Legal
Privacy policy
How this website handles your personal data, in plain English.
Who I am
This website is run by Chris Jones, a sole trader trading as Indie Web Design, based in Garforth, Leeds. I'm the controller of any personal data collected through it.
If you have any questions about this policy or your data, email me at hello@indiewebdesign.co.uk.
What I collect and why
When you use the contact form
- Your name, email address and message, plus your phone number and business name if you choose to give them.
- The address of the page you sent the form from, and the date and time.
These are emailed to me so I can reply to your enquiry, and you receive an automatic confirmation email. The form doesn’t store your details on the website.
To stop the form being misused, a scrambled (hashed) version of your IP address is kept for one hour to limit how many messages can be sent from one connection.
If you email me directly, I receive whatever you include in your email.
When you visit the website
- Analytics, only if you accept: if you click Accept on the cookie banner, Google Analytics records how the site is used, such as pages viewed, how you arrived, your device and browser type, and your approximate location (city or region). It does not record your IP address. If you decline, Google Analytics isn’t loaded at all.
- Security and server logs: my host, Hostinger, and the site’s security firewall log technical details of requests, such as IP address, browser and time, to keep the site secure and working.
- Fonts and images: the site loads fonts from Google Fonts and some images from Unsplash. Your browser connects to their servers to fetch them, which shares your IP address with them.
My lawful bases
- Replying to enquiries and taking steps to agree a project with you: legitimate interests, and steps you ask for before entering a contract.
- Keeping the website secure and preventing spam: legitimate interests.
- Analytics: your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.
- Keeping client records for tax and accounting: legal obligation.
Cookies and similar storage
The website sets no cookies unless you accept analytics.
- cookie-consent (stored in your browser, not a cookie): remembers whether you accepted or declined, so you aren’t asked on every visit. It stays until you clear your browser data.
- _ga and _ga_<ID> (Google Analytics, only if you accept): tell visits apart so I can see how the site is used. They last up to 2 years.
You can change your choice at any time using the Cookie Preferences link at the bottom of every page. If you withdraw consent, the analytics cookies are removed.
Who your data is shared with
I don’t sell your data or share it for marketing. It is only handled by the services that run the website:
- Hostinger: hosts the website and my email.
- Google: Google Analytics (only with your consent) and Google Fonts.
- Unsplash: serves some of the images on the site.
Some of these providers may process data outside the UK. Where they do, they rely on safeguards recognised under UK data protection law, such as the UK–US Data Bridge or standard contractual clauses.
How long I keep it
- Enquiries that don’t lead to a project: deleted 2 years after we were last in touch.
- Correspondence with clients: kept for 6 years after the project ends, for tax and accounting records.
- Analytics data: kept in Google Analytics for up to 14 months.
- Anti-spam record of your hashed IP address: 1 hour.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you can ask me to:
- give you a copy of the personal data I hold about you
- correct anything that’s wrong
- delete your data
- restrict or object to how I use it
- give you your data in a portable format
You can also withdraw your consent to analytics at any time. To make a request, email hello@indiewebdesign.co.uk. I’ll respond within one month.
If you’re unhappy with how I’ve handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113. I’d appreciate the chance to put things right first.
Changes to this policy
If the way the website handles data changes, I’ll update this page. The date below shows when it was last changed.
Last updated: 19 October 2026