Once upon a time, the CAC warned Nigerian business owners who hadn’t registered their businesses or were using others’ business names as a grievous offense, which could lead to revocation and a penalty.
Shortly after this breaking news, a few Nigerian business owners’ websites were flagged down due to non-compliance. Most of these business owners’ collaborations with influential organizations were forced to stop, and even their payment gateways weren’t spared until the necessary steps were taken.
Gone are the days when businesses were occasionally flagged down. Recently, it has become a rampant situation that CAC cannot overlook. Nigerian business owners often focus on designing, creating content, and owning a beautiful WordPress site to gain visibility. However, they overlook the ethical protections that shield their business. One thing people often lack is understanding that, regardless of their profession, whether as a fashion designer, decorator, freelancer, mechanical engineer, baker, or any other business, they are subject to Nigerian law, which requires tax payment, compliance, and data protection against fraud or manipulation.
Failure to comply with these regulations poses significant risks, including substantial and potentially unstoppable fines, limited formal opportunities, a credibility stake, numerous reputational consequences, and more. In this post, you will learn the correct way to legally register your WordPress website business from CAC, tax compliance, and data protection.
Why Every Nigerian Website Owner Should Register a Business Name.
Having a business registered is a significant decision, but with real action and seriousness, it allows you to stand out and compete among other brands. It’s not something to boast of despite having good ideas of running a business, marketing strategies, research, visibility, and elated when you haven’t tendered your business to the Corporate Affairs Commission to verify and include you among legitimate entrepreneurs. Additionally, the advantages it serves are huge.
What is a Business Name?
A business name is the name you give your brand, and which people are associated with. This name exists for valid recognition, profitability, and gaining a handful of opportunities, brand personalities, and values. A well-chosen brand name remains relevant, memorable, and easy to distinguish from competitors.
So, now. A business name registration involves submitting your brand name to the Corporate Affairs Commission for acknowledgment and registration as an entrepreneur in Nigeria.
The requirements needed for business registration include the following.
- What title or name would you give your brand? At least suggest two or three strong names with uniqueness
- Business value and objectives: specify the essence of your brand, its core purpose. E.g., Perhaps you sell and design beads, don’t just say bead seller, add “bread crafter of all types of design”
- Your Business location. This includes your LGA, state, and, if you work remotely, your residential location.
- Your most active phone number. Submit a contact, CAC can call you anytime for any critical information
- Accurate and valid email address
- Submission of your date of birth is compulsory for CAC registration. Please verify this information against your ID.
- ID card, i.e, NIN, driver’s license, voters’ card, or international passport.
Ideal Benefits of Registering Your Business
- Legitimacy. You gain access to protection against non-registration, along with significant opportunities that safeguard your brand identity and values. Additionally, eligible to open a corporate bank account.
- Protection business name. No other person/business brand can use your business name. This measure prevents copyright infringement and protects reputation.
- Eligible for opportunities. Registered businesses are given loyal access to win grants, apply for loans, and secure contracts.
- Helpful Visibility. Brands that are registered are trusted by their customers because they feel secure buying from a registered brand. This gives you credibility as a trusted bank.
Tax Obligation for WordPress Business Owner
As a Nigerian business owner, once you start making sales on your WordPress website, you should understand better that you have some tax responsibilities to follow, which are: Every Nigerian business owner using WordPress must register with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and obtain a Tax Identification Number (TIN). This can be done by going to the FIRS office or visiting their website. E.g.: If you run an online decoration store on WordPress, your payment processor or logistics partner may request your TIN before completing onboarding.
Common Types of Taxes for WordPress Business Owners
If you have an online business, it’s essential to understand your tax obligations and the applicable laws to avoid problems and effectively manage your business.
- Company Incoming Tax. For every tax your company gains, you are expected to pay 30% of the tax if you have an online store. However, there is a difference between a small brand and a big brand.
- Value Added Tax (VAT) applies to each of your goods and services sold on WordPress. When customers demand these goods or services, you are required to charge them for VAT and remit 7.5% to the FIRS. If you sell a product from your WooCommerce store or render a service, such as training.
- Personal Income Tax. If you earn income from your online business or work as a sole proprietor, you must pay PIT, depending on your monthly earnings, whether they are small or substantial.
Data protection and Privacy Compliance: practical ways of how to stay compliant with Nigerian data collection as a WordPress
Regardless, as a Nigerian WordPress website user, collecting names, emails, and comments from subscribers or customers falls under the Nigerian Data Protection Regulation (NDPR). According to the NDPA, specific rules govern such data collection actions. If you are a WordPress website user, whether a blogger, e-commerce owner, or freelancer, you must ensure you protect users’ personal data. Additionally, failure to adhere may result in fines or business restrictions. Read through and learn the effective ways of staying compliant with Nigerian data collection on WordPress.
1- Describe Specific Private Policy. By explaining what kind of information you want, the reasons why you need it, and the measures you adopt to protect it. Let’s assume your WordPress site collects email addresses through a contact form or a WooCommerce payment system, and NDPR expects you to explain how you obtain this information clearly.
How to Do It:
- Install plugins like WP AutoTerms, Complianz, or Termly, outline your private policy page, and visitors share
- Add sections like:
- Data received (emails, names, cookies)
- Purpose of collecting (marketing, analytics, or order processing).
- Options if users want to delete their data or contact you.
- Add a link for easy reach or delete data.
2- Include Users’ Agreement in all Forms. You are not allowed to take users’ information without their full knowledge; therefore, there shouldn’t be automatic sign-up or hidden data collection.
How to activate this in WordPress:
- On each click, put “I agree to the privacy policy.”
- WPForms, Ninja Forms, and Contact Form 7 are effective plugins that can be installed to add a consent form.
- Allow users to click themselves, avoiding being pre-ticked. Example:
If you have a “Book a Consultation” form, add “By submitting this form, I agree to the collection and processing of my data in line with this site’s Privacy Policy.
3- Activate Data Security. Hackers often try to hack your database if you don’t protect it by installing the necessary plugins. It occurs because they knew customers’ information was stored in your database.
How to protect your database:
- Install Wordfence, Securi, or itheme security to detect any hacking attempts.
- Keep all your Plugins updated
- Regularly back up your site with UpdraftPlus or Jetpack.
4- Reach out for sensitive issues. If your website is compromised or data leaks out, report to the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) immediately. This approves your compliance and restricts damage loss to the bare minimum before affecting others.
Action to Take.
- Report the time, cause, and what is affected.
- Find a means to rectify the situation and tighten your security.
- Send a notification about the leaked data.
- Be aware of all your actions, as they will serve as evidence.
5- Avoid third-party. Some plugins and integrations steal users’ info for personal use. Therefore, only install trusted plugins from reputable sources that respect and abide by privacy policies.
How to Protect Your Domain And Intellectual Property Against Infringement.
Significant damage could be done to your domain name and brand identity if you fail to take timely action. Additionally, if your business is registered with the CAC officials, use the same name your business represents with your domain name to foster brand alignment and consistency.
- Get your domain name from a reputable and reliable plugin, e.g., WhoGoHost, DomainKing, or GoDaddy.
- To prevent your domain from revocation, ensure to renew it annually.
- To dismiss second party against domain or brand identity manipulation, register for trademarks, patents, and design registration. With this effect, no one can copy your logo or content.
- Create your own content and designs to avoid copyright infringement.
Conclusion
As a Nigerian business owner, intellectually and effectively running a WordPress site goes beyond selling, creating content, or writing a blog. It comes with a legal commitment that aligns with running a business in accordance with the acceptable manners Nigeria chooses. Therefore, to ensure your WordPress site runs smoothly without a breach, it is crucial to be aware of the legal steps required to register, file, and protect your site.
