Is Squarespace right for my Canadian business?

Squarespace Canada FAQ

As a Canadian web designer and small business owner, I know that there are always specific questions when we work with companies on the internet such as: will this work with our currency? Or, how do taxes work?

So, I’ve put together a list of ten answers to some of the most frequent questions about Squarespace for Canadians.

1) Can I use a .ca domain with Squarespace?

Yes, you can purchase a .ca domain from Squarespace or easily connect your website with a .ca domain from a third party provider.

Please note: Squarespace provides a free domain for the first year with the purchase of an annual website hosting plan. This only covers $20 domains. Currently, .ca domains are $30, so are not available as part of the free domain offer.

2) How much does Squarespace cost in Canada?

Squarespace does now show their pricing in Canadian funds, so we don’t have to check the going rate before signing up.

Squarespace has 4 plans that you can pay either month by month or yearly. The yearly plans offer a discount of at least 26% (depending on the plan), so I recommend purchasing the annual plans.

Also, if you work with me or another Squarespace Circle member you will get 20% off the cost of your first year of web hosting.

Personal Plan: $252 CAD/year
This plan is best for personal websites as you cannot add any custom code or sell products.

Business Plan: $384 CAD/year
This is the plan that I choose for most of my clients. It allows me to use custom code such as CSS, HTML and Javascript create more beautiful and functional websites. This is also a good plan if you want a small store on your website.

Commerce Basic Plan: $432 CAD/year
Fully integrated e-commerce with 0% transaction fees.

Commerce Advanced Plan: $792 CAD/year
The Commerce Advanced Plan has everything from the Basic plan with more advanced features, such as advanced discounts, abandoned cart recovery and subscription plans.

*Please note that these prices are subject to change. They were last updated in this blog February 2025. For the most recent information see Squarespace Pricing.

3) Do I have to pay GST/HST on my Squarespace Hosting?

Squarespace does charge federal and/or provincial tax (depending on your location). However, if you run a business, you can verify your tax exemption either at the time you upgrade to a paid hosting plan or on existing subscriptions.

For new plans, enter your business name and HST/GST number on the checkout page.

For existing plans, you’ll need to add your information to your billing information:

1. From the Home menu, click the cog icon to access Settings

2. Click Billing > Payment information

3. Enter your credit card information

4. Choose Canada from the drop-down menu, and select your province

5. In the Canadian tax exemption section, click the checkbox to confirm you’re registered for GST/HST

6. Enter your business name and registration numbers. For example:

7. Click Save and continue.

Numbers need to be added with no spaces. The format look like the following:

GST/HST: 123456789RT0001
QST: 1234567890TQ0001

4) Can I make a bilingual website with Squarespace?

Yes, you can make a website serving our two official languages in Squarespace. Or, you can choose from many other languages if you serve another language or want to make your website appeal to a more global market.

Squarespace uses the Weglot integration to translate websites. Check out our blog post to find out how to set up your bilingual website.

5) What payment processors can I use?

Canadian website owners can use Stripe, Paypal Business or Squarespace Payments to process the payments in their Squarespace online store. The Point of Sale integration with Square is currently only available to US website owners.

To set up your payment processor:

1. From the Home menu click the cog icon to access Settings

2. Click Selling > Payments

3. Click on your payment processor choice and follow the instructions to connect

6) Can I sell on Squarespace in Canadian Funds?

Yes, Squarespace supports Canadian currency. Once you set up your payment processor (see above) the currency will be the same bank account connected to your Stripe account or the currency set in your PayPal Business account.

To change the currency of your Squarespace store:

1. From the Home menu click the cog icon to access Settings

2. Click Selling > Payments

3. Select an available currency from the drop-down menu (under the payment processors)

4. Click Save

7) How about using metric measurements on my products?

You can change the measurements on your Squarespace account to metric. This lets you have your product size, width or weight in metric measurements instead of imperial.

1. From the Home menu click Settings (the cog icon)

2. Click on Website

3. Click on Regional Settings

4. Click on Metric in the Measurement Standards section

5. Click Save

8) Can I apply federal and provincial sales tax to orders on Squarespace?

You can add different tax codes for each province that you sell to in Squarespace.

1. From the Home menu click Settings (the cog icon)

2. Click Selling > Taxes

3. Under Manual Setup, click Add Rate

4. Select a Canada from the Country drop-down menu

5. Click Add province rate

6. Click Select a province and choose the province.

7. Enter the provincial sales tax rate

8. Click Add, then click Save

9) What are my shipping options within Canada?

Finally, finally, Squarespace has introduced Carrier Calculated Shipping or real time rates for Canadians. This means that you can automatically calculate shipping costs with Canada Post, Canpar, Purolator, Sendle or UPS.

Before this Canadians only had the option of flat rate shipping or shipping rates by weight. These can be great options for some stores, but it meant Squarespace wasn’t really a good option for some of my Canadian clients. Those clients really needed those real time rates.

In addition to these paid shipping options, we now can offer local pickup and delivery, as well as free shipping.

To access your shipping options:

1. Click on the cog icon to access Settings

2. Click Selling > Shipping

3. Now you can set up your Shipping, Pickup or Delivery options
   

10) Can I add a Canada Post tracking number with Squarespace?

When you mark a pending order as fulfilled, Squarespace gives you the option add a tracking number. Canada Post is one of the recognized carriers that you can track. You then have the option of sending your client an email notification with the tracking number.

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