Finding the best web host in Canada can be a difficult process. There’s a lot of technical terms, different web hosts, pricing, features, and more. Plus, a lot of web hosts offer very similar packages.
Web hosting is the most crucial piece in having a website live on the internet.
The right web hosting company will deliver a seamless experience, fast loading speeds, and the right tools for the type of website being run.
This post highlights the reasons why someone would need Canadian web hosting, how to determine when it’s time to purchase hosting, and finally how to choose the best Canadian web host, along with our recommendations.
Why you need Canada web hosting
Depending on the type of business, a website might not be the core generator of revenue. Instead, the website is a support system for the main business.
There may be additional revenue streams that are available online, like adding an e-commerce site or generating leads via content marketing and SEO.
But, if it’s not the main driver of revenue, then a website and associated hosting are overhead. By outsourcing hosting costs to a third-party company, businesses can keep costs as low as possible, while maximizing the income-generating potential of the site.
Existing business owners and people launching new businesses can all benefit from working with a high-quality Canadian web hosting provider.
When you need Canada web hosting
Small businesses and new startups are most likely to benefit from website hosting through a third-party company.
The right web host can act as a partner in business, by taking care of tasks like:
- Server management
- Server and website security
- Website building by providing add-on builders
- Site scaling if traffic levels increase
- Domain management
Some hosting companies even offer additional SEO, digital marketing, online business, and design services, acting as an all-in-one website partner.
Compare this to the pricey alternative of building a server in-house, hiring technical staff, along with additional team members for website management. This option is prohibitively expensive for most small to medium-sized businesses.
How to choose a Canada web host and what to look for
The decision of choosing the right Canada web host is a big one. There are many different hosting companies and hosting packages to choose from. The hosting type and feature-set need to match the kind of site that’s being run.
Here are the most common forms of web hosting:
- Shared web hosting
- WordPress managed web hosting
- VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting
- Dedicated server hosting
- Enterprise-level hosting
- Reseller hosting
The type of business being run will influence the hosting needs. However, for most businesses shared hosting will be the most common place to start. In time, other forms of hosting make more sense as traffic levels and hosting needs grow.
Every business will need different software and tools to run effectively online. However, most websites will need the following elements to launch effectively:
- A domain name (free or through a domain registration site)
- Business email address
- Security features like a firewall and malware prevention
- Enough disk space for site files
- Enough bandwidth for traffic levels (ideally unlimited bandwidth)
- A CMS for content management
- A site builder for easy site creation
- A shopping cart system (if running an e-commerce store)
Before the hosting search begins make a list of the must-have requirements from a Canada hosting company.
The best Canada web hosting providers
It can be tempting to go with the cheapest web host when launching a website. But, often this will be a mistake. There’s a lot more that goes into making this decision than price alone.
The goal should be to find the best web hosting services to fulfill the needs and goals of a website.
Here are some important basic features:
- Fast loading speeds
- An uptime guarantee or very low reported downtime
- A high-quality and responsive support team
- A variety of hosting plans for site scaling
- Security features and malware protection
- A price that fits your budget
Once those are covered we can dig deeper into additional features that might not be necessary, but are nice to have, like:
- A CDN like Cloudflare to improve site speeds
- Hardware like SSD drives
- A free domain name
- A free SSL certificate
- Automated backups
- A bundled website builder
The final area of importance is having servers located in Canada. Or, at the very least the servers are optimized so there aren’t any lags in performance when being accessed from Canada.
The Canadian web hosting reviews below have all of the above features and more. Some are based out of Canada, while others serve the Canadian market by having a presence as a global host.
Here are the eight best Canada web hosts:
- Bluehost
- HostGator
- HostPapa
- GreenGeeks
- A2 Hosting
- SiteGround
- Web Hosting Canada
- HostUpon
Bluehost
Bluehost is one of the longest-running hosting companies in the world. It’s also one of the few hosts recommended by WordPress to host WordPress websites.
Since it’s such a large company there are a variety of different hosting options available including shared, cloud hosting, VPS hosting, WordPress hosting, and dedicated hosting.
There are no servers directly in Canada, but still offers fast loading speeds and high uptime for Canadian users. New accounts also include a free SSL certificate, free email accounts, a free domain name, and unmetered bandwidth.
The customer support options are available 24/7 and include live chat, email tickets, and phone. Plus, there’s an in-depth knowledge base that includes video tutorials.
Pros
- Unlimited bandwidth (except on entry-level plan)
- Free domain name and SSL certificate
- Free migration for WordPress site owners
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- 30-day-money-back guarantee
Cons
- No server locations in Canada
- Cloudflare CDN is a paid add-on
- Servers are all Linux-based, no Windows servers available
See the full review of Bluehost here.
Hostgator
HostGator is a long-running host that places a focus on small business owners. The most popular plans are the shared hosting plans, but there’s a variety of additional styles of hosting offered for growing websites, including cloud, VPS, WordPress, Windows hosting, and dedicated servers.
Hosting account management is done through a beginner-friendly cPanel control panel, which makes it easy for non-technical site owners to manage their sites.
There are two main datacenters, neither of which are located in Canada, but there are a variety of tools that will ensure high levels of performance across Canada, including Cloudflare CDN integration.
There are a variety of support channels available including live chat, email tickets, a support portal, phone chat, and an in-depth knowledge base and helpful blog.
Pros
- Free SSL certificate, domain, and site migration
- Unlimited bandwidth available
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- Not the fastest load times
- WordPress hosting plans aren’t unlimited
- No servers in Canada
See the full review of HostGator here.
Web Hosting Canada
Web Hosting Canada is the ultimate hosting solution for business owners that primarily have an audience across the Canadian region, with server locations in Vancouver and Montreal.
WHC offers shared WordPress, cloud, and dedicated server options. Every plan uses SSD servers, which are much faster than traditional HDD servers.
Another unique feature is that they offer digital marketing and SEO services to users who are just launching and growing websites. This is a great add-on that can simplify the need for businesses to invest in outside resources.
There are a variety of support options available, including live chat, email ticketing, and in-depth knowledgebase.
Pros
- Servers in Canada
- Affordable pricing
- High performing servers
- 24/7 support
- Daily backups
- Variety of one-clicks installs available
Cons
- No SSL certificate on the basic plan
HostPapa
HostPapa is a web host with its headquarters in Toronto and a great choice for people who want to host their site with a local provider. They offer a variety of hosting types including shared hosting, VPS, WordPress hosting, and reseller hosting packages.
The most basic shared plan has great extras like a free domain name, free SSL, a free site migration, and 100GB of storage space.
For site owners looking to reach people beyond Canada, there’s a Cloudflare CDN integration that will cache versions of your website on servers around the world. This helps to speed up websites with a global user base tremendously.
There are a variety of support options as well, phone, email, live chat, and a huge knowledge library. There’s also the option to set up one-on-one training options with a technical professional to assist with site setup.
Finally, HostPapa was one of the first hosts to go green and offset 100% of its energy consumption through renewable energy offsets.
Pros
- Canadian-based
- Affordable plans
- Free SSL certificate
- Free website migration
- Free Cloudflare CDN
Cons
- Not the most user-friendly
- Automated backups on only higher plans
GreenGeeks
GreenGeeks is an eco-friendly hosting company that puts back three times of the energy they consume into green energy initiatives. This commitment to the planet attracts a lot of customers with the same values.
GreenGeeks has servers all over the world, including servers right in Canada. With the large server network, you can choose which server locations to cache your website. For example, a business could be based in Canada, but find the majority of its visitors come from the UK. In this case, it would make more sense to cache the site’s files on the UK server.
The SSD servers ensure the loading speeds are fast. Plus, they’ve developed a caching technology employed on their servers that makes speeds even higher.
Another plus is the 24/7 support. No matter what time or day, there’s a support representative ready to assist. Support can be reached via live chat and phone.
Pros
- Eco-friendly hosting
- 24/7 support
- Unlimited disk space
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Great server performance
Cons
- Refunds don’t include domains or setup fee
- Renewal price increases
A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting is a hosting company that’s dedicated to high-performance servers. The servers are very reliable, have high uptime, and offer some of the fastest speeds out there.
There are several hosting packages available including shared hosting, WordPress, VPS, dedicated, and reseller hosting. This host supports a wide range of hosting solutions for content platforms including WordPress, Joomla, OpenCart, and Drupal.
There are no servers based in Canada, but there is a data center in Michigan, USA which puts it in very close proximity.
Customer service is top-notch and responsive and can be reached 24/7 via live chat and phone.
Pros
- High uptime
- Fast loading speeds
- 24/7 customer support
- Anytime money-back guarantee
- Free SSL certificate
- Free Cloudflare CDN
- Free website builder
Cons
- High renewal rates
- No free domain
- No servers directly in Canada
See the full review of A2 Hosting here.
SiteGround
SiteGround is one of a handful of companies that are recommended by WordPress as a preferred host. WordPress powers over one-third of sites across the internet, so this recommendation holds a lot of weight.
Beyond managed WordPress hosting there’s shared hosting, cloud hosting, WooCommerce hosting, enterprise hosting, and reseller hosting.
SiteGround is known for its helpful customer service team and powerful servers. There aren’t any servers located in Canada, but the high-performing servers will deliver fast loading speeds, even being located in Canada.
There are other benefits as well, including a high focus on security. SiteGround developed proprietary security systems and monitoring to detect and act on security threats before they become serious issues.
Support is available via live chat, phone, and email ticketing, and customers can expect nearly instant replies.
Pros
- Very fast servers
- WordPress recommended
- Free SSL certificate
- Free website builder
- Free CDN
- WooCommerce plugin supported
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- No Canada-based servers
- No free domain name
See the full review of SiteGround here.
HostUpon
HostUpon is a Canada-based host with servers spread across Canada. Canadian-based site owners will be able to deliver fast loading speeds to their visitors across Canada and the US.
There are a variety of hosting types available including shared hosting, WordPress, VPS, and dedicated servers. The servers are optimized for speed and utilize SSD storage, along with database optimization, and caching optimization for WordPress sites.
The pricing is competitive and includes a locked-in rate, which means the monthly rate will never go up, even as prices increase on the site. This can help with site owners who want to maintain a fixed cost on web hosting.
Accounts utilize the WHM control panel for server management, which is easy to use. Plus, there’s a free migration service for existing site owners coming over to the service.
There are a variety of support methods including, a ticket system, live chat, phone, and in-depth knowledgebase.
Pros
- Canada-based team
- Canada and US-based servers
- Locked-in pricing
- Unlimited disk space
- Free website domain
Cons
- No technical live chat support
- Shared plans can run into CPU memory limits