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If you are a Canadian business that needs to sell online, it may be difficult deciding which web building and hosting platform will meet your needs.
There are many to choose from, including Wix, Weebly, Squarespace Canada, and WordPress.
If you are considering Wix as your platform of choice, read on.
Not only does Wix have a wide variety of templates to choose from (over 500), all are mobile-friendly, easy to manage, and come with 24/7 support.
However, if you are a Canadian business, you may need more than just a beautiful front-end presentation.
You’ll probably need a platform that can scale, help you manage your orders, and be completely customizable to the Canadian market.
If you are curious to learn what Wix offers a Canadian eCommerce business, here’s a comprehensive guide to help get you familiar with its functionality.
In Short…
Here’s a brief summary of the most popular questions Canadian merchants ask before starting an eCommerce store with Wix:
- Can I use a .ca domain name? YES
- Can I display details in metric terms? YES
- Can I run my store in Canadian currency? YES
- Can I add retail sales tax like HST/GST/QST/PST? YES
- Can I control sales tax by province? YES
- Can I add real-time shipping rates from Canada Post? YES
- Can I automate emails after purchase? YES
- Can I ensure compliance with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation with Squarespace emails?YES
Using a .ca Domain
Unfortunately, Canadians cannot purchase a .ca domain from Wix.
You also can’t transfer an existing domain to Wix either.
However, users can purchase a .ca domain from another host and connect it to their site.
Those who choose to do so, however, will need to purchase a premium plan.
Connecting a .ca domain from another host
As mentioned, Wix does allow Canadians to connect their domain to their Wix site while keeping it registered at the domain host via two different methods:
- Name servers
- Pointing
Typically, it’s recommended to connect via name servers.
When you connect via name servers, Wix hosts your DNS records so you can manage them on your Wix account.
However, if you have several DNS records, and you would like to avoid reconfiguring them, pointing may be a better option.
The pointing connection method, leaves control of your DNS records wherever you registered your domain and you simply change or ‘point’ some of the records to your Wix store.
In either case, it’s a smart workaround if you absolutely need a .ca domain.
Wix Pricing Canada
Wix is a website builder that is free to use, but if you would like to remove ads, add a custom domain, or have an online store, you will need to purchase a premium plan.
If you’re looking for Wix Canada pricing, you will not find specific pricing in Canadian dollars on their website.
All plans are listed and billed in US dollars and range from $5 USD to $30 USD/month with eCommerce options starting at $20 USD/month.
As the Canadian to US dollar exchange rate fluctuates, the currency conversion will happen once you are billed, so prices for Canadians may fluctuate a little bit.
We’ve taken the Wix USD pricing and provided approximate Wix pricing in Canadian dollars below using a currency conversion of 1.36 which was the rate on August 1, .
You can choose to pay monthly, yearly or for 2 years upfront.
The chart below shows the equivalent monthly payment for yearly and 2 year commitments, however keep in mind the full amount for the year or 2 years will be due upfront.
Squarespace pricing is also very close to that of Wix’s.
| Wix Pricing CAD | Monthly CAD | Yearly CAD (per month equivalent) | 2 Years CAD (per month equivalent) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Websites | |||
| Connect Domain | $9.52 | $6.80 | $5.44 |
| Combo | $19.04 | $13.60 | $12.24 |
| Unlimited | $21.76 | $19.04 | $14.96 |
| VIP | $47.60 | $39.44 | $35.36 |
| Business & eCommerce | |||
| Business Basic | $34 | $27.20 | $23.80 |
| Business Unlimited | $40.80 | $34 | $29.92 |
| Business VIP | $54.40 | $47.60 | $40.80 |
And for reference, here is the pricing in USD.
| Wix Pricing USD | Monthly USD | Yearly USD (per month equivalent) | 2 Years USD (per month equivalent) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Websites | |||
| Connect Domain | $7 | $5 | $4 |
| Combo | $14 | $10 | $9 |
| Unlimited | $16 | $14 | $11 |
| VIP | $35 | $29 | $26 |
| Business & eCommerce | |||
| Business Basic | $25 | $20 | $17.50 |
| Business Unlimited | $30 | $25 | $22 |
| Business VIP | $40 | $35 | $30 |
For full details on what each plan includes, it’s best to visit their website.
Wix clearly gives you more bang for your buck when you choose to commit long-term to their services.
Purchasing a one or two-year VIP or eCommerce Plan Subscription will also provide users with:
- $300 ad vouchers
- A form builder app ($48 value)
- Site booster app ($60 value)
These extras only get added when users purchase plans on a yearly basis and don’t apply to those who choose to opt for the monthly subscription option.
So if you’re committed to using Wix as your platform for at least the next year or two, you may want to consider locking in savings with an annual plan.
Wix rewards long-term users by offering deep discounts on monthly subscriptions when they choose one or two-year plans.
For many, it will be worth it to purchase the initial yearly subscription upfront.
Ecommerce vs VIP Tiers for Online Shops
Ecommerce and VIP tiers for Canadian businesses that require online shops have many of the same great benefits, including:
- 20GB of storage
- Unlimited bandwidth
- An online store
- Ability to connect your domain
- Removal of Wix ads
- Customizable favicons
The added bonus of purchasing the VIP tier as opposed to the eCommerce tier is the extra level of support that you will receive.
This includes VIP support for queries and issues as well as a priority response.
Adding a professional business email address
Canadian businesses that use Wix have the option of purchasing a personalized email address that matches their domain.
A business email address is excellent for:
- Building trust with customers who expect organizations to have an email address that shows their company name
- Looking professional and improving open rates of emails
- Branding and messaging
Wix makes adding a professional email address easy.
However, Canadian businesses must purchase a premium plan and connect their domain to their website before they will have the option to purchase a mailbox.
Wix offers Mailboxes from G Suite which not only allows for custom email addresses but also easy and convenient to access via mobile devices.
G Suite also offers a whole slew of additional tools such as Calendars, Docs, Sheets, and Slides which can help your entire internal team communicate and collaborate together effectively.
Wix makes the process easy and even allows users to choose the number of mailboxes they want.
If your business needs a different email for sales, customer service, or individuals within the company, you can simply choose the number of mailboxes you need and choose the prefix(es) for each mailbox before paying.
They’re also incredibly affordable at only $6 USD/month (approximately $7.80 CAD).
Purchasing a mailbox is easy. Simply:
- Go to the My Mailboxes page
- Click on “Get a Mailbox”
- Choose how many mailboxes you want
- Enter the prefix(es) for your mailbox (ie: info@mycompany.ca)
- Choose from a monthly or yearly mailbox subscription
- Choose your payment option and purchase your mailbox(es)
Customizing for the Canadian market
Wix is highly customizable to the Canadian market and almost everything a Canadian business will need is available on Wix.
This includes currency options and tax flexibility.
Using the metric system
Wix allows you to not only set a language but to set a locale for the language, meaning you can set your website’s locale to Canadian English, which will give you the ability to also set the displayed measurement system (from Imperial to Metric).
Setting your currency
If you need your store to show prices in Canadian dollars, you can do so from your Wix dashboard.
Simply go to the General Info tab and scroll down to Regional Settings to find a currency drop-down menu that will allow you to show your prices in Canadian dollars.
Payment processing options
Wix helps you stay flexible for your clients by accepting multiple methods of payment.
This allows your business to choose the best way(s) to get paid according to your product or service offering.
Wix allows for Canadian businesses to set up payments via:
- Credit/Debit cards
- PayPal
- Manual (allowing companies to accept cash, cheque or other custom forms of payment)
- POS (Point of Sale) card readers. Note, however:
- Only physical products can be sold using POS
- Businesses cannot sell dropshipping products at a POS
Collecting provincial taxes is easy
Wix allows Canadian business owners to set tax manually, allowing users to adjust taxes according to individual provinces.
Simply select the province and enter in the relevant tax percentage in order to tax both digital and physical products.
You can even make shopping easy for customers by displaying tax estimates on the shopping cart page so customers have transparent pricing before they buy.
Connect Canada Post shipping using ShipStation
Canadian businesses are able to use a variety of shipping options, including Canada Post, via ShipStation.
With ShipStation, Canadian businesses can:
- Compile orders
- Print shipping labels
- Automate shipping processes
- Get discounted carrier rates and compare them in one place
- Promote your brand with customized packing slips, labels, tracking and more
Connecting with clients at every step of the sales process
Wix allows Canadian eCommerce stores to automate emails to their clients to help close sales and snag repeat buyers.
With Wix, business owners can send emails to thank customers after a purchase, invite customers back to their store, remind customers of an abandoned shopping cart, and even request feedback on their services.
There’s also an easy way to track sales and grow your mailing list in Wix.
Via the Thank You page, users can track sales or create a customer list by using an external tool like Google Analytics or Facebook Custom Audiences.
This allows Canadian business owners to better understand their client base and to stay in constant contact to help increase the likelihood of repeat business.
Ensuring compliance with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation
Canadian legislation is tough on spam.
Wix ensures that any automated emails a business may send have an unsubscribe prompt at the bottom of the message to allow users to remove themselves from mailing lists.
However, it’s a business owner’s responsibility to make sure that they are compliant with Canadian anti-spam legislation, and this means if you add a “subscribe” checkbox above the payment button at checkout, this box cannot be automatically checked.
Wix allows Canadian businesses to add this subscribe feature and also gives them the flexibility to have the button unselected as a default.
The checkbox is easily found and adjusted on the Store Settings page of the website’s dashboard.
By keeping this box unchecked, you give your customers the option of subscribing (or not) and stay on the right side of anti-spam legislation.
Wix makes it easy for Canadian eCommerce businesses to reach their clients online.
With easy to use drag and drop functionality and a wide variety of templates to choose from, Wix is extremely flexible even for a novice.
And, with many integrations and customizations, it’s even easier for Canadian business owners to cater to and interact with their Canadian clientele.
To learn more about Wix and create your own eCommerce store, visit their site!
