Yes, 1&1 IONOS hosting plans can be paid for in advance or month-to-month with no minimum contract period required. However, signing up for an annual plan is most cost-effective. Domain registration and hosting services provided by 1&1 IONOS are bundled into one low-cost package. Typically, you’ll get a discounted rate, e.g. $1 per month, for the first year of service, with the monthly rate increasing to $6 to $16 per month (billed annually) thereafter. The real bargain is what’s included: 1&1 IONOS domain registrants get subdomains, email, a proprietary control panel, and 1&1 IONOS technical support as well. Domain privacy, which prevents web users from viewing your personal information tied to your domain registry, such as your full name, street address, and contact phone number, comes standard with all 1&1 IONOS domain registries. Keep in mind, domain orders are billed annually and are non-refundable! Uptime refers to the amount of time in a given period a server is online, making the websites hosted on it available and accessible to visitors. While a certain amount of downtime for scheduled maintenance or unplanned outages is to be expected, many hosts promise to keep your site online for a certain percentage of the year or month. This is called an uptime guarantee. IONOS meets the industry standard of 99.9% uptime, which means you can rest easy knowing your site won’t experience much downtime.