I attempted to play an attorney on TV once, but they told me I had more of a face for working from home. Since that career path didn’t pan out, I’ll stick to what I actually know: keeping your WordPress site secure, compliant, and healthy in 2025. Read on for the need-to-know updates about website compliance and protection so you can kick the year off right — and keep it that way.

*Quick disclaimer: Again, we’re not attorneys. The following is based on our experience working with WordPress sites, but please consult legal professionals for official guidance.*

The Digital Landscape Has Changed (And Your To-Do List Just Got Longer)

Whether you’re a business owner or marketing lead, I have news that might ruin your New Year glow. Security and compliance online are now part of your job description. I know, I know. You already had enough on your plate (but probably not enough time for an actual lunch break). But the World Wide Web isn’t getting any simpler, and protecting your digital presence is crucial.

Here’s the silver lining: we’re not asking you to do anything we haven’t done ourselves. At NgageContent, we’ve implemented everything we’re about to recommend – from AI policies to third-party form management. We’re taking our own medicine, and honestly, it doesn’t taste that bad.

Let’s Break This Down Into Three Critical Areas

1. Website Compliance: The Rules Keep Evolving

Remember when putting a “website under construction” GIF on your site was considered professional? The internet has grown up since then, and so have the regulations. Today’s websites need:

• A comprehensive Privacy Policy (not just copied from another site – we see you!)
• An AI Policy if you’re using AI tools (check out our example)
• CookieFirst — cookie consent management that actually works (and looks decent)
• AccessiBe for ongoing web accessibility and ADA compliance
• Third-party tools that allow users to request the deletion of any collected personal data

Importantly, these recommendations reflect the industry standards of today, not tomorrow. As the internet evolves, so do its regulations — with regular website compliance and health checks, you can feel confident your site will stay ahead and poised for success.

Ready for some legal stuff where I mention that we are not lawyers again? Part of this effort is to better comply with laws in California and throughout the European Union. We’ve worked hard to summarize these laws — both of which can carry heavy fines if you’re playing outside the rules:

California’s landmark Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and its 2023 amendment (CPRA) empower consumers with comprehensive rights over their personal data, including the ability to access, delete, correct, and limit the sharing of information collected by businesses, while requiring companies to comply with these requests and maintain transparent privacy practices.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), implemented in 2018, stands as the world’s most stringent privacy and security law, applying to any organization handling EU residents’ data and imposing hefty fines for violations, signaling Europe’s commitment to protecting personal data in an increasingly digital world.

Yikes. Legal jargon. Let’s just use the tooling and avoid all that.

2. Security: The “It Won’t Happen to Me” Myth

Here’s a fun story from a recent M&A conference I attended. During a cybersecurity panel, a senior security specialist made a striking point: He used to be worried when someone told him they’d had experience with a hack. Today, he’s worried when someone tells him they haven’t — it likely means they don’t know they’ve been hacked! Yikes.

While I’d rather explain TikTok dances to someone’s grandma than become a cybersecurity expert, the message is clear: protection matters. Ideally, your WordPress site is more of a brochure site where you aren’t storing any client or prospect data or payment information.

To lower your security risk we highly recommend:

• BlogVault for robust backup protection and real-time malware scanning
• Managed WordPress hosting with uptime monitoring
• Third-party form management through tools like HubSpot or Ninja Forms
• Keeping payment processing separate through secure external platforms like Shopify

3. Website Health: Because Band-Aids Don’t Work in Digital

Think of website maintenance like dental hygiene — regular checkups prevent root canals. Our recommended toolkit includes:

• Regular maintenance and updates (quarterly for newer sites, monthly for sites more than 2 years old)
• Continuous uptime monitoring
• Regular site backups

Site health is important. The digital world keeps moving, and you’ll need to update plugins, your WordPress PHP and the like as time moves on.

Critical to this however, is having a backup of your site (which we take daily with our tooling). About 10-15 times per year a client comes to us having accidentally taken down their site while trying to do maintenance on their own. Whoops. It’s OK if we have our tooling on it because they can reach out and we can generally restore it to the previous instance within a few moments.

Using our tooling also gives you outside help from the Ngage team when needed. We can make updates to your site. If they are heavy changes, we can even quickly copy your site onto a development server to make changes before they go live.

The Reality Check (AKA The Part About Money)

Let’s have some real talk: Yes, these tools and services will impact your budget. Would we prefer you spend that money on creating amazing content or boosting your SEO? Absolutely! But think of this as insurance for your digital presence. The cost of prevention is always lower than the cost of crisis management.

For more details on why managed hosting matters, check out our previous blog.

The Bottom Line: Your Website Compliance and Security Matters

We’re not here to scare you (though if you’re a bit concerned, that’s probably healthy). We’re here to help you navigate the increasingly complex world of website management. Think of us as your digital safety net — we may not have TV-worthy faces, but we’ve got your back when it comes to keeping your WordPress website compliant, secure, and healthy.

Remember: Your website is often the first point of contact between your business and potential clients. Making sure it’s properly protected isn’t just about avoiding problems — it’s about building trust and maintaining your professional reputation.

Need help implementing any of these recommendations? That’s what we’re here for. And yes, we’ll try to make it as painless as possible. Maybe we’ll even throw in some dad jokes to lighten the mood.