2023 in Review + 2024 Sneak Peak

2023 flew by at WHC. Our team rolled up their sleeves and worked hard to improve your experience with Canada’s favorite web host. Let's take a look back at what we did before getting a sneak peek at what's coming your way in 2024! 🚀🎉

• 2023 in Numbers
• Major Milestones
• WHC Got Out & About
• WHC Got Together & Gave Back
• 2024, Here We Come!

2023 in Numbers

First, a quick look at some numbers that provide insight into what keeps our team busy throughout the year, and why so many Canadians put their trust in us.

As you can see, our team keeps busy, whether it's communicating directly with you, posting tips and tricks to help you succeed online or keeping our platform running smoothly.

Follow us to stay informed and connected! And don't forget to check out our blog for the latest tech news and never miss updates on what's new for you at WHC. Dive into our top articles of 2023: How to add Captcha to WordPress forms, 5 AI tools to create content and Get your free green badge to show your site is eco-friendly.

Continue reading to ensure you're fully caught up with everything 2023 had to offer at WHC. We're here to make sure you didn't miss a beat!

Major Milestones

WHC Celebrates 20 Years!

In 2023 we hit a major milestone: 20 years in business! It’s been an incredible privilege to be able to provide Canadians and their businesses with a reliable home for their online projects. Here’s to the next 20!

WHC Achieves SOC2 Certification

WHC is proud to have achieved SOC 2 certification, beefing up our commitment to security and reliability to you, and confirming our status as a trusted Canadian provider for your online infrastructure and business service.

A New Client Area for you

In March, WHC launched its brand new Client Area, designed for simpler and more efficient online management. Enjoy quick access features, an optimized service interface, intuitive navigation and better support ticket management. It's all about making your hosting and domain management smoother and more user-friendly. Experience the upgrade and see the difference for yourself! Take it for a spin today.

100,000 .CA Domains Under Management

WHC is proud to have crossed the 100,000 mark in .CA domains under our wings! A heartfelt thank you for trusting us with your Canadian online presence. 

Launch of the new Domain Club

In January, we launched The Domain Club, an exclusive savings program for clients with 25+ domains. The free membership offers unique perks and significant savings on domain renewals. Plus, the domain division is spearheaded by Frank, our Chief Domain Nerd.

New & Improved Domain Auctions

WHC’s backorder platform got a facelift in 2023. The new Domain Auctions provide a simpler, fairer process, with week-long public auctions and lower initial bids. This makes it easier for Canadians to acquire high-quality .CA domains the minute they expire and become available for re-registration. 

WHC Offers Premium Domains

In the world of domains, some stand out as more valuable – these are premium domains. Looking for a standout domain for your business? WHC now offers Registry Premium Domains. Identified by a black label in search results, these valuable domains are ideal for those seeking a distinctive online identity. 

A more modern WordPress & cPanel Experience

We've also been busy ensuring our platform stays up-to-date. We rolled out several key updates: WordPress 6.4 (Shirley), the latest one bringing new features and improvements to enhance your website's functionality and design. Alongside, we’re now at cPanel 110, a version that offers more robust and user-friendly web hosting management. 

Additionally, our MariaDB database was upgraded to version 10.6, ensuring faster and more secure database operations. These updates are part of our commitment to provide you with a reliable, high-performing online platform. 💻🚀

SiteMojo: A new site builder

This new, easy-to-use website builder is perfect for anyone who needs to get a simple website online in no time. It features a drag-and-drop interface, mobile-responsive templates, and supports multiple languages. The best part? SiteMojo is free with all our web hosting plans, making website creation accessible and efficient.

PHP X-Ray: A new performance monitoring tool

To help speed up your website, we've launched PHP X-Ray, a performance monitoring tool that identifies and helps resolve website performance issues. Available at no extra cost with our Web Hosting and Reseller Hosting plans, PHP X-Ray is your go-to for keeping your site running smoothly.

WHC Got Out & About

This year, the team hit the road, attending major industry events to stay ahead in the web hosting world and local events too. Each event was a chance to connect, learn, and bring back fresh ideas!

Cloudfest, March 21-23, Europa-Park, Germany

We joined partners and industry giants to exchange ideas and explore new trends in web hosting and cloud services. This was, by far, the biggest and loudest CloudFest so far. 

Transform March 27-29, Las Vegas 

We stopped by Vegas for an HR conference and gathered insights on team growth and innovation strategies, essential for WHC's progress. 

Canadians Connected, Oct 5, Montreal 

Of course we were gonna pop in and show support to our friends at CIRA at this networking event organized by Canada’s official registry. Plus, it was a short metro ride away.

infra/STRUCTURE Summit, Oct 4-5, Toronto 

While we represented our hometown of Montreal, Emil traveled to Toronto to speak at a tech and infrastructure summit. 

WHC Got Together & Gave Back

At WHC, we believe in working hard and celebrating harder. This year, we marked our 20th anniversary with a memorable retreat in the Laurentians, reflecting the unity and strength of our team. 

Giving back to the community is an important part of being a responsible social citizen. In 2023, WHC gave back with charitable donations to Sun Youth, a community organization in Montreal.

And once again, we're proud to be recognized as a Great Place to Work, a testament to our vibrant and supportive work culture. 🎉🏞️🏆

2024, Here We Come!

We have one mission in mind here: helping Canadians and their businesses succeed online. We plan on continuing on this mission with renewed energy and vigor in 2024. Here’s a sneak peek at what you can expect:

• A new website experience, to connect you with the services and information that matter to you
• A new and improved product onboarding experience in your client area, to help you get more from your hosting, email and domains services, faster
• An improved Cloud infrastructure, to help deliver better performance, resilience and security for your online projects
• A better customer support experience, so you can get the answers and support you need, even faster
• An improved Technical Account Management team to help entrepreneurs and enterprise clients grow and succeed online
• Better accessibility, so that all Canadians can properly leverage and use the tooling and content we (and our clients!) publish
• Enhanced online security, with more stringent accreditations and controls
• Additional tooling for developers, including an API interface to leverage WHC services automatically
• Improved marketing service, to help you and your business gain more traction online
• Enhanced AI adoption & tooling, to help you leverage the latest technologies available, both with WHC and for your own clients

From all of us at WHC, we wish you a 2024 filled with love, joy and peace. We’re excited to embark into the new year with you!