Privacy Policy

Your information, and what we do with it.

We collect what we need to build your website, take payment for it and support you afterwards. This page says exactly what that is, why we hold it, who else touches it and how you get it back or removed.

Last updated 18 August 2026

01

Who we are

Sitehouse builds and manages business websites. The controller responsible for the information described here is:

  • [LEGAL BUSINESS NAME]
  • [REGISTERED BUSINESS ADDRESS]
  • [CONTACT EMAIL]
  • [SUPPORT EMAIL]
  • [PHONE NUMBER]
  • [REGISTRATION NUMBER IF APPLICABLE]
  • [TAX/VAT INFORMATION IF APPLICABLE]
  • [DATA PROTECTION CONTACT — IF APPLICABLE]

For anything about your information, write to the contact address above or use the contact form.

02

What we collect

Only what the work actually needs:

  • Account details — your name, business name, email address and phone number.
  • Business information — trading address, opening hours, services and prices, and the other details that go on your website.
  • Project content — the logo, photos, text and links you send us to build the site.
  • Order and payment information — what you ordered, the amounts, the currency, dates, payment status and the identifiers our payment provider gives us.
  • Support and change requests — the messages you send us and our replies.
  • Technical information — the limited data our hosting produces in order to serve and secure the site, such as server logs.

We do not hold your card details. Card numbers, expiry dates and security codes go directly to the payment provider. We receive a reference, an amount and a status — never the card itself.

03

Why, and on what legal basis

Different purposes rest on different grounds. Consent is not a blanket answer, and we do not claim it where the real basis is the contract between us.

What we doWhyLegal basis
Create and run your accountSo you can sign in, follow the build and approve the sitePerformance of a contract
Build and host your websiteIt is the service you boughtPerformance of a contract
Take paymentDeposit, final balance and any monthly servicesPerformance of a contract
Send service messagesBuild updates, review requests, payment reminders, failuresPerformance of a contract
Answer support messagesTo reply to what you askedPerformance of a contract
Keep accounting recordsInvoices and tax records we are required to retainLegal obligation
Keep the service securePreventing abuse, fraud and outages; keeping backupsLegitimate interests
Improve what we offerUnderstanding which parts of the service cause frictionLegitimate interests
Send marketing emailOccasional news and offers, only if you asked for themConsent

Where we rely on legitimate interests, you can object — see clause 08. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting anything done before you did.

04

Marketing email

Buying a website does not sign you up to a mailing list. Marketing email is a separate, unticked choice at checkout and in your account settings, and saying no has no effect on what you buy or how we support you.

Service messages are different: build updates, review requests, payment confirmations and failure notices are part of the service and cannot be switched off while your project or subscription is active. Every marketing email carries an unsubscribe link, and the same switch is in Account Settings → Notification preferences.

05

How long we keep it

We keep information for as long as the reason for holding it lasts:

  • Account and project information — while your account is open, and for a reasonable period afterwards in case you come back or a dispute arises.
  • Website content you supplied — while we host your site, plus a short window after cancellation so it can be restored or exported if you ask.
  • Invoices and payment records — for the period required by tax and accounting law in [JURISDICTION — LEGAL REVIEW].
  • Support messages — while they are useful for supporting you, then deleted on our normal clean-up cycle.
  • Marketing consent records — while you are subscribed, plus a record of the withdrawal so we do not email you again by mistake.

We have deliberately not printed exact durations we cannot yet stand behind. The retention schedule should be finalised alongside the legal review, and this clause updated with the actual periods.

06

Who else processes it

We use a small number of service providers to run the service. They act on our instructions and only for the purposes below.

RoleWhat they handleProvider
Payment processingCard details, payment status, subscriptions, refunds[PAYMENT PROVIDER]
Website hostingYour website and ours, plus server logs[HOSTING PROVIDER]
Email deliveryAccount, project and payment emails[EMAIL PROVIDER]
Domain registrationRegistering and managing domains[DOMAIN REGISTRAR]
AnalyticsNot in use — see the Cookie PolicyNone

We do not sell your information, and we do not share it for anyone else's advertising. We will disclose it if the law requires it, and we will tell you when we are allowed to.

07

Transfers outside the EEA

Some providers may process information outside the European Economic Area. Where that happens, the transfer needs a lawful safeguard — normally an adequacy decision or standard contractual clauses with the provider.

[LEGAL REVIEW REQUIRED: confirm each provider's transfer mechanism and list it here]

08

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you can ask us to:

  • Give you a copy of the information we hold about you.
  • Correct it if it is wrong or out of date.
  • Delete it, where we do not have to keep it for legal or accounting reasons.
  • Restrict what we do with it while a question about it is resolved.
  • Object to processing we base on legitimate interests.
  • Port it — receive it in a common machine-readable format, or have it sent to another provider where that applies.
  • Withdraw consent where consent is the basis, such as marketing email.

Write to [CONTACT EMAIL] and we will respond within the period the law allows. If you are not satisfied, you can complain to your data protection authority — [SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY — LEGAL REVIEW].

09

Security

Your website is served over HTTPS, access to customer data is limited to the people who need it to do the work, and card details never reach our systems because the payment provider handles them directly.

We are not going to tell you our systems are unbreakable, because nobody can honestly say that. What we can say is what we do: keep the stack patched, keep backups, keep access narrow, and tell you promptly if something happens that affects your information.

10

Children

This is a service for businesses. It is not directed at children and we do not knowingly collect information about them.

11

Changes

If we change how we handle your information, we update this page and change the date at the top. Where the change materially affects you, we will tell you directly rather than relying on you noticing.