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Weebly vs. WordPress – Choose the Best One For Your Business

Small Business Success, WordPress
Are you wondering whether to use Weebly or WordPress for your website? You’re not alone! WordPress is the most popular content management system in the world, and Weebly is among the most well-liked drag-and-drop website builders. They’re both good options for websites - whether your business is just starting out or looking to expand - but each has its own strengths and weaknesses. In this article, we'll examine the pros and cons of a self-hosted WordPress website versus those of the Weebly website builder. You’ll learn everything you need to know to make an informed decision for your business.

Weebly vs. WordPress - Choosing the Right Platform

While there isn’t necessarily an overall “best” option between Weebly and WordPress, there is usually a better option depending on your needs. Choosing the right platform from the start may save you both time and money in the long run. Let’s first better understand what each platform is.

What is Weebly?

Weebly is an online website builder owned by Square (a payment processing company) with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. WHC’s Weebly site builder comes equipped with everything you need to quickly build your own site, including hosting, email and domain management tools. There are different plans available, with more advanced plans offering eCommerce capabilities for stores supporting hundreds of products.

What is WordPress?

WordPress is an open-source content management system created and maintained by Automattic. You can use it for free to build and manage your website, but you will need a web hosting provider’s service to publish it online. WordPress is so popular that many companies (including WHC) provide managed WordPress services in addition to web hosting, where you can install and manage WordPress or another web app yourself. While WordPress is free, some plugins and themes that provide advanced functionality may cost extra.

Weebly vs. WordPress - Which is Best For You?

In order to help you make the best possible decision, we’ve broken the Weebly vs. WordPress discussion down into seven categories and have provided our opinion on who gets the job done best. Let’s get started!

Ease of Use

Choosing a website solution that meets your level of technical comfort is key to launching a successful site. While WordPress is generally user-friendly, it’s possible to run into complex problems when managing your own WordPress installation. With Weebly, on the other hand, everything is point-and-click and drag-and-drop, and if anything technical ever goes wrong with the site or the platform, WHC (or Weebly’s) support will help sort it out. For example, Weebly comes with its themes and plugins baked-in, so there is no risk of conflicting code when changing the appearance or adding functionality. With WordPress, most of the best themes and plugins are made by different companies. This means that when you install a new theme or plugin (which you must do yourself), there’s a risk that it may conflict with the current functionality and break part (or all) of the site. Experienced WordPress users are typically able to avoid this kind of hazard by following best practices, but there is always at least a small risk. Anyone who doesn’t feel up to troubleshooting technical problems would be better off picking Weebly, or at least managed WordPress hosting. Winner: Weebly

Features and Functionality

In this modern digital age, websites can do a lot more than just look nice. Many websites attract visitors by implementing advanced functionality, whether it be the integration of payment portals and shopping carts for eCommerce, or a social media platform such as Facebook or Twitter. It all boils down to the type of business you have and what it needs - as long as you know that, it should be easy to make the right choice. If you just need a simple brochure-style website or a basic eCommerce solution, Weebly may be the way to go because of its ease of use. However, if you want to launch your website with advanced functionality or eventually grow into it, WordPress is the right decision. While the business tier of WHC’s Weebly hosting does include membership and eCommerce functionality, those features are much less robust and flexible than they can be in WordPress. WordPress can be extended with the free WooCommerce plugin, which is the most popular eCommerce solution in the world and can support advanced checkout experiences, multiple languages (very useful if you serve clients in both French and English), as well as hundreds of payment and shipping options. WordPress really shines when it comes to extensibility thanks to its 50,000+ plugins library. There’s a plugin available for almost any feature you might need! Weebly, on the other hand, is limited to a much smaller plugin library and a much smaller developer base. Winner: WordPress

Themes and Customization

Themes control the look and feel of websites, and in some cases they also introduce special customizations. While Weebly does come with a range of beautiful themes included, WordPress has a vast number which cover nearly every niche possible. There are WordPress themes that are designed and optimized for eCommerce, search engine optimization, software as a service companies, restaurants, and everything else. WordPress themes can also be customized to a much greater extent than Weebly themes. If you know even a little code, it’s easy to add custom CSS or HTML embeds to WordPress websites, and if you’re a more advanced user you can create entire “child” themes, which are adapted versions of themes that often look and feel completely different from the original. The market for WordPress themes is so vast that some companies make all or most of their profit just from selling child themes of the most popular themes available. In other words, if you want to be able to choose something “just right” for your site and/or you want to be able to customize the appearance significantly, go for WordPress. If you’re happy with a simpler (and sometimes cleaner!) look and feel to your website, Weebly is still a solid option. Winner: WordPress

Maintenance and Security

Security is (and should be) a significant concern for all website owners. WordPress is an open-source system that requires you to perform regular updates to the plugins, themes, and core software that power the site. While the process has been streamlined extensively in the last few years and is generally safe, there is always the possibility that a single update or added plugin can break important features on your live website. Your WordPress installation can also be vulnerable if there’s a problem with a third-party theme or plugin you installed. Weebly is a closed-source system, so all the system updates are performed automatically by the Weebly team without you having to worry about anything. Weebly only uses primarily native themes and plugins, so these should not impact security. While it is technically possible for any website to be hacked, the likelihood of a WordPress website being hacked is higher than for a Weebly site, especially if the website owner doesn’t perform regular security updates. The question that you really need to ask yourself in the case of website maintenance and security is the following: how much time and energy can I devote to the site’s upkeep? If you choose a security-minded web host and you’re happy to spend some time monitoring your site, performing updates, and making sure you’re observing best practices, WordPress is a fine option. However, if you want a site that stays safe all the time regardless of what you do, Weebly is definitely the better choice. Winner: Weebly

Support and Resources

Since Weebly is a commercial website builder, support is included with your service. If you have a problem that you are unable to resolve while using Weebly, you can contact your Weebly provider (WHC’s support, for example, is available 24/7 by chat or phone) and they will help solve your problem or guide you in the right direction. Helpful articles and videos are also available on the Weebly website and through their online communities. WordPress, on the other hand, is an open-source website building tool. Since it is built and maintained by a community of developers, there is no free commercial support available. This means that if you get stuck, you’ll need to do your own research or contact a WordPress professional, who may charge by the hour. However, WordPress has a massive (and still growing) global community. There are many Facebook groups, YouTube channels, and online courses - all devoted to teaching users the inner workings of WordPress. And the truth is, most of them are good quality. All in all, while WordPress is far from rocket science, it does take some time and attention. Despite the awesome resources and community available to WordPress users, the lack of free commercial support still makes Weebly a winner in this category. Winner: Weebly

Pricing

Weebly and WordPress do not cost the same amount, and it’s difficult to compare the pricing of the two. You can technically get started with WordPress for less than $4 per month, but you can also end up spending hundreds of dollars on it if you work with a developer and require custom features. As I mentioned earlier, WordPress itself is free, but premium hosting, plugins and themes are not. If you want to build a fully customized website with all the bells and whistles, you may end up spending hundreds of dollars, if not more. Some WordPress plugins and themes offer lifetime deals, but others require that you pay a monthly or annual rate. With Weebly you can get started for less than $5/month and even the top “Business” tier only sets you back $30/month. That means that you can scale to a higher tier quickly without worrying about the cost changing unexpectedly. An important point to realize when considering cost is that WordPress allows for unlimited customizations through additional custom development, whereas Weebly, or other closed-source platforms such as Shopify or Wix, do not. So if you need some very specific or advanced features on your website, it will be possible to have this feature built by professional developers using WordPress (at a cost that may reach hundreds or thousands of dollars) whereas you simply won’t be able to build this at all with Weebly! Make sure to factor this into the equation when you’re deciding which option is right for you. Winner: WordPress at first glance, but often Weebly

Site Speed and SEO

Your site’s speed and search-engine optimization (SEO) can be impacted by your choice of website builder. With Weebly, all your website’s performance is managed by Weebly directly. They are responsible for ensuring that your website loads quickly, and they generally do a good job by maintaining a high performance Weebly cloud. Weebly also provides sufficient control over your site’s titles, headings and meta tags, allowing you to properly optimize your site for search engines. WordPress speed, on the other hand, can vary tremendously depending on where you host your website (WHC’s hosting, for example, includes fast caching technology), and how many plugins you load it with. In many cases, the same principles will hold true for both platforms. If you build long web pages with lots of big images, your site will take a long time to load. If you build bite-sized pages with scaled and optimized images, they will load faster. Optimizing WordPress for search and speed takes understanding and effort, but can be greatly facilitated by specialized plugins like Yoast. Ultimately, both WordPress and Weebly can provide you with fast websites that have the potential to rank high in Google and other search engines. Winner: Tie

Weebly vs. WordPress - Making the Best Choice For Your Business

Hopefully by the time you’ve reached this point in the article, you have a good idea of which website solution is best for you. Still not sure? Here are a few examples of circumstances that would be better suited for one or the other of these two platforms. Weebly is best for… small businesses that need to build an online presence without devoting too much time, money or hassle. This can include hairstylists, counselors, and small restaurants or eateries. If you just need a basic website or one that has some simple eCommerce functionality and that doesn’t change too often, Weebly will usually have everything you need. WordPress is best for… blogging, building a larger online store, multilingual websites or websites that use password-protected client sections. The amount of functionality you can build into a WordPress website is almost unlimited, so if you think your website may require advanced features later, it’s the right platform for you. If you still can’t make up your mind, it might be best just to choose one and get started. Within the first three to six months you’ll know whether or not you made the right choice, and at that point it won’t be too much of a hassle to switch unless you’ve built a big site right away. My recommendation is to start at the inexpensive end of whichever option feels right, and just see where it leads you. Everyone is different, and every business is different, so there can’t be a one-size-fits all answer to this question. But there can be a right answer for you, and Web Hosting Canada is dedicated to helping you find it! Which platform did you pick and why? Help others make the best choice by sharing your experiences in the comments below.

5 Small Business Tips For Going Green in 2020

Small Business Success
It's no secret that environmental issues are important to Canadians. In fact, 50% of Canadians say they will not consider a political party unless the party has a commitment to fighting climate change. But as a small business, and especially in the age of the Coronavirus pandemic, what can you do as a small business to help our planet be (and stay) healthy? Here are 5 eco-friendly tips that any small business can follow to reduce their environmental footprint.
Electric car

Encourage a green commute (or remote work!)

Working to reduce the number of vehicles on the road, or making environmentally conscious choice when it comes to company vehicles are two ways a small business can do its part. How? Encourage work from home for your team, when possible and practical (or necessary!). Otherwise, provide incentives for your employees to use carpooling, a rideshare service (once social distancing rules are no longer in place), public transportation or to bike to work. For example, you can provide your team partial refunds of their cost for public transit or rideshare, offer incentives for carpools such as fuel reimbursements, or offer free tune ups for bikers. Consider switching to electric company cars. The Canadian government provides a federal incentive of $5000 for electric car buyers, in addition to provincial incentives already in place across the country.
PDF icon

Go paper-free

Many businesses of all sizes endeavour to go paper-free, which is a fantastic initiative. It can seem difficult when some industries and even some government offices still require the use of fax machines. Switching to an online fax service solves this issue. They allow you to create documents, send and receive faxes, all digitally. Banking can be another hurdle when it comes to going fully paper-free. In recent years, Canadian banks have taken great strides to offer more and more digital options. E-transfers, mobile cheque depositing (skip the deposit slips and ATM receipts!), online messaging centers for account updates, and e-statements are some of the ways Canadian banks are working to help businesses succeed in their paper-free goals. With the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) e-Signatures have the same legal status as handwritten ones. In most cases, there's no need to print and sign documentation for it to be considered legally binding; an e-signature will suffice.
Green LED

Retrofit lighting

Replacing an older lighting system with a newer one is one of the easiest ways to reduce energy use in your office. By replacing traditional halogen light bulbs with their high-quality LED equivalent, you can become up to 85% more energy efficient. Furthermore, 1 high-quality LED light lasts 25 times longer than a regular halogen one. As a value-add, over time LEDs pay for themselves in savings!
Green hosting

Use Eco-friendly Web Hosting

Did you know your choice of website provider can impact your carbon emissions? Your website runs on a server that is operational 24/7, using a significant amount of resources over time. But how is it being powered? Is the server operating on CO2-producing fossil fuels or on clean, renewable resources? As a small business owner, choosing a web hosting provider that powers its datacenters using renewable energies can be the simplest, fastest way for you to reduce your carbon footprint. Web Hosting Canada provides eco-friendly web hosting powered by renewable energy, while adopting many other environmentally-friendly practices. By relying almost exclusively on green energy sources, WHC prevents carbon emissions in the first place, rather than relying on carbon offsetting strategies (that some other self-proclaimed “green” providers rely on exclusively) where CO2 is produced and then compensated through a carbon credit system.
Water fountain

Consider your water and coffee

As plastics take hundreds of years to decompose, disposable plastic bottles have become a real issue. Providing recycling services is good, but having a filtered water system that avoids bottles all together is much better. A water cooler with a reusable water jug or a bottleless filtered water system will reduce waste and keep your team hydrated. Coffee (aka the lifeblood of most small businesses) has become more of an environmental issue due to pod/capsule systems. In 2017, Keurig alone created 11.3 billion pods. If you do use these coffee systems, a great solution to combat the waste production is to switch to biodegradable or reusable pods. Alternatively, some areas have recycling services made specifically for the single use coffee pod systems. To produce minimal waste, a french press or cafetiere is the way to go. Last but not least, stocking your office with reusable cups for water and coffee is an important step towards a more eco-friendly office.

Every little bit counts!

Becoming a green, eco-friendly company is not an all-or-nothing game. With every green initiative you or your company takes, you are making strides towards a more sustainable future. Keep your eyes open for ways to improve and create manageable steps to do so. The next time Earth Day comes around, you can be proud of the improvements you’ve made! Happy Earth Day! WHC Team

How to Add CAPTCHA to WordPress Contact Forms

WordPress
Contact forms are a great tool to increase website engagement, and WordPress provides simple plugins to help you add one to your website. But without adequate protection, they can be quickly overwhelmed with spam. In this article, you’ll learn how to add a security feature called CAPTCHA to protect your WordPress contact forms. Adding CAPTCHA (or in our case reCAPTCHA) to a WordPress contact form takes only a few minutes, but it can save you a big headache in the long run. Not convinced that you need a contact form? In that case you may want to read 4 Great Reasons to Use a Contact Form On Your Website. If you have one and it isn't converting well, consider implementing our Tips For Increasing Contact Form Engagement. And if you feel overwhelmed by the number of options, we've got you covered with our article on The Best WordPress Contact Form Plugins. Once you have all that figured out, you'll want to make sure that your contact form is equipped with CAPTCHA.

What Is CAPTCHA and Why Is It Important in WordPress?

A CAPTCHA is a program intended to tell the difference between humans and robots - in this case spam bots that crawl the web looking for unprotected contact forms. CAPTCHAs typically work by devising a kind of test or trap that humans can easily bypass, but that robots cannot. Because spam bots are always evolving, CAPTCHAs have adapted as well. An advanced version of CAPTCHA developed by Google, called reCAPTCHA, is a free add-on to any website and is capable of preventing most spam attacks. Because WordPress contact forms usually work by sending the entry to either your website database or your inbox (or both), preventing spam in WordPress contact forms is of particular importance. No one wants to wake up to an overflowing inbox, or a database that has suddenly tripled in size! Keeping your contact form secure from spam bots will ensure that you don’t have to waste any time and energy cleaning up after them.

How to Get Your Site Key and Secret Key for ReCAPTCHA

In order to add reCAPTCHA to any website, you first need to get a site key and secret key from Google.
  1. Go to https://www.google.com/reCAPTCHA/admin/create. Here’s a screenshot of the Google CAPTCHA creation page, so you’ll know what to expect: reCaptcha configuration
  2. Fill out the information in the required fields and select the type of CAPTCHA you’d like to use. For the purposes of this article, we’ll use the v2 "I’m not a robot" reCAPTCHA.
  3. Click Submit
  4. You’ll be taken to a new page containing your Site key and Secret key for the reCAPTCHA.
Now that you have the site key and secret key, you're ready to integrate reCAPTCHA with your website. You can use the same site key and secret key anytime you want to add CAPTCHA to any other plugins or elements on the site. Let's look at how to use CAPTCHA on some popular contact form plugins, and then we'll explore how to integrate it with any other form element.

How to Add CAPTCHA to Forminator

Forminator was our top rated contact form plugin in a previous article, and one of the reasons it rose to the top was how easy it is to set up and use. Setting up a CAPTCHA in Forminator is very similar to setting it up with Advanced NoCAPTCHA, but we’ll do a quick walkthrough of the process anyway.
  1. Install and activate Forminator, then click on the plugin’s name in the left sidebar to access its main menu.
  2. The menu in the sidebar will expand, allowing you to click on Settings.
  3. From the Forminator settings page, click on Google reCAPTCHA.
  4. Select the appropriate type of CAPTCHA and fill out the Site key and Secret key as before, then click on Save Settings.
That’s it! Now reCAPTCHA will be available as a field you can easily add to any form.

How to Add CAPTCHA to Contact Form 7

  1. Install and activate Contact Form 7.
  2. Click on Settings from the plugin menu or Contact in the left sidebar to access the full CF7 menu.
  3. Click on Integration in the sidebar, and then Setup Integration under reCAPTCHA.
  4. You’ll be presented with a screen that should look familiar by now - here you can enter your Site key and Secret key, and click Save Changes.
That’s it! Contact Form 7 automatically uses Google reCAPTCHA v3, which is invisible to human users so it doesn’t interrupt the user experience at all. Once this setting is enabled, your Contact Form 7 forms will be protected by invisible reCAPTCHA.

How to Add CAPTCHA to Ninja Forms

  1. To set up CAPTCHA with Ninja Forms, install and activate the plugin.
  2. Click on or mouse over its name in the left sidebar.
  3. Click on Settings.
  4. This is where you enter your Site key and Secret key to activate reCAPTCHA for Ninja Forms.
  5. This plugin also requires that you enter a language code. The code is en for English and fr for French. To find codes for other languages, you can click on the link provided by Ninja Forms below the language field.
  6. Select a theme, and then scroll down and click on Save Settings.
That’s all for Ninja Forms! Similar to Forminator, Ninja Forms will now make a “reCAPTCHA” block available to you in its drag-and-drop builder.

How to Add CAPTCHA to WPForms

By now you’re probably pretty comfortable with adding CAPTCHA or reCAPTCHA to a WordPress form, but we’ll cover one more popular example in WPForms.
  1. Once you’ve installed and activated the plugin, mouse over or click on its name in the left sidebar and go to Settings.
  2. You’ll be taken to a WPForms branded page with a menu that includes a reCAPTCHA tab. Click on it, and you’ll arrive at the screen where you can input your Site key and Secret key.
  3. You can select the type of reCAPTCHA you want to use, and also set a custom fail message before clicking on Save Settings.
  4. WPForms also includes an option called no conflict mode, which can help prevent issues with other instances of CAPTCHA on the same page.
Like Forminator and Ninja Forms, once you’ve enabled reCAPTCHA for WPForms it becomes an addable element when creating or editing a form.

How to Add CAPTCHA to Other WordPress Forms

Although most popular contact form plugins have CAPTCHAs built into their functionality, it’s also possible to manually add CAPTCHA to any form element on WordPress that’s being abused. These include contact forms, but also comment forms, login pages, and optin forms. For this we’ll use the Advanced NoCAPTCHA and Invisible CAPTCHA plugin.
Pro Tip: If the plugin you're using has built-in CAPTCHA integration, use that. If you need to add CAPTCHA to an element that doesn't have it built in, Advanced NoCAPTCHA is a useful option.
  1. Install and activate the plugin from the WordPress repository.
  2. When you’re redirected to the plugins menu, click on Settings under Advanced NoCAPTCHA and Invisible CAPTCHA.
  3. Copy and Paste the Site key and Secret key into the appropriate fields on the Advanced NoCaptcha and Invisible CAPTCHA plugin page.
  4. Configure the rest of the options as you feel is appropriate - for this tutorial, I just checked the comment form box next to enabled forms, and left everything else at its default.
  5. Once you’re sure you’ve set things up correctly, scroll down and click on Save Changes.
  6. Now have a look at one of your blog posts.
    7. I'm not a robot As you can see, the Google reCAPTCHA has now been integrated with my website’s comment forms.

ReCAPTCHA + WordPress Contact Forms = A Winning Combo!

By now you should understand what a CAPTCHA is and what it does. You should also know why it’s important to a WordPress website, and how to add it to any form with just a couple of clicks. Configuring it correctly will cut down on the amount of spam you receive significantly, saving you valuable time. If you know someone whose WordPress website is suffering from an abundance of spam, be sure to direct them to this article! Thanks for reading! If you have any questions about CAPTCHAs in WordPress or would like to see a specific plugin added to this tutorial, let us know with a comment.

Beware of Coronavirus Scams!

Security
The Coronavirus is not the only pandemic raging across the globe. Fear and greed, referred to by legendary investor Warren Buffett as “super contagious diseases”, are both running rampant as well. You’ve probably already seen the results of fear: fake news posted across social media, and folks making wild assumptions about the cause or eventual outcome of the contagion. But greed, the more sinister of the two ailments, has snaked its scaly coils into the homes of many people via phishing and malware attempts. In this article, we’ll review some of the most recent scams targeting Canadians, as well as strategies you should be using to help keep yourself safe online.

What is Phishing?

Phishing attacks are most often attempted through email, but they can be executed using any form of electronic communication. Typically, perpetrators will contact you pretending to represent an authority or service provider you know and trust. They accomplish this by spoofing email addresses and phone numbers, which unfortunately does not require more than basic technical knowledge. Phishing attacks are attempts to gain personal information which may be used to access your accounts or finances. A common example is a fake email which seems to come from a company you know and trust. The email contains a link to a fake version of the company’s website, where your information can be easily stolen and filed away.

What is Malware?

Malware is a catch-all term for software designed to harm a computer or any of its working parts. Malware can be delivered to your computer in a variety of ways, but is often embedded in a file or folder which you download intentionally.

Reported Coronavirus Related Attacks

Fake Coronavirus Information Websites

According to Malwarebytes.com, 3,600 Coronavirus / COVID-19 related domain names were registered on March 14th alone. Since then even more have been registered, and many of them appear to be malicious.

COVID-19 Map Malware

A recently discovered malware application used a disguised version of “Corona Live” to trick people into giving it access to their camera and microphone. In this advanced digital age, it pays to be careful where you click, and to be even more prudent about what you download.

Text Message Scam to Canadians

Another fraud attempt specifically targeting Canadians involves a text message telling you that you’ve received emergency funds and providing a link. Anyone following it would be prompted to provide personal information which could potentially be used to hack their accounts or steal their identity.

Free Protective Masks Scam

Even more scams involve messages claiming you can now have access to free protective face masks, but asking you to pay “shipping and handling” fees, as a way for scammers to extract credit card information.

Criminals Pretending to be the WHO

Criminals are disguising themselves as the WHO to steal money or sensitive information. If you are contacted by a person or organization that appears to be from the WHO, verify their authenticity before responding. In short, you need to be on the lookout for suspicious websites, apps, emails, and text messages in these uncertain times. Whether you’re on your computer, tablet, or smartphone, you could potentially be vulnerable to attack.

What To Look For and Avoid

Unfortunately, many legitimate emails and text messages related to the virus are also being sent, so it can be difficult to tell when something is a scam. But there are certain common factors which you can learn to look for and avoid.

Unusual Communication From Trusted Sources

Hackers are not above impersonating the World Health Organization or even your local government. If you receive communication from an authoritative body that seems unusual, unexpected, or alarming, think twice before responding or clicking on any links.

Communication From Unknown Sources

Another approach hackers can take is to create a fictitious organization or individual that seems to be offering or asking for help. You should be especially careful of communication from completely unknown sources, no matter how good their ideas may sound.

Anything Too Good To Be True

You will really need to exercise sound judgment here, which can be difficult when experiencing anxiety. Many scams and attacks are offering products or services that claim to cure or protect against the virus in some way. While medical teams around the world are racing for a vaccine, it will likely take some time before any effective medication is released. When that does happen, the World Health Organization, governments, and accredited news organizations will broadly publicize the event.

Links From Friends

One common way in which people end up clicking on a harmful link is when a friend sends it to them or shares it on social media. Unfortunately, our friends are not impervious to these attacks, and may be tricked into sharing something whether or not they even clicked on it themselves. If someone sends you a link related to Coronavirus, it may be worth asking them for more information and doing a little research before following it.

Secure Habits For The Future

Here’s a short list of habits you can make or break to help keep your data more secure:
  • Don’t click on links without knowing where they’re going
  • Don’t follow links in emails unless they are expected and come from a trusted source
  • Use an effective antispam filter to block threats before they reach your inbox
  • Do your research before accessing Coronavirus related apps and websites
  • Look to trusted news organizations and the official World Health Organization website for factual information, not other third party sources
Avoid becoming another scam statistic by following common-sense security guidelines, and stay alert! Have you noticed other Coronavirus related scams recently? Help our community stay safe by sharing them with us in a comment below.

Become a WHC Affiliate: Earn up to $300!

Small Business Success
If you own a website, a blog or send out emails, then you could be making money right now with the Web Hosting Canada affiliate program.

What is affiliate marketing?

The idea is simple: once enrolled as an affiliate, you place a special tracking link to WHC on your website, blog or emails. When visitors follow the link and make a purchase, you earn a commission. With different banners, finding one that works with your specific layout and style is easy. And the best part? Setting up the affiliate program takes only a couple of minutes, helping you turn your online project into a passive revenue machine!

How much can I earn with the WHC affiliate program?

Our top earners generate over $10,000 a month. Individual commissions can range from 20$ to 300$ depending on the referred product. Even if you average about one sale a week you can earn over $5,000 per year. Considering we all know a few people who could use a website, professional email, better online security or reliable web hosting, you could be connecting friends and colleagues with a quality service while generating revenue. Have a look at our commission structure to understand all the possible avenues for revenue.

How easy is it to set up the affiliate program?

Very easy!
  1. If you're not already a client, register your account (it's free)
  2. Log in to your WHC Client Area, and activate your Affiliate status
  3. Your unique referral link is now listed. Use it, or click on the Banners tab for image ad banners Banners tab
  4. Choose the banner you want to use and copy the html code
  5. Sign into your website so you can manipulate it
  6. Find the page(s) you wish to advertise on and decide where the banners should go
  7. Insert the affiliate banner code into the appropriate location on your website
  8. Watch the results come in!
Depending on the content management system your website runs on (WordPress, Weebly etc.) there will be different ways to add the code. If you are not familiar with how to manipulate your website, talk to your webmaster. They should be able to add a banner within minutes. Now, whenever a person clicks on your link and makes a purchase, you'll earn commissions!

How can I maximize my earnings with the affiliate program?

There are many ways to make the most of your affiliate potential. Every affiliate has a main referral link clearly shown in the affiliate section of your WHC client area. This link is your magic key as it tracks your affiliate account. Add a link in your blog: You can incorporate the link into text so that a person can click on a word to visit our website. Writing an authentic testimonial about your hosting experience with WHC on your website and sharing it with your affiliate audience generates solid leads. Newsletters and emails: A banner, a text link or an image link can also go in any newsletter or email. One excellent option is adding something like, “Check out my favorite web hosting company” or “looking for hosting deals?” as a link underneath your email signature, making every email you send out a possible source for revenue. However, if you perform an email marketing campaign, please ensure that it follows Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislations (CASL). Create a review: have you had a positive experience with Web Hosting Canada? You could create a review that tells the story on your website, blog, or even as a video on YouTube! Many people will search for “whc review” or similar terms before making a purchase, and if they find your content helpful they may use your affiliate link! Post on social media: if you use Facebook or Twitter, you can share your affiliate link with friends and followers there (and on some other social platforms). Just make sure that you’re clear about disclosing your potential to earn a commission!

How can I track my progress in the WHC affiliate program?

When you go into your WHC affiliate account you will automatically see the number of clicks, signups and conversion rate. Clicks= how many people clicked on the link Signups= how many people bought something after clicking the link Conversions= the percentage of how many clicks turned into sales. The higher the better! earnings To see that the affiliate program is working properly all you have to do is go to your website and click the link yourself. After you follow the link, go back to the WHC Affiliate console and you should see it reflected in ‘clicks’. Want more detailed information? Go to the referrals tab for details on date of purchase, product, cost and commission.

How do I receive my commission?

To receive your commission, you simply need to click on the request withdrawal button under the earnings tab once you have reached the minimum amount: C$120. Affiliates may choose to have the withdrawal done through PayPal or by check.

Earn Recurring Revenue with Reseller Hosting

Are you tech-savvy and looking to make more money? Consider our reseller hosting program. Reseller hosting allows you to take control of the sales process by selling web hosting services as your own. While affiliate referrals generate one-time commissions, with reseller hosting you set the plan pricing and keep all profits, thus generating recurring revenue so long as the client stays with you.

Canadians Helping Canadians, Helping Canadians = a win for Canada

Web Hosting Canada is proudly Canadian and proud of the reliable and competitively priced services we offer. It feels even better to know that our affiliate program can result in a triple ‘win’ for Canada. When a sale is made through our affiliate program, you earn revenue from the referral (win #1); your referral gets a great hook-up with a high-value service provider to promote their Canadian presence online (win #2); and the entire transaction stays within Canada, helping bolster the local economy (win #3)! Improving your earning potential with minimal effort while promoting Canada? Sounds pretty good! Happy Hosting, The Team at WHC.