Privacy Policy.

The Short Version

The longer version below covers the legal detail. If anything is unclear, email us at info@forgescalegrow.co.uk and we'll give you a straight answer.

Who We Are

Forge Scale Grow Ltd is a web design agency based in Manchester, UK, specialising in websites for tradespeople. We are the data controller for the personal information we collect.

• Company: Forge Scale Grow Ltd
• Company number: 17164862
• Registered in: England & Wales
• Email: info@forgescalegrow.co.uk
• Phone: 07359 781 407

What Information We Collect

We collect information in two ways: information you give us directly, and information collected automatically when you use our website.

Information you give us directly:

• Your name and business name
• Your phone number and email address
• Your trade and business location
• Any other details you include when you contact us via the enquiry form, email, or WhatsApp

Information collected automatically:

• Basic analytics data via Google Analytics 4 — pages visited, time on site, device type, approximate location (city level). This data is anonymised and aggregated.
• Standard server logs — IP address, browser type, pages requested. These are retained for a maximum of 30 days for security purposes.

We do not use cookies beyond what Google Analytics requires, and we do not use tracking pixels, remarketing tags, or social media tracking.

Why We Collect It

We collect and use your information for the following purposes:

• To respond to your enquiry — when you contact us through our website, we use your details to get back to you.
• To deliver our service — if you become a client, we use your information to build and manage your website project.
• To invoice and receive payment — we hold basic billing information for accounting purposes.
• To improve our website — anonymised analytics help us understand which pages are useful and where we can improve.
• To comply with legal obligations — we retain certain business records as required by UK law.

The legal basis for processing your data is either legitimate interests (responding to enquiries, improving our service) or contract performance (delivering the work you've hired us to do).

Who We Share It With

We do not sell your personal data. We do not share it with third parties for marketing purposes. The only parties who may have access to your information are:

• Formspree — processes contact form submissions on our behalf. Data is transmitted securely and held only for as long as needed to deliver the message. Their privacy policy →
• Google Analytics — receives anonymised, aggregated usage data. No personal identifying information is shared. Google's privacy policy →
• Our email provider — Google Workspace, used to receive and send email. Emails are stored on Google's servers in line with their data processing terms.

All third parties we use are required to handle your data in accordance with UK GDPR and equivalent standards.

How Long We Keep It

• Enquiry data — retained for 12 months after last contact if no project proceeds. If a project does proceed, retained for the duration of the project and 6 years thereafter for tax and legal purposes.
• Client project data — retained for 6 years after project completion in line with HMRC requirements.
• Analytics data — retained for 14 months in Google Analytics (the minimum available setting), after which it is automatically deleted.
• Server logs — automatically deleted after 30 days.

Your Rights

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

• Right to access — you can ask us what personal data we hold about you at any time.
• Right to rectification — you can ask us to correct inaccurate data we hold about you.
• Right to erasure — you can ask us to delete your data, subject to any legal obligations we have to retain it.
• Right to restrict processing — you can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to object — you can object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Right to data portability — you can ask for your data in a portable format.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at info@forgescalegrow.co.uk. We will respond within 30 days.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or by calling 0303 123 1113.

Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your personal information. Our website uses HTTPS, security headers, and DNS hardening as standard. Email is transmitted via encrypted connections. We do not store payment card information — payments are processed by bank transfer.

No method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, but we take all practical measures to protect your data.

Cookies

Our website uses Google Analytics, which sets cookies to track anonymised usage data. These cookies do not identify you personally. The cookies set are:

• _ga — distinguishes users. Expires after 2 years.
• _ga_[ID] — maintains session state. Expires after 2 years.

We do not use advertising cookies, social media tracking cookies, or any other cookies beyond these analytics cookies. You can disable Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

Links to Other Websites

Our website contains links to other websites — including demo sites, social media profiles, and third-party tools. Once you leave our site, this privacy policy no longer applies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we do, we'll update the "Last updated" date at the top. We won't notify you of minor changes but will make any significant changes clear. Continued use of our website after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your data, please get in touch:

• Email: info@forgescalegrow.co.uk
• Phone: 07359 781 407
• Post: Forge Scale Grow Ltd, Manchester, England