.ca domain and hosting
A plain guide to .ca domain and hosting for Canadian business owners: who can register a .ca, .ca versus .com, choosing hosting and keeping everything in your name.
A .ca domain and hosting are the two technical pieces every business website stands on. The domain is your address (yourbusiness.ca); the hosting is the computer that serves your site to visitors. Neither is complicated, but mistakes here are expensive: lost email, a site held hostage by a former developer, or a domain that quietly expires and gets bought by someone else.
This guide covers what a Canadian business owner actually needs to know: who can register a .ca, whether to choose .ca or .com, what to look for in hosting, and the ownership rules that protect you.
What a .ca domain is and who can register one
The .ca domain is Canada's country-code domain, managed by CIRA, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority. Unlike .com, it comes with Canadian Presence Requirements: to register a .ca, you generally need to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, a corporation registered in Canada, or fit one of the other categories CIRA lists, such as certain trademark holders and organizations with a Canadian connection.
You do not buy a .ca from CIRA directly. You register it through a registrar that CIRA has approved, and you renew it every year or for several years at once. The yearly cost is modest, much less than most people expect.
One practical point: the registrant, meaning the legal owner, should be your business or you personally. Not your web designer, not your nephew, not the agency. More on that below.
.ca or .com?
There is no single right answer, but for most businesses that serve Canadian customers, .ca is a natural choice.
| Consideration | .ca | .com |
|---|---|---|
| Signals to customers | Clearly Canadian | International or neutral |
| Availability of short names | Often better | Many short names taken |
| Eligibility | Canadian presence required | Anyone can register |
| Local search | Helps signal a Canadian focus | Works fine with good local signals |
| Selling across borders | Fine within Canada | Often preferred for US and global sales |
Many businesses register both and redirect one to the other, so customers who type the wrong ending still find them, and nobody else can take the other version. If you serve Quebec and use a French name, consider registering that version too.
What matters more than the ending is that the name is short, easy to say on the phone and easy to spell. A clear .com or .ca beats a long name stuffed with keywords.
Hosting: what you actually need
Hosting is where your site's files live. For a small business site, the options usually come down to:
- Shared hosting. Cheap, many sites on one server. Fine for very small sites, but can be slow at busy times.
- Managed hosting. Someone else handles updates, backups and security. Good if you do not want to think about it.
- Cloud or VPS hosting. More power and control, needs someone who knows how to configure it.
- Builder hosting. Wix, Squarespace and similar include hosting in the subscription, but you cannot move the site elsewhere.
Whatever you choose, look for:
- Automatic daily backups, kept for at least several weeks.
- An SSL certificate (the padlock), included and renewing automatically.
- Server-side caching and a CDN for speed.
- Clear support: who answers, how fast, in what language.
- The account registered in your name, with your email.
With my clients, hosting and domain are agreed individually, based on what the site needs. I do not hide them inside a package or mark them up as a hidden monthly fee.
Does hosting have to be in Canada?
For most private businesses, Canadian law does not require the website to be hosted in Canada. Hosting closer to your customers can make the site a little faster, and some clients simply prefer it.
Privacy rules are where location starts to matter. Under PIPEDA, if personal information collected through your site is stored or processed outside Canada, you remain responsible for protecting it and should be open about it in your privacy policy. Quebec Law 25 goes further and expects an assessment before personal information about Quebec residents is transferred outside the province. If your site collects health, financial or other sensitive data, or you work in a regulated field, check the rules for your sector with a lawyer. The articles on Quebec Law 25 and your website privacy policy go into more detail.
Business email on your domain
Email at your own domain (you@yourbusiness.ca) looks more professional than a free address and stays yours when you change providers. It is usually run by a separate email service rather than the web hosting itself, which is a good thing: if the website has a problem, your email keeps working.
Make sure the email settings (records called SPF, DKIM and DMARC) are set up properly. Without them, your quotes and invoices are more likely to land in customers' spam folders.
Seven ownership rules that protect your business
These are the rules I follow with every client, and the ones I would insist on with any provider:
- The domain is registered to your business, with your email as the contact.
- The hosting account is in your name, or you have full owner access.
- Renewal is automatic, with a card that does not expire next month.
- You keep a list of logins in a password manager, not in someone's head.
- The website code and content belong to you, stated in the agreement.
- Analytics, Search Console and ad accounts are yours, with your developer added as a user.
- Backups exist and you know where they are.
If you take over a site and discover the domain is registered to a former provider, ask them in writing to transfer it. Registrars have a standard transfer process, and the sooner you do it, the easier it is.
When you change websites
If you redesign or move to a new developer, the domain stays and only the hosting or the site changes. That is exactly why ownership matters. With me, a redesign keeps your domain, moves your content and sets up redirects. I describe the process on website migration.
If you are not sure who controls your domain right now, a short message is enough. I'll help you find out and, if needed, explain how to bring it back into your name.
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Domains and
hosting
Can a business outside Canada register a .ca domain?
Generally only if it meets CIRA's Canadian Presence Requirements, for example through a Canadian corporation or, in some cases, a registered Canadian trademark. A foreign company without a Canadian connection usually cannot. Check CIRA's current list of eligible registrants before you plan around a .ca name.
Should I register both the .ca and .com versions of my name?
If both are available, it is often worth it. Registration is inexpensive, it stops others from using a confusingly similar address, and you can redirect one to the other so customers always land on the same site. Choose one as your main address and use it everywhere consistently.
What happens if my domain expires?
Your website and email stop working. After a grace period, the domain can be released and registered by someone else, sometimes by people who then try to sell it back. Turn on automatic renewal, keep the payment card up to date and make sure renewal emails go to an inbox you read.
Can my web designer register the domain for me?
They can do the paperwork, but the domain must be registered in your business's name, with your contact details. Ask for proof, such as the registrant name shown in your registrar account. If a provider registers it under their own name, you depend on them for your own address.
Not sure who owns
your domain?
Send me your website address. I'll show you where the domain and hosting are registered and what to do if they are not in your name.