1. Who I am
The business is a sole trader web design business in the United Kingdom. I am the "data controller", which means I decide how your personal information is used and I am responsible for looking after it.
To contact me about anything in this policy, email via the contact page, or use the contact form.
2. The short version
- I only collect what you give me when you get in touch or become a customer.
- I use it to reply to you, to do the work you ask for, and to run my business.
- I do not sell your information. I do not use advertising or tracking cookies. I do not run visitor analytics on this website.
- You can ask to see it, correct it or delete it at any time.
3. What I collect and why
When you send an enquiry
Your name, email address, phone number (optional), what you are interested in, and your message.
Why: to reply to you and talk about your project. Legal basis: legitimate interests (answering a question you asked), and taking steps at your request before a contract.
When you become a customer
Your name, business name, contact details, the work agreed, quotes and invoices, messages about the project, the content you give me for your site (text, photos, logos), and a record of the time spent on changes if you are on a care plan.
Why: to build and look after your website, to bill you, and to keep proper accounts. Legal basis: performing our contract, and legal obligation (keeping accounting records).
If online booking is switched on
If I enable booking for a service, I will collect your name, email, phone number, the date and time you choose and any notes you add, to confirm and manage that appointment. Booking is currently off unless stated on the booking page.
Technical information
Your IP address is used briefly in the server's memory to stop spam and repeated form submissions. It is not stored in a database and is cleared when the server restarts or after a short time. The contact form also contains a hidden field to catch automated spam, which real visitors never fill in.
4. Cookies
This website does not set cookies for visitors, so there is no cookie banner. The only cookie on the site is a sign-in cookie used by me, the site owner, to log in to my private admin area. You will never receive it.
Fonts are hosted on this site, not loaded from Google or anyone else, so your browser does not contact third parties just by visiting.
5. Who I share it with
I do not sell or rent your information. I only use a small number of services that need to handle it so the business can run:
- Hosting and storage. This website and its database run on a server I control in the UK.
- Backups. Backups are kept in a cloud storage account (Dropbox). Dropbox may store data outside the UK, covered by its standard contractual safeguards.
- Email. If I email you, the message goes through my email provider.
- Accountants, HMRC and the law. I may share records with my accountant, and with authorities where I am legally required to.
If I ever need to bring in a subcontractor on your project, they must keep your information confidential and use it only for that work.
6. How long I keep it
- Enquiries that do not go ahead: up to 12 months, then deleted.
- Customer records: while I work for you, then billing and accounting records for 6 years after the end of the tax year, as UK law requires.
- Website content you supplied: until you tell me to remove it, or the project ends and you ask for it back.
- Backups: copies in older backups are removed as they expire, usually within 90 days of a deletion.
7. Keeping it safe
The admin area is password protected, passwords are stored hashed, sign-in attempts are rate limited, and the site only accepts requests it expects. Data lives on a server I control, and backups are kept in a private account. No system is perfectly secure, but I take sensible steps to protect your information. If there is a breach that puts your rights at risk, I will tell you and the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) as the law requires.
8. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you can ask me to:
- tell you what I hold about you and give you a copy,
- correct anything that is wrong,
- delete your information (where I do not have to keep it by law),
- restrict or object to how I use it,
- give you your information in a portable format.
Contact me using the details above. I will reply within one month. There is no charge.
9. Complaints
I would like the chance to put things right first, so please contact me. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or by calling 0303 123 1113.
10. Other websites
If I link to another site, it has its own privacy policy, and I am not responsible for it. Websites I build for customers are the customer's own, and the customer is responsible for their own visitors' data.
11. Changes
If I change this policy I will update the date at the top. Material changes will be flagged to current customers by email.