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Opening an online store in Canada: what to plan before launch
Products, payments, shipping, taxes and languages: the decisions to make before a Canadian online store goes live. Stores from $3,290.
An online store is more than a website with a cart. Before the first order comes in, a handful of decisions shape how the store is built and how much it costs. Here is what to settle first.
Your catalogue
Start with a list of what you sell. For each product: a name, a description, photos, a price, and its variants (sizes, colours, formats). A spreadsheet is enough to begin with. The number of products and variants shapes how the catalogue is organized and how long it takes to set up.
How customers pay
Decide which payment methods you want to offer and which payment provider will process them. Each provider has its own fees, payout delays and requirements, so compare them before the store is built, not after.
Shipping, pickup and returns
- Where you ship: your province, all of Canada, or outside Canada?
- How you price it: flat rate, by weight, free above an amount, local pickup.
- Returns: what you accept, within how many days, and who pays for the return.
Write these down: they become part of your store's pages and of every order confirmation.
Taxes
Sales taxes in Canada depend on where you are and where your customers are. Which taxes to charge, and how to show them, is a question for your accountant: settle it before launch, so prices and receipts are right from the first order.
English, French, or both
If you sell to French-speaking customers, plan the store in both languages from the start: product names and descriptions, the checkout, emails and order confirmations. Our guide to planning a bilingual English–French website covers what to watch for.
After the order
Decide who receives order notifications, who prepares the packages and how customers are told their order has shipped. A store that is easy to buy from but slow to fulfil loses customers anyway.
What we offer
Our Online store package starts from $3,290. It includes everything in our Business website package, plus a product catalogue, cart and online payment, and order notifications. Once the store is live, our maintenance plans keep it updated and backed up, from $69 a month.
The final price depends on your catalogue and features, and is agreed before we start.
Planning a store? Send us your product list and a few lines about your business.