Terms and conditions

(1) These terms apply to all services of 404media GmbH, Frankgasse 6/10, 1090 Vienna, FN 567931 v, Commercial Court of Vienna, VAT ID ATU77455219 (“404media”), in particular web design, website development, migration, CMS platform, hosting, maintenance, support, SEO/GEO, AI features and 3D content.

(2) They apply exclusively to businesses within the meaning of § 1 of the Austrian Consumer Protection Act (KSchG). 404media does not provide services to consumers on the basis of these terms.

(3) In case of conflict the following order applies: (a) individual written agreement, (b) the accepted offer including its annexes, (c) a data processing agreement (DPA) for data protection matters, (d) these terms, (e) the law.

(4) The client's terms apply only if 404media expressly agrees to them in writing, even if 404media does not object to them or performs while aware of them.

(5) These terms, in the version valid when the contract is concluded, also apply to follow-up orders without further reference.

(1) Offers from 404media are valid until the validity date stated in the offer, otherwise for 30 days from the offer date. 404media may withdraw an offer without giving reasons until it is accepted.

(2) The contract is concluded when the client accepts the offer in writing (signature, email or digital acceptance) or 404media confirms an order in writing. Verbal side agreements apply only if 404media confirms them in writing.

(3) Cost estimates are non-binding (§ 1170a ABGB) unless expressly described as binding.

(4) Presentations, concepts and drafts made before an order remain the property of 404media. The client may not use them without an order, not even in modified form.

(1) The scope of services is defined exclusively by the accepted offer. Services not named there are not owed (e.g. online shop, copywriting, photography, third-party licences).

(2) For migrations, the benchmark is the state of the live website at the start of the migration. Later changes to the old website are additional services.

(3) 404media owes professional work according to the state of the art at the time of performance. Specific rankings in search engines or AI search, visitor numbers, enquiries or sales are not owed. Promised metrics (e.g. Lighthouse scores) refer to the code at acceptance, not to content or third-party scripts added later by the client.

(4) Design work is done within the briefing; 404media has creative freedom. A result is not defective merely because it does not match the client's taste.

(5) 404media may use subcontractors and service providers (e.g. hosting, database, email delivery).

(1) The client provides all necessary content, access (e.g. domain/DNS, existing systems, Microsoft Entra ID, Salesforce), information and approvals on time, complete and in common digital formats.

(2) The client names a contact person who can make decisions and give approvals. The client gives feedback on drafts within 5 working days, collected and clear.

(3) The client is responsible for ensuring that its content (texts, images, videos, trademarks, data) is free of third-party rights and may be used lawfully. The client indemnifies 404media against third-party claims arising from it, including the costs of legal defence.

(4) The client is responsible for the legal content of its website (e.g. imprint, privacy policy, price information, advertising claims). 404media provides the technical implementation and, on request, text templates, but no legal advice, and is not obliged to check legal admissibility.

(5) If cooperation is delayed, deadlines shift accordingly, plus a reasonable restart period. 404media charges additional effort and downtime by time spent. If a project is on hold for reasons on the client's side for more than 30 days, 404media may invoice the work done so far; the payments planned for acceptance then become due as if accepted.

(1) If the client requests changes or additional services after the order, 404media states the effort and price. The change is carried out after the client's approval (email is enough); deadlines shift accordingly.

(2) Additional services without a fixed price are charged by time spent at the hourly rate in the offer, otherwise at 404media's current hourly rate, billed per started quarter hour.

(3) Two rounds of corrections are included per draft. Further corrections and changes to already approved versions are additional services.

(1) Deadlines are non-binding unless expressly described as binding in the offer. They require the client's timely cooperation (§ 4) and receipt of the down payment.

(2) Force majeure and circumstances beyond 404media's control (e.g. cloud provider outages, cyber attacks, official measures, illness) extend deadlines by the duration of the obstruction plus a restart period.

(3) If the client cancels an agreed appointment (workshop, training) less than 48 hours in advance, 404media may charge the planned effort.

(1) 404media reports each website (or each part named in the offer) as ready for acceptance, usually as a preview (staging). The client checks within 7 working days and declares acceptance or reports material defects in writing with a comprehensible description.

(2) Acceptance may only be refused for material defects that significantly impair use. Minor defects are fixed after acceptance.

(3) The work counts as accepted if (a) the client reports no material defects within the period, or (b) the client puts the website live, has it put live or uses it productively.

(4) 404media fixes reported material defects and reports the work as ready again; the check is then limited to the fix.

(5) Partial acceptance per website is permitted and triggers the respective payment (§ 8).

(1) All prices are in euros, net, plus statutory VAT.

(2) The payment plan in the offer applies. If the offer contains none: 50 % on order, 50 % on acceptance. The down payment is payable in every case. For projects longer than 2 months, 404media may invoice work done monthly.

(3) Ongoing services are invoiced monthly in advance from the point in time named in the offer (e.g. go-live per website). Started months are charged in full; extra usage is invoiced in the following month.

(4) Invoices are payable within 14 days of the invoice date without deduction and free of charges. Receipt in 404media's account is decisive. Invoices are sent electronically (PDF by email).

(5) In case of late payment, default interest of 9.2 percentage points above the base rate (§ 456 UGB) and a flat fee of €40 (§ 458 UGB) apply; in addition the client reimburses all reminder and collection costs.

(6) If the client is in default of payment, 404media may, after written notice with a 7-day period, stop all work and suspend ongoing services (hosting, CMS access) until all amounts due are paid. Fees for ongoing services continue during the suspension.

(7) The client may not set off counterclaims unless they are acknowledged by 404media or established by a court. Warranty claims or notices of defects do not entitle the client to withhold payments.

(1) The client bears the costs of third-party licences, services and accounts unless expressly included in the offer (e.g. Cookiebot, AI provider costs, domains, fonts, stock images). Where possible, the client concludes these contracts directly in its own name. Travel costs outside Vienna are charged at cost unless included.

(2) 404media is not responsible for the availability, price changes or terms of third-party providers. If a provider discontinues or changes a service, the switch is an additional service charged by time spent.

(1) All rights in the work remain with 404media until all claims under the order have been paid in full. Until then the client may use the work only for review and acceptance; 404media may prohibit further use.

(2) After full payment, the client receives a non-exclusive right to use the results created specifically for it (designs, website code, content) for the agreed purpose, unlimited in time and territory. Further rights (e.g. ownership of the website code, the right to edit) apply only if agreed in the offer.

(3) Not transferred are: (a) 404media's CMS platform (app.404media.at) and its further development, (b) reusable components, tools, templates and know-how of 404media not created specifically for the client, (c) open-source and third-party components (§ 11). For (b), the client receives a simple right of use to the extent needed to use its website. 404media may use (b) without restriction for other clients.

(4) The CMS platform is provided as a service for the term of the ongoing services (§ 14). The right to use the CMS ends with the contract.

(5) Editable working and source files (e.g. Figma, Blender) are owed only if agreed in the offer; otherwise for a separate fee.

(6) 404media may be named as the author (e.g. a discreet link in the footer).

(1) 404media uses widely used open-source software (e.g. Next.js, React, PostgreSQL). Their licences apply and take precedence over § 10.

(2) 404media may use AI tools to create code, texts, images and translations, including AI coding agents (e.g. Claude Code, OpenAI Codex) that write and change code in the project repository.

(3) AI features used by the client itself (e.g. the AI assistant in the CMS, a chat on the website) can produce errors. The client checks AI content before publishing and is solely responsible for published content and answers. 404media is not liable for content generated by AI features.

(4) Under current law, AI-generated content is in part not protected by copyright. 404media gives no warranty in this respect.

(1) The warranty period is 6 months from acceptance. The presumption of § 924 ABGB is excluded; the client must prove that the defect existed at handover.

(2) Defects must be reported without delay, at the latest 7 days after discovery, in writing and comprehensibly (§ 377 UGB). Otherwise claims are excluded.

(3) 404media remedies defects at its choice by repair or replacement within a reasonable period.

(4) In particular, the following are not defects: changes by the client or third parties, the client's content, errors in third-party services, unsupported or outdated browsers (older than the last two major versions), changes caused by search engine, browser or operating system updates after acceptance.

(5) If a reported fault turns out not to be a defect, 404media charges the effort for checking it.

(1) 404media is liable only for intent and gross negligence. Liability for slight negligence is excluded, except for personal injury.

(2) Total liability is limited to the fee of the offer concerned for one-off services, or to the fees of the last 12 months for ongoing services. This does not apply to intent and personal injury.

(3) 404media is not liable for lost profit, consequential damage, indirect damage, business interruption, damage from third-party claims or contractual penalties of the client, except in case of intent.

(4) For loss of data, 404media is liable only for the effort that would be needed to restore it with proper data backup.

(5) 404media is not liable for the legal admissibility of content provided or approved by the client, nor for outages of third-party services.

(6) The client must prove gross negligence. Claims for damages become time-barred 6 months after knowledge of the damage and the party causing it, at the latest 2 years after the event. Liability under the Product Liability Act remains unaffected.

(1) 404media provides hosting, CMS operation, backups, data servers and support to the extent of the offer, in data centres in the EU unless agreed otherwise in the offer (e.g. delivery to China).

(2) 404media aims for an availability of 99.5 % as a monthly average; this is not a guaranteed property. Maintenance and third-party outages do not count as downtime. Response times apply only if named in the offer (e.g. priority support).

(3) 404media may develop the CMS further and change features as long as the agreed range of functions is not significantly reduced.

(4) The client keeps access data secret, grants rights only to authorised persons and is liable for any use via its accounts. The client may not upload unlawful content; 404media may block such content without notice.

(5) Included amounts (data transfer, storage, users) are stated in the offer. Extra usage is charged at the prices in the offer.

(6) Price adjustment: 404media may adjust the fees for ongoing services once a year on 1 January in line with the consumer price index (VPI 2020, Statistics Austria). 404media may also adjust them if suppliers and service providers raise their prices to 404media. Adjustments are announced in writing at least one month in advance.

(1) Ongoing services run for an indefinite period. They can be terminated with the notice period in the offer, otherwise with 3 months' notice to the end of a quarter, in writing. A minimum term agreed in the offer takes precedence.

(2) 404media may terminate without notice for good cause, in particular for payment default of more than 30 days, breach of § 14(4) or insolvency of the client.

(3) If the client cancels an order for one-off services before completion, 404media receives the agreed fee less saved expenses (§ 1168 ABGB); as a flat rate, the work done plus 50 % of the fee for work not yet done is charged. Payments already made are not refunded.

(4) At the end of the contract, once all outstanding amounts are paid, 404media provides the client with an export of its content and media in a common format. Further help with moving is charged by time spent. 404media may delete the data 60 days after the end of the contract.

(5) Outstanding amounts become due immediately at the end of the contract.

(1) Both parties comply with the GDPR and the Austrian Data Protection Act (DSG).

(2) Where 404media processes personal data on behalf of the client (e.g. form enquiries, job applications, CMS users, hosting), the parties conclude a data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR, provided by 404media.

(3) The client is the controller for the data on its website, in particular for legal bases, consents (cookie banner) and the privacy policy.

(4) 404media keeps business records for the statutory periods (usually 7 years, § 132 BAO). Details in the privacy policy.

(1) Both parties treat all non-public information of the other party (e.g. business figures, access data, the CMS source code, offer prices) as confidential and use it only for the project.

(2) This does not apply to information that is public, was already known, was developed independently or must be disclosed due to a legal or official obligation.

(3) The obligation continues for 3 years after the end of the contract, and indefinitely for access data and trade secrets.

(1) 404media may name and show the client (name, logo) and the results as a reference (website, social media, presentations, awards) unless agreed otherwise in writing.

(2) 404media shows non-public content (e.g. internal areas, CMS data, figures) only with the client's consent.

During the collaboration and for 12 months afterwards, the client does not solicit or directly employ employees or freelancers of 404media. For each breach the client pays a contractual penalty of six gross monthly salaries or monthly fees of the person concerned.

(1) Changes and additions must be made in writing; email is enough. This also applies to waiving this requirement.

(2) 404media may change these terms with effect for ongoing services. Changes are communicated at least 6 weeks in advance; if the client does not object within this period, they count as accepted. The notice points out this consequence. If the client objects, the previous terms continue to apply; both parties may then terminate with the agreed notice.

(3) The client may transfer rights under the contract to third parties only with 404media's consent. 404media may transfer the contract to an affiliated company or legal successor.

(4) If a provision is invalid, the rest remain valid. It is replaced by the valid provision closest to its economic purpose.

(5) Austrian law applies, excluding its conflict-of-law rules and the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods.

(6) The place of jurisdiction is the court with subject-matter jurisdiction for Vienna Inner City. 404media may also sue the client at its general place of jurisdiction.