Privacy Policy

This policy explains what we do with the details you share when you contact Brandstart, why we hold them, and the rights you have. We keep it short and plain on purpose.

Who we are

Brandstart is a web design and digital marketing studio based in Ireland. We are the data controller for the personal details described here. If you have any question about your data, contact us using the details at the end of this page.

What we collect

We only collect what we need to reply to you and do the work you ask for.

• Enquiry details you send through our contact and quote forms, or by email: your name, email address, phone number, website address and the message you write.
• Project details you give us if you become a client, so we can build and run your website, such as content, images, logos and account access.

Our contact forms ask for your name, email, phone and message, and our free website health check asks for your website address, your email and one optional question, and nothing more. Beyond the cookies the site needs to work, the only cookies we use are the optional analytics and advertising cookies described below, and they stay off unless you switch them on.

How we use it

The details you send through a form are emailed straight to us and used only to respond to your enquiry and, if you go ahead, to deliver the service you asked for. We do not sell your data, and we do not add you to a marketing list without your consent. When you ask for a website health check, we also send you one automatic email to confirm we have your request.

Our lawful basis is taking steps at your request before entering a contract, and performing that contract if you become a client. Where we are required to keep records for accounting or legal reasons, our basis is that legal obligation.

Cookies and analytics

When you first visit, a cookie banner asks what you are happy with. It is powered by Silktide Consent Manager, a free open source tool that we host ourselves, so the banner itself sends nothing to anyone. Your choice is saved in your own browser so we do not have to ask on every visit. Saving that choice is the only thing the site stores before you decide.

The banner offers two optional choices, Analytics and Marketing. Both are off until you turn them on, and you can accept one without the other.

If you say yes to analytics, we use Google Analytics 4 to see how the site is used. It sets cookies that tell repeat visits apart and records things like the pages you view, roughly where you are (city level, worked out from your network address, which Google does not keep), the type of device and browser you use, and how you found us, for example from a search or a link. It does not tell us who you are, and we do not use it to build a profile of you.

If you say yes to marketing, we load the Google Ads tag and the Microsoft Advertising tag. Their cookies tell us when one of our ads brought you to the site and whether you then got in touch, for example by sending a form or tapping to call or message us, so we can see which ads are worth paying for. Google and Microsoft set these cookies and handle that data under their own privacy policies.

If you say no, or simply ignore the banner, no analytics or advertising cookies are set and nothing is sent to Google or Microsoft. The site works exactly the same either way.

Analytics data is kept in Google Analytics for up to 14 months and then deleted automatically. You can change your mind at any time using the cookie button in the corner of every page: switch analytics or marketing off there and we stop loading it, and the cookies it set are removed. You can also clear cookies in your browser whenever you like.

Who we share it with

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with the providers we rely on to operate, and only as far as needed:

• Our website hosting and email provider, so your enquiry reaches us.
• Google (Google Ireland Limited) and Microsoft (Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited), but only for the cookie choices you accept, and only the usage statistics and ad measurement described above.
• Professional advisers or authorities, where the law requires it.

Where a provider processes data outside the European Economic Area, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses or an adequacy decision.

How long we keep it

We keep enquiry emails only for as long as we need them to respond and follow up, then remove them within a reasonable period if they do not lead to work. Client records are kept for the length of our relationship and for the period the law requires afterwards.

How we protect it

We use sensible technical and organisational measures, including encryption in transit over HTTPS, access controls and reputable hosting, to protect your details against loss, misuse or unauthorised access.

Your rights

Under the GDPR and the Irish Data Protection Acts you have the right to access the data we hold about you, to have it corrected or erased, to restrict or object to how we use it, to data portability, and to withdraw any consent you have given. To use any of these rights, just contact us. You can also make a complaint to the Irish Data Protection Commission at dataprotection.ie.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated shown at the top.