want to exercise further control. There are plenty of great barebones starter themes and frameworks that help get projects up-and-running relatively quickly. One of the best ways to ensure that a theme won’t collect user data is to build your own. However, it’s best to check any data collection policies they have before making a commitment. Usually, you can turn such functionality off via a setting. There are some themes that do send data back to its developers, although it may not be user-specific.
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This covers everything from the theme we use, the plugins we install, along with the outside APIs and code libraries we integrate. The one area where we have a significant amount of say is in what types of functionality we add to our website. Together with clients, there are some decisions we can make that do keep the well-being of users in mind. That doesn’t mean, however, that we are completely powerless. This is life as we know it and may be impossible to avoid. Regardless, in almost all circumstances, some user data will be collected – either directly by your own site (form submissions, cookies, etc.) or through the outside services you connect with. And it’s also important to understand that if a site is expected to comply with some legal standard, lawyers, or some other party who can verify adherence should be involved. Therefore, we have to keep our expectations based on reality. But that’s not going to meet the needs of most websites – especially if you’re building them for clients. That means disabling cookies, not utilizing any third-party plugin or theme, and forget about showing ads. Perhaps the obvious answer is to disable anything and everything related to tracking users. That begs the question: How do we build WordPress websites with privacy in mind?Įxplore All Themes & Plugins First, Have Realistic Expectations Rather, it’s a combination of being the web’s most-used platform and its ability to tie in with an untold number of services via plugins and themes. That’s not because the CMS doesn’t take privacy seriously – it does. Nowhere is this more of a challenge than when it comes to building sites with WordPress. Each provider is another link in a privacy chain that may or may not be collecting/using data in an undesirable way. What makes things even more difficult is how much we rely on third-party providers that enable all manner of different functionality. Unfortunately, web designers seem to be caught in the middle. However, worldwide there still seems to be quite a lot of confusion, resulting in inaction. In some cases, they’ve led to government-based regulations such as the EU’s GDPR. With the rise of services that use and sell user data, serious discussions have been taking place regarding best practices and the rights of users.
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In recent years, privacy has become one of the most important topics in our society.
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