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Web Design Cincinnati, Ohio: Website Design for Visitors in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana

Updated November 2026 · Written and maintained by the Progression Agency strategy team

Sort your site’s visitors by state and the Cincinnati picture changes: Covington and Florence are in Kentucky, Lawrenceburg is in Indiana, and a single contact form can collect data from all three states. The web design in Cincinnati, Ohio that businesses buy has to account for that. Here you get a side-by-side table of the Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana data laws with their dates and size thresholds, then price bands and pages that serve all three. Most small firms fall below two of those laws, and the page says so plainly. Progression is a New York City firm that works with Cincinnati clients remotely, with a free proposal and a written scope first.

On this page · 11 sections
  1. Start web design in Cincinnati, Ohio with a visitor map
  2. Three states, one site: the comparison table
  3. Website design in Cincinnati: price bands for a three-state site
  4. Under the line: what a small Cincinnati firm can skip and what it cannot
  5. Ohio: a defense you earn, not a rulebook
  6. Kentucky: when a Northern Kentucky site crosses the line
  7. Indiana: same numbers, counted separately
  8. Pages that serve three states without three copies of a site
  9. Test web design companies in Cincinnati with one question
  10. What to bring to the first call about a three-state site
  11. More for a three-state site

The short answer A Cincinnati site can have visitors in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, and each state has its own rule. Ohio’s chapter is a defense a business may choose to earn, not a rulebook. Kentucky’s and Indiana’s Acts reach a business only above a size test of 100,000 residents of that state in a calendar year, or 25,000 residents plus over half of gross revenue from selling personal data, so a small firm usually sits under both. Read the table, run the size test on your own numbers and ask counsel about the rest. We are in New York City and work with Cincinnati clients remotely.

What this page says about the three states was read during November 2026 on the Ohio Revised Code site, the Kentucky legislature’s statute pages and the Kentucky and Indiana Attorney General pages, and statutes get amended. Indiana’s Act is described the way the Indiana Attorney General’s Consumer Bill of Rights guide describes it. This is not legal advice, and it does not say that any business or site does or does not comply.

Start web design in Cincinnati, Ohio with a visitor map

Before anyone picks a template, count who will use the site. Owners who search for website design in Cincinnati, Ohio often picture a customer from the next neighborhood over. The regional picture is wider. REDI Cincinnati, the area’s economic development organization, says on its About page that it is the first point of contact for companies considering southwest Ohio, northern Kentucky and southeast Indiana, and it describes a 15-county, 3-state region. Its county profiles list the places in the chart below.

Three columns listing the counties REDI Cincinnati names in its region: five in Ohio, seven in Kentucky and three in Indiana.Three columns listing the counties REDI Cincinnati names in its region: five in Ohio, seven in Kentucky and three in Indiana.
The three-state county list from REDI Cincinnati’s county profiles. It shows where visitors to a Cincinnati site may live, and it is not a map of where any firm has an office.

The chart is a list of places, not a traffic report. Some owners will find that nearly all of their visitors come from one county, and others will find a steady share from across the river. Your analytics will say which.

Real places make the point. REDI’s Kenton County profile puts the county just a bridge south of downtown Cincinnati and says it is home to Covington, the largest Kentucky-based city in the region; the City of Covington gives its address as Covington, KY 41011. The profile for Boone County, Kentucky, says it is home to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport. Florence, Kentucky, says on its own city site that it is an engine of growth in the Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati metro area. On the Indiana side, Dearborn County says it is located in the southeastern-most corner of the state, bordering Ohio and Kentucky, and lists its administration offices in Lawrenceburg.

Website design in Cincinnati for customers in Covington or Lawrenceburg is the same job as for a customer in Hamilton County, with one extra question: which state’s residents are filling in the form? Ask it because the web design in Cincinnati that owners commission can sit under three sets of rules at once. The rest of this page lays them side by side.

How do you pull the state split from your analytics?

A few minutes in your analytics gives the designer something real to work from.

  1. Open the report that breaks visitors down by location. Most analytics tools have one that shows state or region.
  2. Set the date range to the last 12 months, so one slow season does not mislead you.
  3. Note the share of visitors from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, and the share from everywhere else.
  4. Do the same for form submissions and, for a shop, orders. People who buy may live in different places than people who browse.
  5. Write the three shares on one line at the top of the brief you give a designer.

Treat the result as a design input. It tells you which service-area wording to write and which pages to test, and it is not the number any law counts.

Three states, one site: the comparison table

This compares the text of three laws as we read it in November 2026; it is not legal advice, so ask counsel. Ohio’s is a chapter of the Revised Code. Kentucky’s and Indiana’s are consumer data acts. Indiana’s Act is described the way the Indiana Attorney General’s guide describes it.

Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana data rules side by side, as read in November 2026
QuestionOhio R.C. Chapter 1354Kentucky KRS 367.3611 and followingIndiana IC 24-15
What it isA defense. A business that keeps a written cybersecurity program meeting the chapter can use it against certain tort claims brought under Ohio law or in Ohio courts.A consumer data law. Kentucky residents get rights over their personal data, and businesses that meet the size test get duties.A consumer data law. Indiana residents get rights over their personal data, and businesses that meet the size test get duties.
In effectSections 1354.02 to 1354.05 took effect November 2, 2018 (Senate Bill 220). The definitions section was last updated April 5, 2019.January 1, 2026.January 1, 2026, the date the Attorney General’s guide gives.
Who it reachesA covered entity: a business, for profit or not, that accesses, maintains, communicates or processes personal or restricted information. A sole proprietorship counts as a business.Persons that conduct business in Kentucky or produce products or services targeted to Kentucky residents, and that meet the size test.Persons that do business in Indiana or produce products or services targeted to Indiana residents, and that meet the size test.
Size thresholdNone stated in the chapter. A program’s scale follows the business’s size and complexity, activities, data sensitivity, tool cost and resources.In a calendar year, the personal data of at least 100,000 Kentucky consumers, or of at least 25,000 plus over 50 percent of gross revenue from selling personal data.The same numbers, counted as Indiana residents: 100,000 or more, or at least 25,000 plus more than 50 percent of gross revenue from selling personal data.
Common exclusions as readNo exclusions are listed. The program duties apply to a covered entity that is seeking the defense.Cities, state agencies and political subdivisions; financial institutions and data under Gramm-Leach-Bliley Title V; HIPAA covered entities and business associates; nonprofits; institutions of higher education; other listed bodies.The state and state agencies; financial institutions; HIPAA covered entities; nonprofit organizations; higher education institutions; public utilities, as the Attorney General’s guide lists them.
Who enforcesThe chapter names no enforcer. It works as a defense, and section 1354.04 says it provides no private right of action, including a class action.The Attorney General, exclusively: 30 days’ written notice and a chance to cure, then up to $7,500 for each continued violation. No private right of action.The Attorney General, who says its office enforces the Act starting January 1, 2026 and takes consumer complaints.
What it changes on a websiteThe chapter does not mention websites. A site sits inside a program through the data its forms collect and who can log in.A privacy notice with listed contents, a secure and reliable way to submit rights requests, an opt-out disclosure if data is sold or used for targeted advertising, and consent before sensitive data is processed.A privacy notice that is easy to find, with appeal instructions, and consent before sensitive data is processed. The guide says many sites link the notice at the bottom of every page.
What a small firm should take from itIt is optional. Whether to build a scaled, written program is a decision for the owner and counsel.Run the size test first. A firm that holds the data of a few thousand people is far under the number. Ask counsel about anything else.The same test on Indiana residents. A business can be over in one state and under in the other.

Two counting notes sit under the table. Kentucky’s number counts Kentucky residents and Indiana’s counts Indiana residents, in a calendar year, as each Act is written, so the two are not added together across the river. How an analytics cookie, a device identifier or an ad audience counts toward either number is a question for counsel, and this page does not answer it.

Dates on one line

The Ohio defense is more than seven years older than the other two laws. Kentucky’s definitions section also has a second version dated July 1, 2027, so check the current text with counsel before relying on any defined term.

Timeline of four dates: November 2, 2018 for Ohio's safe harbor sections, April 5, 2019 for Ohio's definitions section, January 1, 2026 for the Kentucky and Indiana Acts and July 1, 2027 for a second version of Kentucky's definitions.Timeline of four dates: November 2, 2018 for Ohio's safe harbor sections, April 5, 2019 for Ohio's definitions section, January 1, 2026 for the Kentucky and Indiana Acts and July 1, 2027 for a second version of Kentucky's definitions.
Dates as printed on the Ohio Revised Code pages, the Kentucky statute pages and the Indiana Attorney General’s guide.

Website design in Cincinnati: price bands for a three-state site

How much website design costs in Cincinnati depends on the pages, the features and what the site connects to. None of the three laws as read sets a price for a website or adds a fixed fee to one, so scope drives the number. The tables below give our own starting prices and the published US bands, with no Cincinnati-only figure, because none exists.

Our prices, the same in all three states

Our fixed-scope pricing on the website design and development page does not change with where your visitors live. These are the build types a three-state site usually starts from.

Fixed-scope pricing, price from
Build typePrice from
Single landing page$1,400
Brochure site, 5 to 8 pages$9,500
Business site, 10 to 16 pages$18,000
Ecommerce, under 200 SKUs$34,000

Privacy notice placement, a rights request form or a change to how tags are set up is quoted after a written scope, and we give no price for it here.

Published US bands for this kind of site

Each band below runs from the typical low to the published high in the sources named in the caption. None is a Progression quote.

These are published US price bands (market figures, not a Progression rate card), read in October 2026 from WebFX, Clutch, Shopify, FatLab Web Support, WebsiteSetup.org, Accessible.org and DigitalA11Y.
NeedPublished US bandWhat it describes
Brochure or small business site$3,000 to $25,000A small site that presents a business
Custom business site$15,000 to $100,000A custom build for a business, from mid-size to large
Ecommerce site$5,000 to $100,000From small catalogs to large ones
Monthly maintenance$100 to $2,500A care plan for updates, security and backups
Accessibility audit and fixes$1,500 to $7,500Larger or more complex sites cost more

A shop that ships to Kentucky and Indiana customers should read ecommerce website design for catalog and checkout work. For the accessibility row, see accessible website design.

Which side of the river are your visitors on?Tell us which side of the river your visitors are on. You get a free proposal for a Cincinnati website with a written scope.

Get a free proposal

Under the line: what a small Cincinnati firm can skip and what it cannot

Picture a roofer in Florence or a shop in Lawrenceburg whose site brings in a few thousand visitors a year. Both Acts start their size test at 100,000 consumers in a calendar year, or at 25,000 for a business that also earns over half of its gross revenue from selling personal data. A few thousand people is nowhere near either number, so the Kentucky and Indiana Acts as read will not apply to that business on size. Whether anything else applies is a question for counsel.

Bar chart of the size test: 100,000 consumers in Kentucky, 25,000 with the revenue test, 100,000 Indiana residents and 25,000 with the revenue test.Bar chart of the size test: 100,000 consumers in Kentucky, 25,000 with the revenue test, 100,000 Indiana residents and 25,000 with the revenue test.
Numbers from KRS 367.3613 and from the Indiana Attorney General’s guide. Ohio’s chapter states no count.

Ohio’s chapter is optional and scales down to the business that uses it. The affordable web design in Cincinnati that owners can plan around is mostly a matter of scope, and the table above is a reason to leave out work that no law in it asks of a business your size. Our page on web design for small business covers the build itself.

What still matters at any size?

Skipping the heavy work is not the same as skipping the basics. These cost little and protect visitors whatever the law says.

  • A privacy notice that describes what the site actually collects and which tools receive it.
  • A contact form that sends where it says it sends, tested again after every change.
  • Fewer scripts and tags, since each one is another service that may receive visitor data.
  • One named person who reads messages about personal data.
  • Counsel for anything the table does not settle, including laws this page does not cover.
Two panels. Under the line: a few thousand people, far below 100,000 residents, size test not met. Over the line: 100,000 residents or 25,000 plus the revenue test, then counsel and the listed website jobs.Two panels. Under the line: a few thousand people, far below 100,000 residents, size test not met. Over the line: 100,000 residents or 25,000 plus the revenue test, then counsel and the listed website jobs.
Where a business sits depends on its own numbers and on the exclusions in each Act. Ask counsel.

Ohio: a defense you earn, not a rulebook

Chapter 1354 of the Ohio Revised Code is titled Businesses Maintaining Recognized Cybersecurity Programs, and the chapter reads more like an offer than an order. As read, it gives consumers no rights, and nothing in it orders a business to adopt a program. A business that wants the defense it describes has to meet its terms.

What does the written program have to look like?

Section 1354.02 says a covered entity seeking the affirmative defense must create, maintain and comply with a written cybersecurity program. The program has to carry the following.

  • Administrative, technical and physical safeguards for the protection of personal information, or of personal and restricted information.
  • A design that protects the security and confidentiality of the information.
  • A design that protects against anticipated threats or hazards to its security or integrity.
  • A design that protects against unauthorized access and acquisition likely to cause a material risk of identity theft or other fraud.
  • Reasonable conformance to an industry recognized cybersecurity framework named in section 1354.03.

The chapter ties the size of the effort to the business. A program’s scale and scope are appropriate if they are based on five factors.

Size: Size and complexity. Of the business that keeps the program.
Work: Nature and scope of the activities. What the business does with personal information.
Data: Sensitivity of the information. How sensitive the information to be protected is.
Tools: Cost and availability of tools. What can be bought to improve security and cut vulnerabilities.
Means: Resources available. What the covered entity has available.

Which frameworks does the chapter name?

Section 1354.03 lists several routes. A program can reasonably conform to the NIST framework for improving critical infrastructure cybersecurity, NIST special publication 800-171, NIST special publications 800-53 and 800-53a, the FedRAMP security assessment framework, the Center for Internet Security critical security controls or the ISO/IEC 27000 family. A business regulated under HIPAA’s security requirements, Title V of Gramm-Leach-Bliley, the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014 or the HITECH Act can conform to that law’s requirements instead. Compliance with the PCI data security standard counts only together with another framework from the first list.

What does the defense cover?

Section 1354.02(D) makes the defense available against any cause of action sounding in tort that is brought under Ohio law or in Ohio courts and that alleges a failure to implement reasonable information security controls resulted in a data breach. Section 1354.04 adds that the chapter does not provide a private right of action, including a class action. Whether a particular program would qualify, and which claims the defense would reach, is a question for counsel.

Where does the website fit inside a program?

The chapter does not mention websites, but a site is one of the systems a program would have to cover. The places to look are the forms that collect names and messages, the admin logins and who holds them, and the plugin and software updates that keep the site patched. Our page on website maintenance for Ohio businesses covers the upkeep side. If your question is about being found across Ohio rather than about the build, see SEO company in Ohio.

Kentucky: when a Northern Kentucky site crosses the line

Kentucky’s Consumer Data Protection Act is codified at KRS 367.3611 to 367.3629, and the Attorney General’s page says it went into effect on January 1, 2026. KRS 367.3613 says who it reaches: persons that conduct business in the Commonwealth or produce products or services targeted to its residents and that, during a calendar year, control or process personal data of at least 100,000 consumers, or at least 25,000 consumers while deriving over 50 percent of gross revenue from the sale of personal data. KRS 367.3611 defines a consumer as a Kentucky resident acting only in an individual context, and says it does not include a person acting in a commercial or employment context.

The same section lists who the Act does not reach. They are a city, state agency or political subdivision; financial institutions, their affiliates and data subject to Title V of the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act; covered entities and business associates governed by HIPAA’s rules; nonprofit organizations; institutions of higher education; certain organizations that handle data solely to help law enforcement with suspected insurance fraud or to help first responders in catastrophic events; and a small telephone utility, a Tier III CMRS provider or a municipally owned utility that does not sell or share personal data with a third party. Certain kinds of data, such as protected health information, are exempt as well.

The Attorney General’s page lists the rights the Act gives Kentucky residents.

  • Confirm whether a business is processing their personal data.
  • Access the personal data collected, without revealing trade secrets.
  • Correct inaccuracies in it.
  • Delete personal data provided by or obtained about them.
  • Get a portable copy, to the extent feasible.
  • Opt out of processing for targeted advertising, the sale of personal data or profiling in furtherance of decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.
  • Have sensitive data protected from processing without consent.

Who should ask the size question? A consumer brand with a large Kentucky customer list, a ticketing or membership site, an account-based service and a data-heavy product are the places where the question is worth asking. That is a question to put to the numbers, not a statement about any firm. For the search side of a Northern Kentucky plan, see SEO company in Kentucky.

On enforcement, KRS 367.3627 gives the Attorney General exclusive authority. Before bringing an action the Attorney General must give 30 days’ written notice naming the provisions allegedly violated. If the business cures the noticed violation within the 30 days and gives the Attorney General an express written statement that the violations have been cured and that no further violations will occur, no action for damages starts. If violations continue after the cure period, the Attorney General may seek damages of up to $7,500 for each continued violation. The statute says nothing in it gives rise to a private right of action. The version of KRS 367.3613 read here is marked as amended by 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 13, so ask counsel to check the current text.

Website jobs if you are over the Kentucky line

These are duties the statute and the Attorney General’s page put on a business that meets the size test, as the statute reads until a second version takes effect on July 1, 2027. The website carries them. Whether you are such a business is for counsel.

  • A reasonably accessible, clear and meaningful privacy notice that lists the categories of personal data processed, the purpose, how consumers exercise their rights including how to appeal, the categories shared with third parties and the categories of third parties.
  • At least one secure and reliable way to submit a rights request, described in the notice. The statute says a business may not require a consumer to create a new account to exercise rights, though it may require use of an existing one.
  • A clear and conspicuous disclosure, with the way to opt out, if the business sells personal data or processes it for targeted advertising.
  • Consent before processing sensitive data: racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, mental or physical health diagnosis, sexual orientation, citizenship or immigration status, genetic or biometric data used for personal identification, precise geolocation data and data from a known child younger than 13.
  • An appeal process that is conspicuously available and similar to the process for submitting requests.
  • A person who answers. The Attorney General’s page says a business must respond without undue delay and no later than 45 days, and may extend by 45 more days when reasonably necessary if it tells the consumer why.

Holding a quote that skips the state question?Send us the quote you are holding. You get a free proposal with a written scope, so the two can be compared line by line.

Get a free proposal

Indiana: same numbers, counted separately

Indiana’s Consumer Data Protection Act sits in Indiana Code 24-15. We read it through the Indiana Attorney General’s Consumer Bill of Rights guide, which says the General Assembly passed the Act in 2023 and that the office will enforce it starting January 1, 2026. The guide describes the Act as applying to people and companies that do business in Indiana or produce products or services targeted to Indiana residents and that, in the applicable calendar year, either control or process the personal data of 100,000 or more Indiana residents, or of at least 25,000 Indiana residents while deriving more than 50 percent of gross revenue from selling personal data.

The numbers match Kentucky’s, but the count is a different one. The guide defines a consumer as an Indiana resident acting in a personal, family or household context, and says a person acting as an employee or in a commercial context is not a consumer. A business with a large Kentucky customer list and few Indiana customers could therefore sit over the line in one state and under it in the other. Ask counsel how your own counts come out.

The guide says the Act does not apply to 501(c)(3), 501(c)(6) or 501(c)(12) nonprofit organizations, the state or state agencies, including bodies of any political subdivision. It adds that even a business over the numbers is generally outside the Act if it is a financial institution, a HIPAA covered entity, a nonprofit, a higher education institution or a public utility.

What does the Indiana guide say to expect from a business?

The guide’s questions and answers are the closest thing to a website checklist in the Indiana material we read.

  • A business covered by the Act must have a privacy notice that is easy for people to locate and access. On many websites, the guide says, the link sits at the bottom of each web page.
  • The notice has to carry instructions on how to appeal a denied request.
  • A response to a rights request is due without undue delay and within 45 days, with one extension of 45 days if the consumer is told within the first 45.
  • There is generally no fee to make a request, and a consumer can obtain a copy of data they previously provided once a year free of charge.
  • A business may not process sensitive data without the consumer’s consent, and all data about a child is treated as sensitive.

On enforcement, the Attorney General’s letter says the Act directs the office to enforce it, and the guide tells residents that if a business still fails to respond after 45 days and a written notice, they can file a consumer complaint with the Attorney General. For the remedies the Act itself provides, ask counsel to read its enforcement provisions.

REDI’s Indiana list names three counties: Dearborn, which it puts about half an hour west of Cincinnati; Franklin, about 50 miles from both Indianapolis and Cincinnati; and Ohio County, about an hour west of Cincinnati. A Cincinnati firm with customers in those counties should run the Indiana count separately. For the search side of an Indiana plan, see SEO company in Indiana.

Pages that serve three states without three copies of a site

A three-state audience does not call for three sites. It calls for one site whose pages are honest about where you work and whose forms and tags are understood. Start with the places the site collects data, since those are the places a state’s rule would touch.

Forms: Contact form. Name, email, phone and whatever the message says.
Quotes: Quote request. Project details, often with addresses and files attached.
Mail: Newsletter signup. An email address and a name.
Login: Customer account. Accounts, passwords and order history.
Cart: Checkout. Names, addresses and orders that have to ship.
Tags: Analytics and ad tags. Page visits passed to services outside the site.

One service page, one service-area statement

Write each service once. Add a single statement of where you work that names only the places you really serve, for example Hamilton County in Ohio, Kenton and Boone counties in Kentucky or Dearborn County in Indiana, if those are true for you. One privacy notice page that every page links to can serve all three states; any wording specific to a state is a matter for counsel.

Where does a state detail belong?

Put a state detail only where it is true and useful. If you hold a license in more than one state, show each number beside the state it belongs to. A delivery area, a service area and a shipping option belong next to the service they describe. A near-identical page for each state adds upkeep and no new information. For a single-metro Ohio picture, see our page on web design in Columbus, Ohio.

What a three-state build adds in code

Once the site needs logic, you are shopping for web development in Cincinnati, not only design: a form that routes a privacy request to a named person, or a calculator that asks which state a customer is in. Our web development services page lists what we build.

Test web design companies in Cincinnati with one question

A portfolio shows what a firm has built. It does not show what the firm will do when a customer in Kentucky asks to see or delete their data. One question does, and it works the same on a web designer in Cincinnati found through a neighbor and on a firm found through search:

“Show me where you would put the state data and who answers a request from a Kentucky customer.”

A Cincinnati web design agency, a studio and a freelance designer can all pass it, because it measures thinking, not size. A quote for web design services that cannot answer it has left a gap in the scope. This page names no firm and ranks none.

Flow of five stops: privacy notice, request route, named owner, written reply and a record kept.Flow of five stops: privacy notice, request route, named owner, written reply and a record kept.
A site-side picture of the question. What the reply must say and how fast is for counsel.
Answers to listen for
Part of the answerA good answer namesA thin answer sounds like
Where the state data goesOne page for the notice, one route for requests and the place form data lands, each with a nameA plugin name and nothing more
Who answers a Kentucky requestA named role on your side and an inbox someone watchesOur team handles it, with no owner or inbox
How state of residence is handledWhether the form asks at all and what happens to the answerNo view on it
What is left to counselA clear line between what the firm builds and what your lawyer decidesA promise of compliance

If you are comparing quotes, lay them side by side on those four lines before you compare prices. The cheaper quote that leaves them blank is a smaller project with the same label.

What to bring to the first call about a three-state site

A designer can do more in one conversation when the facts are on the table. Bring these six things, even if some are rough.

  1. The three visitor shares from your analytics: Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and everywhere else.
  2. A list of every form on the current site and the inbox each one sends to.
  3. A list of the tags, plugins and outside services that receive visitor data.
  4. A draft of your service-area statement, naming only places you really serve.
  5. The name of the person who would read a message about personal data.
  6. The contact details of your own counsel, for the questions this page leaves to them.

With those in hand, a quote can be written against a real list, and a written scope can show what is in the price and what is not.

Get a free proposal

Tell us which side of the river your visitors are on. You get a free proposal for a Cincinnati website with a written scope.

Get a free proposal

Pages on the work a Tri-State site can lead to:

Three-state site questions

What should web design for a Cincinnati, Ohio business cover if customers cross the river?
Start with the visitor map, then build one site for all three states: clear service pages, a service-area statement that is true, a privacy notice that matches what the site collects, forms that go where they say and a named person who reads messages about personal data. Website design in Cincinnati, Ohio commissioned this way stays one site, not three. Which laws matter is a question for counsel.
Do Kentucky’s and Indiana’s data laws apply to my small business?
Each Act applies to a business that operates in the state or targets its residents and, in a calendar year, handles the personal data of at least 100,000 of that state’s residents, or at least 25,000 while earning over 50 percent of gross revenue from selling personal data. A small firm that holds the data of a few thousand people does not meet that size test as written. Both Acts also list exclusions and other laws may apply, so ask counsel.
Does a Cincinnati company with no Kentucky office still have to think about the Kentucky Act?
The Act’s wording is about conducting business in Kentucky or producing products or services targeted to Kentucky residents, not about having an office there, and it then applies only if the size test is also met. Whether selling to Kentucky customers counts as targeting them is a question for counsel, and a Cincinnati firm with many Northern Kentucky customers should ask it.
Does Ohio have a law like Kentucky’s?
Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1354 is a different kind of law. As read, it gives consumers no rights over their data. It lets a business that keeps a written cybersecurity program reasonably conforming to a recognized framework use that program as an affirmative defense to certain tort claims in Ohio. We read this chapter only, so ask counsel about other Ohio law.
What is the Ohio safe harbor, and do I need it?
The safe harbor is the affirmative defense in R.C. 1354.02. It is optional: the written program is required only of a business that wants to use the defense. The program’s scale and scope follow the business’s size and complexity, activities, data sensitivity, tool cost and resources. Whether to build one, and whether a given program would qualify, is for you and counsel to decide.
How are the 100,000 and 25,000 numbers counted?
Both Acts count consumers who are residents of their own state, during a calendar year. Kentucky’s statute covers a Kentucky resident acting only in an individual context, and Indiana’s guide an Indiana resident acting in a personal, family or household context. The 25,000 number also needs over half of gross revenue from selling personal data. How cookies, device identifiers or ad audiences count is a question for counsel.
Are nonprofits and universities covered?
Not by the Kentucky or Indiana Acts as read. KRS 367.3613 excludes nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education, and the Indiana Attorney General’s guide says its Act does not apply to nonprofit organizations or higher education institutions. Ohio’s chapter defines a business to include nonprofits and colleges, and its defense is optional. Ask counsel about your own status.
What happens if a business misses something?
In Kentucky only the Attorney General enforces. It must give 30 days’ written notice, a business that cures in that time and says so in writing avoids an action for damages, and continued violations can draw damages of up to $7,500 each. Indiana’s Attorney General says it enforces its Act from January 1, 2026 and takes consumer complaints. Ohio’s chapter is a defense, not a penalty law. Ask counsel about your own position.
What does website design in Cincinnati cost when visitors come from three states?
It depends on the size of the site, and none of the three laws sets a price. Our fixed-scope prices start at $1,400 for a landing page, $9,500 for a 5 to 8 page brochure site, $18,000 for a 10 to 16 page business site and $34,000 for ecommerce under 200 SKUs. Published US price bands (market figures, not a Progression rate card) put a brochure or small business site at $3,000 to $25,000 and a custom business site at $15,000 to $100,000. No band is specific to Cincinnati.
How do I test web design companies in Cincinnati on this?
Ask one question: show me where you would put the state data and who answers a request from a Kentucky customer. A good answer names a page, a request route and a person, and draws a line at legal questions. Owners can then judge web design companies in Cincinnati on their thinking and not on a portfolio alone.
How many weeks does a small Cincinnati site usually take to build?
On our fixed-scope table the typical timeline is 1 to 2 weeks for a single landing page, 6 to 8 weeks for a brochure site of 5 to 8 pages and 8 to 13 weeks for a business site of 10 to 16 pages. That page also says overruns are almost always caused by content and approvals rather than by development.
What is a privacy notice, and where should it sit on a three-state site?
A privacy notice tells visitors what personal data a business collects, why and with whom it shares it. Where a law applies, it has listed contents. Kentucky’s statute lists the categories of data, the purpose, how rights are exercised including appeals, and the categories shared and the third parties. Indiana’s Attorney General says the notice must be easy to find and that many sites link it at the bottom of each page. One notice page that every page links to suits a three-state site, and counsel should approve the wording.
Can one contact form serve visitors from all three states?
Yes. A form does not know which state a visitor lives in unless it asks. What matters is that it collects only what you need, says what happens to the data and sends it to an inbox someone watches. Whether to ask for a state is a design choice, and what you do with the answer is a question for counsel.
What counts as sensitive data under the Kentucky Act?
The Attorney General’s page lists racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs, mental or physical health diagnosis, sexual orientation, citizenship or immigration status, genetic or biometric data used for personal identification, precise geolocation data and data collected from a known child younger than 13. It says a business cannot process a consumer’s sensitive data without first getting the consumer’s consent.
Do business customers and employees count as consumers?
Not under the definitions read. Kentucky’s statute says a consumer acts only in an individual context and excludes a person acting in a commercial or employment context. Indiana’s guide says a consumer acts in a personal, family or household context and that an employee or a person in a commercial context is not one. How that applies to a business-to-business contact form is a question for counsel.
Does the Ohio chapter let a customer sue a business?
No. Section 1354.04 says the sections do not provide a private right of action, including a class action, for any act or practice they regulate. The chapter works the other way, by offering a business an affirmative defense to certain tort claims. Ask counsel what other claims may be brought.
Should a Cincinnati site have separate Kentucky and Indiana pages?
Not as copies of the site. Write each service once, add a true service-area statement and put a state detail, such as a license number you hold, next to the state it belongs to. A near-identical page for each state adds upkeep without adding information.
How do I see how many of my visitors live in Kentucky or Indiana?
Open the location report in your analytics tool, set the range to the last 12 months and read the share by state. Do the same for form submissions and orders. Treat the result as a design input and not as a legal count.
What should a Cincinnati online shop that ships across the river check first?
List what the shop collects at checkout and which services receive it, then compare the number of customers in each state with the size test. A shop with orders in the thousands is far from 100,000 in either Kentucky or Indiana. On our table ecommerce under 200 SKUs starts at $34,000, and published US bands run from $5,000 to $100,000 for an ecommerce site.
Is the Kentucky Act still changing?
The text we read shows changes already made. KRS 367.3613 is marked as amended by 2025 Ky. Acts ch. 13, and the definitions section has a second version, marked as amended by 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 118, that takes effect July 1, 2027 and adds definitions including automatic content recognition data and smart monitors. Check the current statute with counsel before relying on a term.

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