The short version: this website does not use analytics, advertising cookies or third-party tracking scripts. We collect personal information only when you choose to contact us, we use it to reply and to work with you, and we never sell it or share it for advertising.
Who We Are
This website, a1awebsitedesign.com, is operated by A1A Web Design, a studio of AldoMedia, LLC., 656 N French Rd #2, Buffalo, NY 14228. In this policy, "we", "us" and "our" mean A1A Web Design and AldoMedia, LLC., and "you" means anyone who visits the site.
What We Collect at a Glance
| Information | When | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you type into a contact form | Only when you send a form | To reply and to quote your project | As long as needed, see below |
| IP address and browser details sent with a form | Only when you send a form | To block spam and abuse | Kept with the message |
| One session cookie | When you start using a form | Spam protection for the form | Until you close your browser |
| Standard server logs | Every request, recorded by our host | Security and troubleshooting | A limited period set by the host |
| Preferences in your browser | When you change a setting | To remember your choices | On your device until you clear it |
Information You Give Us
When you use the contact form on our contact page or homepage, we receive what you type: your name, email address and message, which are required, and, if you choose to fill them in, your phone number, business name, current website address, the service you are interested in and your timeline. We also receive whatever you send us directly by email or tell us on a phone call.
How the Contact Form Works
When you press Send, your message travels over an encrypted HTTPS connection to our own server. It is not handled by an outside form service. Our server then does two things with it:
- It emails the message to our inbox so we can reply.
- It saves a copy to a private log file on our hosting server, in a folder outside the public web folder, so the file cannot be opened from a web browser. That copy exists so a lead is never lost if an email fails to arrive.
Along with your message, the server records the date and time, which form you used, your IP address and a short description of your browser (its "user agent"). We use these details only to spot spam and abuse and to troubleshoot delivery problems.
To keep spam out without making you solve a CAPTCHA, the form uses checks you never see: a one-time security token, a timing check, hidden fields that only automated bots fill in, content filters and a limit on how many messages can be sent from one connection per hour. The hourly limit is counted under a scrambled (hashed) version of the IP address rather than the address itself. Messages that fail these checks are not emailed to us. Instead, a short record of each one (the time, the reason it was blocked, the IP address, the email address entered and the first part of the message) goes to a separate private log, so we can catch a real message that was blocked by mistake. If JavaScript is turned off in your browser, the form asks a simple math question instead of using the token.
Cookies
This site does not use analytics, advertising, social media or other tracking cookies, and no third party sets cookies through it.
There is one essential cookie, named a1a_form. It is set only when you start using a contact form (at the moment the form asks our server for its one-time security token) or when you submit a form. It holds a random session identifier that links your form to that token so the spam checks work. It is limited to our site, cannot be read by scripts on the page, and expires when you close your browser. If you never use a form, it is never set. The short cookie notice at the bottom of the page simply tells you about it.
Information Stored in Your Browser
A few settings are saved in your browser's local storage. Unlike a cookie, local storage is not sent to our server; it stays on your device and we cannot see it.
- a1aCookieNote remembers that you dismissed the cookie notice.
- a1aA11y remembers your choices in the accessibility preferences toolbar, such as text size, contrast or font.
- a1aA11yHide remembers, for 30 days, that you chose to hide the toolbar button.
You can remove these at any time by clearing this site's data in your browser settings. The toolbar also has a "Reset all settings" button.
Server Logs
Our website is hosted by HostGator. Like nearly every web host, HostGator automatically records basic technical details about each request made to the server: the IP address, the date and time, the page or file requested, the referring page and the browser's user agent. These logs are used to keep the server secure, investigate attacks and troubleshoot errors. We do not use them to build profiles of visitors or for advertising. The host keeps and rotates these logs for a limited period under its own practices.
Third-Party Services and Links
The fonts, scripts, styles and images on this site are served from our own server. We do not embed videos, maps, social media widgets, chat tools or advertising, so viewing a page here does not send information about you to any other company.
There is one optional exception. The accessibility toolbar includes a Dictionary tool that is off unless you turn it on. If you turn it on and then select a single word on the page, your browser sends that word to the Free Dictionary API (opens in a new tab) at api.dictionaryapi.dev to fetch a definition. Like any web request, that service also receives your IP address and basic browser details. This happens only when you use the tool, and the service is run independently of us.
The toolbar's Read Aloud tool uses the speech feature built into your browser or device, and we do not receive what it reads. Depending on your browser and the voice selected, your browser maker may process that text under its own privacy policy.
Links to other websites, such as our social media profiles, our Google Business Profile, photo sources and sites in our portfolio, take you to services we do not control. Their privacy policies apply once you leave this site.
How We Use Your Information
- To reply to your message and answer your questions
- To prepare a quote and, if you hire us, to deliver your project
- To keep ordinary business records, such as correspondence and invoices
- To protect this site and its forms from spam, fraud and abuse
- To meet our legal obligations
We will not add you to a mailing list or send you marketing email unless you ask us to.
We Do Not Sell or Share Your Information
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with anyone for advertising. The only outside companies that handle it do so to provide a service to us: our web host, HostGator, which stores the website, the private form logs and the server logs, and the provider that delivers our email. We may disclose information if the law requires it, for example in response to a valid subpoena or court order, or when it is necessary to protect someone's safety or our legal rights.
How Long We Keep Information
We keep contact form messages, including the copy in our private log, only as long as we need them: to reply, to follow up on a possible project and, if you become a client, as part of our normal business records. Inquiries that do not lead to a project are cleared out periodically. Spam records and the hourly counters are kept only as long as they help us block abuse. The session cookie ends when you close your browser, and the settings in your browser stay there until you clear them. Server logs are kept and rotated by our host. If you ask us to delete your information, we will, unless we must keep something to meet a legal obligation.
How We Protect It
The site uses HTTPS encryption. The form logs are stored outside the public web folder, and access to messages and logs is limited to the people who run A1A Web Design. No system is perfectly secure, which is one more reason we collect as little as we can.
Your Choices and Rights
You can ask us to:
- tell you what personal information we hold about you;
- correct anything that is wrong;
- delete your information;
- stop contacting you.
Email info [at] a1awebsitedesign.com, call 716-771-2536 or write to the mailing address below. We may ask you to confirm a detail or two so we do not give your information to the wrong person. There is no charge, and we aim to respond within 30 days. If you would rather not use the form at all, you are always welcome to call or email us instead.
Florida and United States Privacy Laws
We are a small business based in New York that works with clients in Florida. Florida's main consumer privacy law, the Florida Digital Bill of Rights, generally applies only to very large companies: among other conditions, a business must have more than $1 billion in global gross annual revenue to count as a covered "controller" under section 501.702 of the Florida Statutes (opens in a new tab). A studio our size does not meet that threshold, so the law likely does not apply to us. We still offer everyone, wherever they live, the access, correction and deletion choices described above.
Children's Privacy
This website is for business owners and is not directed to children under 13, the age group protected by the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) (opens in a new tab). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has sent us information, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes to This Policy
If the way this site handles information changes, for example if we add a new tool, we will update this page and change the effective date at the top. We will not use information collected under this version of the policy in a materially different way without telling you first.
Contact Us About Privacy
Questions or requests about this policy are welcome:
- Email: info [at] a1awebsitedesign.com
- Phone: 716-771-2536, every day, 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM Eastern
- Mail: A1A Web Design (AldoMedia, LLC.), 656 N French Rd #2, Buffalo, NY 14228
Sources and Further Reading
- The Florida Legislature, Florida Statutes section 501.702, Definitions (Florida Digital Bill of Rights) (opens in a new tab)
- Federal Trade Commission, Children's Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) (opens in a new tab)
- Free Dictionary API, used only by the optional Dictionary tool (opens in a new tab)