Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Qodex Design Ltd is a web design and digital marketing agency registered in England and Wales. Our registered office is:

Qodex Design Ltd
Unit 12 Victoria Hall
Barrow-in-Furness
Cumbria, LA14 1BX

Email: info@qodex.co.uk
Phone: 01229 440942

We are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). If you have any questions about how we handle your personal data, please contact us using the details above.

2. What Data We Collect

We collect personal data in the following ways:

• Contact form submissions: When you complete a contact or enquiry form on our website, we collect your name, email address, phone number, company name (if provided) and the content of your message.
• Direct communications: If you contact us by email or phone, we may retain records of that correspondence.
• Website usage data: We use Google Analytics to collect anonymised data about how visitors use our website, including pages visited, time on site, browser type and approximate geographic location. This data does not identify you personally.
• Cookies: Our website uses functional cookies (necessary for the site to work) and analytics cookies (Google Analytics). See Section 7 for more detail.

We do not collect sensitive personal data (such as health information, financial details or government-issued ID numbers) through this website.

3. How We Use Your Data

We use the personal data we collect for the following purposes:

• To respond to your enquiries and provide you with the information or services you have requested.
• To provide you with a quote or proposal for web design, SEO or related services.
• To fulfil any contract we have entered into with you.
• To improve our website and services based on how visitors interact with our content.
• To comply with any legal obligations we are subject to.

We will not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling. We will not send you unsolicited marketing emails without your explicit consent.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following lawful bases to process your personal data:

• Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)): Processing enquiries and improving our service represent our legitimate business interests, and we have assessed that this does not override your rights and freedoms.
• Contract (Article 6(1)(b)): Where we need to process your data to fulfil a contract with you, or take pre-contractual steps at your request.
• Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)): Where we are required by law to retain certain records.
• Consent (Article 6(1)(a)): Where you have given us clear consent to process your data for analytics cookies. You may withdraw this consent at any time.

5. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as is necessary for the purpose it was collected:

• Contact form enquiries: Retained for up to 2 years from the date of your initial contact, after which records are securely deleted unless a contract relationship has been established.
• Client project records: Retained for 6 years in accordance with UK tax and contract law obligations.
• Google Analytics data: Anonymised and aggregated; we configure data retention at 14 months within Google Analytics. No personally identifiable information is stored.

6. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure: You can ask us to delete your personal data where there is no compelling reason for us to continue processing it.
• Right to restrict processing: You can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability: Where processing is based on consent or contract, you can request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to object: You can object to processing based on legitimate interests.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@qodex.co.uk. We will respond within one calendar month. If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

7. Cookies

Our website uses the following types of cookies:

• Functional cookies: These are essential for the website to operate correctly. They do not collect personal information and cannot be disabled without affecting site functionality.
• Analytics cookies (Google Analytics): We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use our website. This service uses cookies to collect anonymised data. IP addresses are anonymised before storage. Google Analytics data is processed in accordance with Google's Privacy Policy.

You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking at any time by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. You can also manage cookies through your browser settings.

8. Third Party Services

We use a small number of trusted third-party services that may process your data on our behalf as data processors:

• Google LLC: For website analytics (Google Analytics). Data may be transferred to and processed in the United States under appropriate safeguards (Standard Contractual Clauses).
• Mailchimp (The Rocket Science Group LLC): If you subscribe to our email list, your email address will be stored with Mailchimp. You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email we send.
• Hosting provider: Our website is hosted on UK-based servers. Your data does not leave the UK as part of our hosting arrangement.

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal data to any third party. We will never pass your information to third parties for their own marketing purposes.

9. Security

We take data security seriously and have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure or destruction. These include:

• SSL/TLS encryption on all pages of our website (HTTPS)
• Restricted internal access to personal data on a need-to-know basis
• Regular software and security updates on our web servers
• Secure disposal of personal data when retention periods expire

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security. In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the ICO within 72 hours and inform affected individuals without undue delay.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or in applicable law. When we make significant changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Continued use of our website after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please get in touch:

Qodex Design Ltd
Unit 12 Victoria Hall
Barrow-in-Furness
Cumbria, LA14 1BX

Email: info@qodex.co.uk
Phone: 01229 440942

We aim to respond to all privacy-related enquiries within 5 business days.