Sites that collect payment, registration or other customer information have an absolute need to ensure that the site is secure and that data is dealt with appropriately. Stated policies which confirm to the user that the site is aware of the risks—and user concerns—need to be clear and unambiguous.
Policies
A September 2000 report from Gigaweb (http://www.gigaweb.com) showed that 66 per cent of web sites failed to provide a link to a privacy policy. If your site receives payments, collects personal details or requires users to register, you should make a very explicit statement on your policies. Ensure that every question asked is asked for a purpose. Do you really need to know the age or salary of site visitors? Does it matter how often they use the Web?
Asking too many intrusive questions may lead to respondents just selecting anything to get through the form, thus undermining the accuracy of the data. You should establish and publish policies.
