General Terms and Conditions (GTC)

1. Scope and provider

These General Terms and Conditions (GTC) apply to all contracts between Ioan Serban, trading as Ranklokal, Iglinger Str. 10, 86899 Landsberg am Lech (hereinafter “Provider”), and his customers (hereinafter “Customer”) for the services named in section 2.

The Provider’s services are aimed exclusively at businesses. A business is any natural or legal person or partnership with legal capacity that acts in the exercise of its commercial or self-employed professional activity when entering into the contract (§ 14 German Civil Code, BGB), including the self-employed and freelancers. The Provider does not enter into contracts with consumers (§ 13 BGB). By accepting the offer, the customer confirms that they act as a business.

The customer’s general terms and conditions apply only if the Provider has expressly agreed to them in text form. Individual agreements, in particular in the offer, take precedence over these GTC.

2. Services

The Provider performs in particular the following services:

• design and technical implementation of websites, including a technical basis for search engines
• websites with an extra feature (for example price calculator, inquiry form or simple online payment) and custom web applications (for example online appointment booking, customer portals, interfaces or automations)
• setting up accounts and services in the customer’s name, such as a Google Business Profile or Google Search Console, as agreed
• ongoing services on the Provider’s servers, in particular the AI Chatbot (section 12)

The type and scope of the services follow from the respective offer. Prices and descriptions on the website and results of the price calculator are non-binding guide values and not an offer in the legal sense.

Domain, hosting, servers, email mailboxes and other third-party services are not part of the Provider’s services unless expressly agreed (section 11).

A particular economic success, such as search engine rankings, visitor numbers, inquiries or revenue, is not owed. Search engines, other providers and the market have a decisive influence on it.

The Provider may use subcontractors to perform the contract, in particular for backend and AI services. He remains the customer’s contact and is responsible for their services.

3. Conclusion of contract

On request, the Provider prepares an individual offer with scope of services and fixed price. The contract is concluded when the customer accepts this offer in text form, for example by email. Unless the offer states otherwise, it can be accepted within 30 days.

4. Customer’s cooperation

The customer provides all content, information and access needed for the implementation in good time and completely, in particular logo, photos and a description of their business and services or their own texts. The customer supplies the photos. They review drafts and interim versions promptly and give the Provider feedback in text form.

If the project is delayed because the customer does not cooperate or does not cooperate in time, agreed dates are postponed accordingly. The Provider may charge separately for additional effort resulting from this, if he has pointed it out to the customer beforehand.

If the customer fails to provide a necessary contribution, the Provider may set a reasonable deadline and declare that he terminates the contract if the contribution is not made by the end of the deadline (§ 643 BGB). In this case the Provider may demand a part of the remuneration corresponding to the work performed (§ 645 (1) BGB).

Periods named in the offer are expected dates, unless they are expressly agreed as binding.

5. Content, third-party rights and legal texts

The customer is responsible for the content of their website. This applies to content they supply themselves and to texts the Provider writes for them once the customer has approved them.

The Provider writes texts with the support of AI tools on the basis of the customer’s information. The customer checks all texts for factual and technical accuracy before publication and approves them. If the customer does not want AI support, they supply the texts themselves.

The customer ensures that they hold the necessary rights to all content supplied, such as texts, photos, logos and trademarks, and that the content does not violate applicable law.

If a third party asserts claims against the Provider because of such content, the customer indemnifies the Provider from these claims, including reasonable costs of legal defence, to the extent the customer is responsible for the infringement.

The Provider does not give legal advice. Legal texts such as legal notice, privacy policy and cookie notices, as well as compliance with industry-specific rules, for example professional or advertising law, are the customer’s responsibility. The Provider integrates the legal texts technically and tells the customer which services are integrated into the website, so that the customer can take them into account in their privacy policy.

6. Prices and payment

The price agreed in the offer applies. All prices are net plus statutory VAT.

Unless the offer agrees otherwise, a deposit in the amount stated in the offer is due at the start of the project. The Provider invoices the remaining amount after completion.

Invoices are payable within 14 days of the invoice date without deduction. In case of late payment, the statutory rules apply. After prior notice, the Provider may withhold further work and ongoing services until the amounts due are paid.

The customer may only set off claims that are undisputed or have been finally established. Counterclaims from the same contract, in particular for defects, remain unaffected.

7. Change requests and additional services

The agreed price covers the scope of services described in the offer. If the customer wants services beyond that, such as additional pages or features, or a revision of drafts already approved, the Provider tells them the extra price or the expected effort in advance in text form. The additional service is carried out only after the customer’s approval and is charged separately.

8. Acceptance

After completion, the Provider makes the website or application available to the customer for review, usually as a preview before publication. If it essentially corresponds to the contract, the customer declares acceptance. Acceptance cannot be refused because of insignificant defects; the Provider remedies these within the scope of the rights in case of defects.

The service is also deemed accepted if, after completion, the Provider has set the customer a reasonable period for acceptance and the customer does not refuse acceptance within this period, stating at least one defect (§ 640 (2) BGB).

If the customer has the website published or uses the application in live operation and does not notify significant defects in text form within 14 days after that, the service is deemed accepted.

9. Launch guarantee

In addition to the statutory rights, the Provider grants a launch guarantee for website and application projects: for 30 days from publication he fixes technical errors and makes minor adjustments free of charge. Minor adjustments are changes to existing texts, images, contact details and design details, but not new pages, new features or a redesign.

The statutory rights in case of defects remain unaffected by the launch guarantee. After the 30 days, the Provider charges changes by effort at the agreed hourly rate; a maintenance contract is not required for this.

10. Rights in case of defects

The statutory rights in case of defects apply, unless otherwise provided below.

There are no rights in case of defects for faults that are based solely on the customer or a third party commissioned by them having changed the website, its content or the server environment without agreement with the Provider.

The following also applies:

• Claims for defects become time-barred one year after acceptance.
• There is no defect if a fault is based solely on changes, updates or outages of third-party services (section 11) or on browsers and operating systems that are no longer supported by the manufacturer.
• These restrictions do not apply to claims for intent or gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, for fraudulently concealed defects, under an assumed guarantee, and under the Product Liability Act.

11. Third-party services and customer’s accounts

The customer takes out domain, hosting, servers, email mailboxes, Google services and other third-party services in their own name and at their own expense, unless otherwise agreed. The customer is the holder of these accounts and grants the Provider the access rights needed for setup and support. They can withdraw them again at any time; if they withdraw them during a project, section 4 applies.

These services are not part of the Provider’s services. Only the respective providers are responsible for their availability, their prices, their terms and their discontinuation. Their licence terms apply to third-party software, plugins and open-source components.

Adjustments that become necessary because of changes to such services are additional services after the launch guarantee expires (section 7). Unless otherwise agreed, the customer backs up their data and content regularly themselves, for WordPress websites for example through their host’s backup function.

12. AI Chatbot and other ongoing services

The AI Chatbot and other services that run on the Provider’s servers, such as form connections, are provided by the Provider for the duration of the contract. Remuneration and billing period follow from the offer. The special terms agreed there apply to pilot customers.

Unless the offer agrees otherwise, these contracts run for an indefinite period and can be terminated by either side with 14 days’ notice to the end of a calendar month in text form. The right to terminate for good cause remains unaffected.

The answers of the AI Chatbot are generated automatically by an AI model. The Provider sets up the chatbot so that it answers on the basis of the documents provided by the customer. He does not owe that every answer is correct, complete and up to date. The chatbot does not replace legal, tax, medical or other professional advice.

The customer is responsible for their documents being correct and lawful and not containing information that must not become public. They name the chatbot in their privacy policy; they receive the technical details needed for this from the Provider.

A particular availability is owed only if it is agreed in the offer. Maintenance work and disruptions at server or AI providers can lead to interruptions. The Provider may block the service temporarily if there is misuse or a security risk or the customer is in default with payments due despite a reminder. He informs the customer of this without delay.

The monthly remuneration also depends on the costs of the AI interfaces used. If these change, the Provider may offer the customer an adjusted remuneration in text form at least six weeks before it takes effect. If the customer does not agree, both sides may terminate the contract at the time of the planned effective date; until then the previous remuneration applies.

All rights in the chatbot’s software remain with the Provider. For the duration of the contract, the customer receives a simple, non-transferable right to use the chatbot on their website. After the contract ends, the Provider deactivates the chatbot and deletes the customer’s documents, unless statutory retention obligations apply.

13. Rights of use and references

Upon full payment of the agreed remuneration, the customer receives, for the work results created for them, in particular design, code and texts, a right of use for their own purposes that is unlimited in time and territory. This includes the right to change the website themselves or have third parties change it. Until full payment, use is permitted only provisionally and revocably. On request, the Provider hands over the source code after full payment.

Passing on, licensing or reselling the work results to third parties is not permitted. Transfer together with the business or a separable part of the business to which the website belongs is permitted; the acquirer then takes over the rights and obligations under this contract.

General components that were not developed specifically for the customer, such as reusable code building blocks, templates, tools and know-how, remain with the Provider, who may continue to use them. The customer receives a simple right of use in them within the scope of their website.

The Provider may name the customer and the website created, with a link, as a reference, for example in the portfolio, unless the customer objects in text form. An objection is possible at any time.

14. Liability

The Provider is liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, for fraudulent concealment of a defect, under an assumed guarantee and under the Product Liability Act.

In the case of slightly negligent breach of an essential contractual obligation, liability is limited to the damage typical for the contract and foreseeable when the contract was concluded. Essential contractual obligations are obligations whose fulfilment makes the proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose observance the customer may regularly rely. Otherwise, liability for slight negligence is excluded.

In the case of slight negligence, the Provider is liable for loss of data only up to the effort that would have been needed for restoration if the customer had backed up their data regularly (section 11).

These liability rules also apply in favour of the Provider’s vicarious agents and subcontractors.

15. Confidentiality and data protection

Both sides treat the other side’s confidential information as confidential and use it only to perform the contract. This obligation also applies after the contract ends. The Provider uses access data solely to perform the contract.

If the Provider processes personal data on behalf of the customer within the scope of the contract, for example with the AI Chatbot or when accessing customer data in an application, the parties first conclude a data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR. How the Provider himself handles personal data is stated in his privacy policy.

16. Term and termination

Project contracts end with the full performance of the agreed services. Section 12 applies to ongoing services.

If the customer terminates a project contract before completion without good cause (§ 648 BGB), the Provider may demand the agreed remuneration. However, he must credit what he saves in expenses as a result of the termination or earns, or maliciously fails to earn, through other use of his labour.

The right of both sides to terminate for good cause remains unaffected. Terminations require text form.

17. Final provisions

• The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.
• If the customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract is Landsberg am Lech.
• If individual provisions of these GTC are invalid, the rest of the contract remains valid. The statutory provisions replace the invalid provision.

As of: October 2026