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Introduction
Whether you are starting a new business, migrating your website because your hosting is up for renewal, or leaving your current hosting provider for another reason, this guide should help you get set up with a new hosting account in no time. Follow the steps herein and you will be done in about 5-10 minutes.
TL;DR
Okay, you just want hosting. Cool. Go to Web Hosting Canada and get started. This page is here if you need it.
Visit the Web Hosting Canada Website
Click on Hosting & Servers
Then choose Canadian Web Hosting
(if you need a different hosting option, choose from here).
On the following page you should see a pricing comparison. If you are just getting started, you should purchase the WEB PRO plan. Click Add to Cart and it will take you to the secure purchase page.
There is little reason to use the Starter account since a WEB PRO account costs literally pennies more. For what you get, it’s a no-brainer. Enterprise is there if your needs grow greater.
Your Selection
Choose the term for your billing cycle. You can choose whichever commitment works for you however you are only eligible for the savings on your first transaction. As long as you plan on having a website for at least one year, you stand to save the most money by purchasing a 3-year plan since this discount does not apply on renewal.
Choose Your Domain Name
Web Hosting Canada might not charge for the first year of your new domain when you sign up for a new hosting account. If you already own a domain, support will help you move it (or point it if you wish to keep it where it was purchased) and if not, you can get a new one now. There is no harm in selecting a new domain that you like even if you already have one, since it could be redirected to your main website or used for a separate project.
For example: if you already own “yournewdomain.com”, you could choose “yournewdomain.ca” and redirect it. This way, your customers will find your website online at either URL. Pick an available name that suits you the best and continue.
The screen will show you if the domain you want is available as well as include additional options. Dot com is by far the most popular and in Canada dot ca domains are also quite common, the rest less so.
There are some good reasons to choose .ca domains, such as:
- They require you (or your business) to have presence in Canada
- More availability of memorable domains (since many .com addresses are in use or parked)
- Canadians trust .ca domains (which is good since your business is in Canada)
Read more on the CIRA Website
Available Addons
It is good to know what’s available but you should skip this part and just add these features later if you need them. If you want to add something useful to your website at the start, get yourself a page builder.
With your new Web Hosting Canada account (if you chose WEB PRO like we recommended), you will be able to create emails, discover other tools for SEO, and your account will include a basic SSL certificate by default.
If your website will be storing important personal information (like credit card numbers), you should consider a higher-level SSL certificate.
Thanks for reading!
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Looking for an Alternative to Web Hosting Canada?
Green Geeks is one of the most popular hosting companies and you can follow a very similar process to set up your account over there. Green Geeks has a Canadian datacenter in Montreal.