Privacy Policy

Last updated: 25 September 2026

This policy explains what personal information The PCGP collects through this website, why we collect it, how long we keep it and the rights you have over it. We have kept it short and in plain English. If anything is unclear, email us at contact@thepcgp.com.

Who we are

The PCGP designs, builds and hosts websites and provides related services to businesses in the UK. For the purposes of UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018), The PCGP is the controller of the personal information described here. You can contact us about anything in this policy at contact@thepcgp.com.

What we collect and why

When you ask for a quote or contact us

Our quote form asks for your name, your business name, your email address, your phone number (optional), the service you are interested in and a message. The form sends these details to us by email; they are not stored in the website’s database.

We use them to reply to you, to understand what you need and to prepare a quote. Our lawful basis is taking steps at your request before entering into a contract with you, and our legitimate interest in responding to business enquiries.

When you use our free website check

When you check a website, we record the address you entered and the report we produce. Reports are kept for up to 90 days so that the report link keeps working, then deleted automatically. To prevent the tool being misused, we note how many checks come from each connection. We store your IP address only in a scrambled (hashed) form that cannot be turned back into the original address.

To measure speed and take a screenshot, the address you entered is sent to Google’s PageSpeed Insights service. Only the website address is sent, not information about you.

If you ask us to re-check a site every month, we also store your email address and the website address. We send a confirmation email first, and the monthly reports only start once you have confirmed. Every report includes a link to stop them, and when you use it we delete your email address. Our lawful basis for these emails is your consent, which you can withdraw at any time.

When you use our domain search or WHOIS lookup

The names you search for are sent to our domain registrar, Namecheap, and to the public registries that run each domain ending, so that we can tell you whether a name is available or who manages it. Results are kept for a short time (up to a few hours) so that repeated searches are quick. These lookups are about domain names, not about you, and the WHOIS tool never shows anyone’s name, address, phone number or email address. As with the website check, we limit the number of searches per connection using a scrambled (hashed) form of your IP address that is held only briefly.

When you comment on a news post

If you leave a comment, we collect the name, email address and website you enter, the comment itself, and your IP address and browser details to help detect spam. Comments may be checked before they appear. Your name, website and comment are published; your email address is not. Comments and their details are kept for as long as the post is published, or until you ask us to remove them.

When you visit the website

Like almost every website, our server keeps short-term technical logs of requests (IP address, browser type, the page requested and the time) for security and to fix problems. These logs are not used to identify you and are deleted routinely.

Cookies

We do not use analytics, advertising or tracking cookies, and nothing on this site follows you around the web. Our fonts and images are served from our own server, so visiting a page does not send your details to Google Fonts or any other third party.

WordPress, which runs this site, sets cookies in only two cases:

If you leave a comment and tick the box to save your details, cookies remember your name, email address and website for a year, so you do not have to type them in again.
If you log in (our own staff), cookies keep you signed in.

You can delete or block cookies in your browser settings at any time.

Who we share information with

We never sell your personal information. We share it only with the services we need to run this website and our business:

our web hosting and email providers, which store and deliver the website and our messages;
Google, for the PageSpeed Insights measurements in the website check (website addresses only);
Namecheap and the domain registries, for domain searches (domain names only);
anyone we are legally required to share it with, such as HMRC or the police, where the law requires it.

Some of these providers are based outside the UK, in the United States. Where personal information is transferred abroad, it is protected by the safeguards UK law requires, such as UK adequacy regulations or approved contract clauses.

How long we keep it

Enquiries that do not lead to work: up to 12 months.
Client records: for as long as we work together, then six years for tax and accounting purposes.
Website check reports: up to 90 days.
Monthly re-check subscriptions: until you unsubscribe.
Comments: for as long as the post is published, or until you ask us to remove them.

Keeping it safe

The website is served over an encrypted connection (HTTPS), kept up to date and protected against common attacks. Access to enquiries and client information is limited to the people who need it to do their work.

Your rights

You have the right to:

ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
ask us to correct anything that is wrong or incomplete;
ask us to delete your information;
ask us to limit how we use it, or object to us using it;
ask for your information in a format you can take elsewhere;
withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on it.

To use any of these rights, email contact@thepcgp.com. We will reply within one month and there is normally no charge.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please tell us first and we will do our best to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK regulator, at ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint or on 0303 123 1113.

Changes to this policy

We will update this policy when the way we handle personal information changes. The date at the top shows when it was last revised.