This policy explains what personal information WebSpark Studio collects when you visit websparkstudio.co.uk or get in touch with us, why we collect it, how we look after it and what rights you have. We’ve tried to keep it short and in plain English.
The short version
- We don’t use advertising, analytics or tracking tools, and our website doesn’t set any cookies for ordinary visitors.
- We only collect the information you choose to send us, such as through our contact form, by email, by phone or on WhatsApp.
- We use it to reply to you and, if you become a client, to deliver our work. We never sell it or pass it to anyone for their own marketing.
Who we are
WebSpark Studio is a web design and development studio in the United Kingdom. We are responsible for the personal information described in this policy (the “data controller” under UK data protection law). If you have any questions about it, contact us at contact@websparkstudio.co.uk or on 07782 775 499.
What we collect
When you use our contact form
We collect your first and last name, email address, phone number, the pricing plan you select (if any) and your message. These are saved securely on our website so we can reply, and a copy is emailed to our business inbox.
To stop spam, we also record a scrambled version of your IP address (a one-way “hash” that can’t be turned back into the address itself), and briefly keep a similar scrambled value to limit how many messages can be sent from one connection in an hour.
When you email, call or message us
If you contact us by email, phone or WhatsApp, we receive whatever details you choose to share, such as your name, number and the content of your message.
If you become a client
We keep the information we need to plan, build and support your project and to invoice you, such as contact and billing details, project notes and any content you send us for your website.
If you use our client portal
Clients with a portal login have a user account containing their name, email address and a securely encrypted password, along with any content they add or edit.
Technical information
Like almost every website, our hosting provider’s servers automatically record standard technical details when pages are requested, such as your IP address, browser type, the page requested and the time. This is used to keep the website running and secure. To protect our login page, we also temporarily record a scrambled version of the IP address after repeated failed login attempts.
How we use your information, and why we’re allowed to
- To reply to your enquiry and send you a quote. This is in our legitimate interests, and at your request before entering into a contract with you.
- To deliver the work we’ve agreed and to invoice you. This is necessary to perform our contract with you, and we keep financial records because the law requires it.
- To keep our website and accounts secure and free of spam. This is in our legitimate interests and yours.
We don’t add you to a mailing list unless you ask us to, and we don’t make any automated decisions about you.
Cookies and browser storage
Our website doesn’t set cookies for visitors, and we don’t use Google Analytics, advertising pixels or any other tracking. It does save a few small settings in your own browser, which never leave your device:
- Your light or dark theme choice (“ws-theme”), so the site looks the way you picked next time. It stays until you clear your browser data.
- How long you’ve been browsing in this visit (stored as “ws-wa-…”), so we know when to show the WhatsApp chat button on phones and whether you’ve closed it, and whether you’ve closed an offer banner (“ws-promo-closed”) so it stays hidden. These are removed automatically when you close the browser tab.
If you log in to our client portal, WordPress sets essential cookies to keep you signed in. These are only used for logged-in users.
Who we share it with
We only share personal information with the trusted services we need to run our business:
- Hostinger, our hosting provider, which stores our website, its database (including contact form messages) and our backups, and delivers our email.
- WhatsApp (Meta), only if you choose to message us there. WhatsApp’s own privacy policy applies to those conversations.
- Professional advisers, such as an accountant, where needed for our business records.
- Authorities, if we’re legally required to share information.
Our website links to our social media pages. If you follow those links, the privacy policy of that platform applies.
Some of our providers may store or process data outside the UK, for example in the European Economic Area. Where that happens, the transfer is covered by UK adequacy regulations or other appropriate safeguards.
How long we keep it
We keep personal information only for as long as we need it. Enquiries are kept while they’re relevant to your enquiry and any follow-up, and are then deleted. If you become a client, we keep project and invoicing records for as long as the law and our accounting obligations require. Technical server logs are kept for a short time by our hosting provider.
How we protect it
Our whole website runs over a secure, encrypted connection (HTTPS). Access to enquiries and client information is limited to the people who need it, our login page is protected against repeated password guessing, and we keep our website software up to date.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
- ask us to correct anything that’s wrong or incomplete;
- ask us to delete your information;
- ask us to limit how we use it, or object to us using it;
- ask us to send your information to you or another organisation in a common format.
To make a request, email contact@websparkstudio.co.uk. It’s free, and we’ll reply within one month.
Complaints
If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your information, please tell us first so we can put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection regulator, at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.
Children
Our website and services are aimed at businesses and adults. We don’t knowingly collect information from children.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time, for example if we start using a new service. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last changed.