Starting an online business in Canada involves a few essential considerations. The biggest industries in Canada are commercial banking, wholesale gas and petrol, oil drilling and gas extraction, automobiles, and supermarkets and grocery stores.
The most popular products sold online in Canada are matcha, lip stain, power tools, dog toys, table runners, shot glasses, baby shirts, signage, tumblers, and wall covers and plates.
This isn’t to say you won’t be successful with another product or service. In every case, do market research before you proceed to launch your business. You need to know the extent of demand for the product or service you plan to sell in Canada.
Before you start selling physical products, consider how you will produce or source them. This might involve setting up inventory management or finding and negotiating with suppliers.
Now, here are the steps to start an online business in Canada.
Consider the Legal Form and Choose the Name Wisely
Different forms like sole proprietorships, partnerships, and limited liability companies (LLC) have different tax and statutory implications. Understand your tax liabilities and open a business bank account. You should always keep company and personal finances separate for tax and accounting purposes.
Choose your business name very carefully. You may need to register it with the respective territorial or provincial government authorities. Companies need a business number from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
Secure a License to Operate
Check if your online business needs any specific licenses or permits to operate legally. Requirements vary by province and industry.
Sign Up with an E-Commerce Platform and Get Canadian Hosting
If you’re going to sell products, choose an eCommerce platform. Popular options include WooCommerce for WordPress, Shopify, and BigCommerce.
Web hosting in Canada offers numerous benefits for online businesses that will store data in Canada or target a Canadian audience because it provides faster load times for local users.
Local web hosting can also offer a moderate SEO advantage if you are mainly targeting a Canadian audience. Your website will rank higher in Canadian search engines, making you easier for potential customers to find.
You might find Canadian hosting services to be a bit more expensive than hosting companies in the US, but the benefits will offset the higher price. Among them are local support and enhanced data privacy. This is something Canada takes very seriously.
If you’ve decided on Canadian web hosting, verify the data center’s physical location. Some companies claim to offer local web hosting, but their data centers are actually housed in other countries.
Create an Intuitive Website
Create an intuitive, professional website for your online business in Canada. You can hire someone to do it or do it yourself if you have the skills. Use a website builder or a content management system. Many eCommerce platforms integrate website builders.
Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Using a CDN for your online business is highly recommended. It caches your website content, minimizing loading time for visitors in locations all over the world.
Ensure your web hosting company offers automatic backups and disaster recovery to protect your website’s content and customers’ information.
Set up Payment Processing
Set up a user-friendly and secure payment processing system for accepting online payments. Apart from conventional merchant services, you can opt for PayPal or Stripe.
Consider SEO
Relying on your hosting provider for an SEO edge is only part of the success formula. Do keyword research to optimize your website for search engines. Obviously, the keywords must be relevant to your business’s activity.
Shipping and Handling
You need a shipping strategy to send products to customers. Consider shipping rates and handling methods. You can work with Canada Post or a private shipping service.
Launch and Promote
Time to launch! It doesn’t end here – you must promote your online business actively on social media or via email marketing.
