“These aren’t publicity stunts or marketing ploys, these are now our standard products and prices,” said 1&1 Chairman Andreas Gauger. “We are in a position of strength in the industry, and that allows us to offer packages with all of these features at a very low cost and still be profitable. As the world’s largest Web host, it is one of the many advantages customers receive when they choose us.”

1&1 isn’t alone in using low prices to get the attention of customers. Yahoo Small Business, another major player in the small business hosting market, has begun offering some prospects promotional pricing of $2.99 per year for domain registration. That represents Yahoo’s most aggressive discounting yet, besting the $4.98 price offered earlier this year.