Happy New Year! We hope everyone had a great holiday season and 2025 is off to a roaring start.
We’re back to work here, offering up information for businesses looking to introduce their products and/or services to Canada. And one of the best ways to reach Canadian consumers is via online sales.
While third-party platforms can offer entry into a new market, many foreign businesses opt to sell their products through their own websites. However, customizing your website for your target market is vital for success. Below are some things you’ll need to address when building a Canadian web presence.
- Country-Level Domain Code. Every country (and some territories) has reserved two-letter country code domains; in Canada, that code is ‘.ca’ (although there are presence requirements for registering a ‘.ca’ domain). A locally branded domain can increase awareness, web recall, brand sales, and loyalty. Also, note that most local search engines prioritize content by location. More information can be found at Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA); a list of Internet country domains can be found here.
- Language. Companies building their websites for foreign markets must also ensure they communicate with their target market in their native tongue. Canada and the US have a shared language, although Canada is officially bilingual (English and French), and you may need to add a translation function to reach Quebec and other French-speaking parts of the country. Note that despite a shared language, many Canadian English words are spelled differently (i.e., ‘colour’ vs. ‘color’), or phrased in a different vernacular (i.e., ‘soda’ vs. ‘pop’). This should be addressed when building your Canadian landing page.
- Currency. Canadians expect to be quoted in Canadian funds when they shop or engage services online. The Canadian dollar is trading lower than its US counterpart, resulting in a noticeable discrepancy in ecommerce.
- Culture. When creating a website for a foreign market, it’s essential to be aware of cultural nuances such as colour, symbol associations, and even turns of phrase. Although Canada and the US have similar cultures and a shared language, slight differences are noticeable to Canadian audiences. Canada primarily uses the metric system; distances should be listed in kilometres, although dimensions and weights may also be listed in metric and imperial.
Below are some resources to help you localize your business’s website for a Canadian audience.
- 5 Things to Consider for Making Your Website Internationally Friendly
- Steps to Create a Globalized Website
- How to Make My Web Site International
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