How to track Terms of Service changes without leaving your CMS
Keeping your Terms of Service up to date isn’t just a legal requirement—it’s part of maintaining transparency and user trust. But most businesses still rely on manual uploads, developer requests, or disconnected tools to manage updates. In this article we walk you through a more efficient approach to monitoring, publishing, and archiving Terms of Service changes. We also explain how Clym can support this process directly from your existing content management system (CMS).
Why tracking Terms of Service updates matters
Legal documents need to reflect your evolving business operations. Whether you’re expanding to new markets, launching features, or changing how user data is collected and processed, updates to your Terms of Service and Privacy Policy should follow.
Reasons to track updates:
- Legal accountability – A record of past versions can support your position in legal disputes.
- User clarity – Clear updates promote transparency and minimize user confusion.
- Regulatory obligations – Privacy laws such as the GDPR and CCPA require accurate, timely, and accessible documentation.
Common roadblocks with traditional methods
For many teams, updating legal documents still involves steps like:
- Uploading a new PDF to the website every time terms change
- Requesting developer help to publish changes
- Tracking changes in offline documents or spreadsheets
These approaches can lead to outdated content, missing version history, or inconsistent formatting. In some cases, users are never informed that updates occurred.
Challenges include:
- Lack of automated version control
- Formatting issues across different platforms
- No structured process for notifying users
- Disconnected workflows across departments
Real-world example: updating terms after launching a new feature
Imagine a SaaS company introducing a new analytics tool. This feature involves new data processing steps, which require updates to legal documents.
The old approach:
- Legal team drafts new terms in Word
- Marketing team sends them to developers
- Developers update the site manually
- No archive is saved, and users aren’t informed
The result:
- No version control or audit trail
- Users don’t know what changed
- Higher legal risk if changes are questioned
Best practices for managing TOS changes
To maintain a consistent and reliable update process:
- Assign effective dates to each version
- Keep a public archive of past versions
- Provide a summary of key changes when updates go live
- Notify users through banners or pop-ups when changes are material
- Request user consent when required under laws like the GDPR
How to track changes from within your CMS
Many businesses use third-party tools or separate dashboards to manage legal content, which can introduce errors and delays.
A better method is to use an integrated system that lets teams:
- Edit legal documents in one place
- Assign version numbers and effective dates
- Push updates directly to the site
- Maintain archives users can access
- Reduce the need for developer involvement
How Clym can help
Clym provides a Legal Documents tool designed to simplify how businesses manage Terms of Service and other legal content:
- Centralized editing – Update documents from one dashboard, without relying on separate workflows or requesting code changes
- Built-in version control – Each update is saved with timestamps and effective dates
- Instant website updates – Push new versions live through Clym’s widget
- Archived documents – Let users access previous versions using dropdowns or archive links
- CMS compatibility – Use Clym with WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, and more via widget or snippet
Whether you're working with a single legal page or managing documents across multiple properties, Clym offers a practical and scalable approach.
FAQs
Use a tool that supports version control, date tracking, and public access to past versions. Clym’s Legal Documents feature offers these functions.
Yes. You should notify users if changes impact how their data is handled or what services are offered. Notifications can be banners, modals, or in-widget prompts.
Yes. Clym lets you publish archived versions publicly so users can review them at any time.
Yes. You need to show when updates took effect and what was changed, which Clym tracks automatically.
No. Clym allows updates through its admin interface, without submitting tickets to developers.
Yes. Clym supports Privacy Policies, Cookie Policies, Accessibility Statements, and similar legal texts.
Clym is compatible with platforms like WordPress, Webflow, and Shopify through widgets or code embeds.
Each change is saved with a timestamp and effective date to help you maintain a reliable history.
Clym tracks user interactions with document versions, helping you maintain clear records if questions arise.
Alex is a Content Developer at Clym, where he researches and writes about everything related to data privacy and web accessibility compliance for businesses, helping them stay informed on their compliance needs and spreading awareness about making the web safer and more inclusive. When he’s not writing about compliance, Alex has his nose in a book or is hiking in the great outdoors.
Find out more about Alex