Cookie Policy

Transparent information about how we use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience, analyse website performance, and provide personalised services while respecting your privacy preferences.

This policy explains what cookies are, how we use them, what types we deploy, and how you can control them. We are committed to a privacy-first, GDPR-compliant approach to cookies.

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit our website. They help us provide a better user experience, remember your preferences, and analyse how our website is used.

How cookies work: cookies are downloaded when you first visit our website; they contain information that gets sent back to the originating website on each subsequent visit; cookies can store user preferences, login information, and browsing behaviour; they enable websites to recognise your device and provide personalised experiences; most cookies are harmless and improve your browsing experience.

Cookie categories: Essential Cookies (required) - necessary for basic website functionality, examples include session management, security features, and basic navigation. Analytics Cookies (optional) - help us understand how visitors use our website, examples include Google Analytics, page view tracking, and user behaviour analysis. Marketing Cookies (optional) - used to deliver relevant advertisements, examples include ad targeting, campaign tracking, and social media integration.

Here is a comprehensive breakdown of all cookie types we use, their specific purposes, and how they enhance your experience on our website.

Essential Cookies (required): these cookies are necessary for the website to function properly and cannot be disabled. Session ID - maintains your session while browsing the website, duration: session only, provider: WebDev Wales. Security Token - prevents cross-site request forgery attacks, duration: session only, provider: WebDev Wales. Cookie Consent - remembers your cookie preferences, duration: 1 year, provider: WebDev Wales. Load Balancer - directs traffic to the appropriate server, duration: session only, provider: Hosting Provider.

Analytics Cookies (optional): these cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website. _ga - distinguishes unique users for analytics, duration: 2 years, provider: Google Analytics. _gat - throttles request rate to Analytics, duration: 1 minute, provider: Google Analytics. _gid - distinguishes users in analytics, duration: 24 hours, provider: Google Analytics. Performance Metrics - measures website performance and speed, duration: 30 days, provider: WebDev Wales.

Functional Cookies (optional): these cookies enable enhanced functionality and personalisation. Language Preference - remembers your language selection (English and Welsh), duration: 1 year. Theme Preference - stores your preferred colour scheme or theme, duration: 1 year. Form Data - temporarily stores form inputs to prevent data loss, duration: session only. Accessibility Settings - remembers accessibility preferences, duration: 1 year.

Marketing Cookies (optional): these cookies track visitors across websites to display relevant advertisements. Google Ads - tracks conversions from Google Ads campaigns, duration: 90 days. Facebook Pixel - tracks website interactions for Facebook advertising, duration: 90 days. LinkedIn Insight - enables LinkedIn advertising and analytics, duration: 90 days. Referral Tracking - tracks which websites referred visitors to us, duration: 30 days.

We integrate with trusted third-party services to enhance functionality. These services may set their own cookies according to their privacy policies.

Google Analytics: website analytics and performance monitoring, cookies set: _ga, _gid, _gat_gtag, privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy, opt-out tool available at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Google Fonts: web font delivery and display optimisation, privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy.

Contact Forms: form processing and spam protection via reCAPTCHA, privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy.

Third-party services operate under their own privacy policies and cookie practices. We encourage you to review their policies to understand how they handle your data. We only work with reputable services that meet GDPR standards. You can disable these cookies through browser settings or opt-out tools.

You have complete control over which cookies are stored on your device.

Our Cookie Preference Centre: Essential Cookies are always on (required for basic website functionality, cannot be disabled); Analytics Cookies are optional (help us improve the website experience, can be enabled or disabled); Marketing Cookies are optional (used for advertising and retargeting, can be enabled or disabled); Functional Cookies are optional (enhanced features and personalisation, can be enabled or disabled).

You can update your cookie preferences at any time by clicking the Cookie Settings link in our website footer or by clearing your browser cookies.

Universal browser settings options include: block all cookies (may break website functionality); block third-party cookies only; allow cookies but delete when browser closes; allow all cookies (default setting); prompt for permission before setting cookies.

Quick browser access: Chrome - Settings, Privacy and Security, Cookies; Firefox - Settings, Privacy and Security, Cookies and Site Data; Safari - Preferences, Privacy, Cookies and website data; Edge - Settings, Cookies and site permissions.

Detailed instructions for managing cookies in the most popular web browsers.

Google Chrome: click the three dots menu in the top right corner; select Settings from the dropdown menu; navigate to Privacy and security section; click on Cookies and other site data; choose your preferred cookie settings; to manage specific sites, click See all cookies and site data. You can also type chrome://settings/content/cookies in the address bar.

Mozilla Firefox: click the hamburger menu in the top right corner; select Settings from the menu; click on Privacy and Security in the left sidebar; find the Cookies and Site Data section; click Manage Data to see stored cookies; use Clear Data to remove all cookies or manage exceptions. Firefox Enhanced Tracking Protection blocks many tracking cookies by default.

Apple Safari: open Safari and click Safari in the menu bar; select Preferences from the dropdown; click on the Privacy tab; find the Cookies and website data section; choose to block all cookies, allow from current website only, or allow from websites you visit; click Manage Website Data to see and remove specific cookies. Safari's Intelligent Tracking Prevention automatically blocks many tracking cookies.

Microsoft Edge: click the three dots menu in the top right corner; select Settings from the menu; navigate to Cookies and site permissions; click on Cookies and site data; choose to block, allow, or delete cookies; use See all cookies and site data to manage individual cookies.

Need help with cookie settings or have questions about our cookie policy? We are here to help you understand and control your privacy preferences.

Common questions: Will disabling cookies break the website? Essential cookies are required for basic functionality. Disabling analytics and marketing cookies will not affect core features. How often should I clear my cookies? This depends on your privacy preferences. Some users clear cookies monthly, others never do. Are cookies safe? Yes, cookies are generally safe. They cannot execute code or install viruses, but they can track your browsing habits. Do you sell cookie data to third parties? No, we never sell your personal data or cookie information to third parties. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

For cookie-related questions or privacy concerns, contact us at info@webdevwales.com or by phone at +44 07916 214843. We typically respond to cookie and privacy enquiries within 48 hours during business days.

We may update this policy when there are changes in cookie technologies or practices, updates to legal requirements or regulations, introduction of new website features, or changes to third-party services we use. We will notify you via email notification to registered users, a prominent notice on our website, an updated Last Modified date on this policy, and a cookie consent banner for significant changes.