Terms of Service & Business Conditions

Effective Date: November 2025 – Clariona Marketing

1. Who We Are and Contracting Parties

Our services are directed exclusively at business owners, commercial enterprises, self-employed professionals, and organizations (B2B).

Where we provide proposals or contractual documents bilingually (e.g. in German and English), the English version serves internal operational coordination. In case of discrepancies or disputes, the German language version is legally decisive and binding.

2. How We Work: Human Craftsmanship and Digital Tools

We build modern, fast-loading websites (primarily in clean HTML/CSS/JS or WordPress) and elevate your regional visibility.

Clear principles apply to our work:

• All German-language copy, conceptual design, editorial content, and client support are exclusively handled by native German speakers.
• Strategic decisions, creative concepts, and final quality control rest 100% in the hands of experienced human specialists.
• We utilize artificial intelligence strictly as an assistive productivity tool (e.g. for preliminary structuring, code auditing, or exploratory research), never for uncontrolled automated content publishing.
• Technical development and visual design are executed within our international team under direct German project management.

3. Data Protection: GDPR-Relevant Processes Executed from Germany

We operate strictly under the principle of maximum data minimization:

• All data privacy and GDPR-relevant services, configurations, and audits are performed directly from Germany.
• We only process your commercial contact details strictly necessary for project communication and invoicing.
• For website construction, we only handle materials intended for public display (such as copy, photographs, and business contact information).
• We never request nor maintain access to confidential client end-customer data (such as tenant records, medical files, or legal client dossiers).

4. Website Ownership: What We Build Belongs to You

We believe in fair partnerships free of artificial lock-ins:

• Once project fees are fully settled, the finished product belongs entirely to you. You receive full, unrestricted usage rights for all custom layouts, copy, and code produced for your project.
• We do not bind you to proprietary closed ecosystems. You remain free to maintain your website independently or transfer management to third parties at any time.
• Third-party open-source components (such as open-access web fonts or public software libraries) remain governed by their respective permissive licenses.
• Unless you explicitly opt out in writing, we reserve the right to feature the completed project as a portfolio showcase.

5. Imagery: Authentic Photography Beats Synthetic Placeholders

For local businesses and service providers, authenticity is the single most powerful driver of customer trust:

• We strongly recommend utilizing authentic, original photography from your own facilities, featuring your team, vehicle fleet, and completed client projects. No stock photo can replicate genuine trust.
• If you lack sufficient custom photos at project launch, we generate fitting imagery via AI or deploy high-standard design templates.
• We treat these images explicitly as visual placeholders. We firmly advise progressively replacing them with authentic photographs of your everyday business operations.
• Fairness Guarantee: If you provide your own authentic photography within six months of project launch, we will replace the placeholder images 1:1 on your website completely free of charge. For subsequent or extensive redesigns, we charge only a fair, pre-agreed hourly fee.

6. Copywriting, Marketing Content, and Legal Verification

We are web designers and marketing strategists, not attorneys or corporate legal counsel:

• Copy, text drafts, service descriptions, or marketing messaging created by us are considered conceptual blueprints and recommendations from a marketing perspective.
• Full responsibility for the technical accuracy, factual truth, and regulatory/advertising compliance of all published texts rests solely with you as the client.
• This applies equally to mandatory legal disclosures: Drafts for company imprint, privacy policies, or cookie notices are non-binding templates or industry standards. Full responsibility for completeness and legal validity remains with you. When in doubt, please have legal texts reviewed by qualified legal counsel.
• We assume no liability for cease-and-desist warnings, trademark claims, or third-party complaints arising from text, images, or assets published on the website.

7. Fair Collaboration Over Restrictive Commitments

We retain clients through exceptional quality, not long-term contractual entrapment:

• Web design projects are billed at the agreed fixed price stated in the approved proposal. Following formal delivery and acceptance, the project is concluded.
• For ongoing monthly support or maintenance retainers, we eliminate rigid multi-year terms: You may cancel monthly maintenance services at any time with 5 days' written notice to the end of the current billing month.

8. Payment Terms and Invoicing

• Invoices are delivered electronically.
• Payments are processed via SEPA bank transfer to our European commercial business account.
• Due dates follow agreed project milestones (typically a deposit upon kickoff and the remaining balance upon final completion and sign-off).

9. Balanced Liability & Clear Responsibilities

• We guarantee meticulous implementation in accordance with recognized technical standards at the time of delivery.
• Where copywriting or text revision is part of our agreed scope of services, we write all copy to the best of our knowledge from a marketing and user-experience perspective. Because every industry has its own specific regulations, professional codes of conduct, or advertising restrictions (such as craft-trade law, professional regulations, or industry-specific rules), final technical and legal sign-off rests with you as the industry professional. We therefore assume no liability for formal warnings, cease-and-desist claims, or complaints arising from these industry-specific requirements or the published texts.
• We cannot assume liability for hosting outages or for damages caused by modifications made to the source code after delivery.
• Otherwise, liability for ordinary negligence is strictly limited to typically foreseeable damages, capped at the total contract value of the respective project order. Mandatory statutory liabilities (such as for willful intent or gross negligence) naturally remain completely unaffected.