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Updated: Oct 18, 2023, 12:21pm
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Whether you run an online or brick-and-mortar business, a website is an important way for customers to find and learn more about you. Creating a stunning, professional website is simple and affordable for any business because of a plethora of free and low-cost website builders anyone can use. In this guide, we’ll share websites for design inspiration and a few basic design principles to help you put your best foot forward online.
Featured Partners
1
Wix
On Wix’s Website
Starting price
$16 USD ($21.88 CAD) per month
Drag-and-drop editor
Yes
E-commerce in entry-level plan
No
2
BlueHost
On Bluehost’s Website
Starting price
$2.95 USD ($4.05 CAD) per month
Storage and bandwidth
Unmetered bandwidth, and SSD storage starts at 10GB
Extras and inclusions
Free domain name and SSL for a year, free CDN
3
Squarespace
On Squarespace’s Website
Starting price
$16 USD ($21.88 CAD) per month
Drag-and-drop editor
Yes
Standout Features
Free domain and SSL certificate, no transaction fees, award-winning templates
Here are some of the best designed websites of 2024 that are based in Canada.
Website Builder: Squarespace
The Hyphenated Canadians is a project from Toronto-based, documentary photographer and Israeli-Canadian Shy Alter meant to highlight the stories of fellow hyphenated Canadian artists (Irish-Canadian, African-Canadian, Italian-Canadian, etc.) through striking portraits and an interview, captured in print and on video.
The website stands out thanks to its rotating slideshow of penetrating photography covering the entire homepage, along with a mysterious, one-word call to action: “Start.” Once you click “Start” the website is easily navigable through links to each subject arranged in a checkerboard pattern of uniformly square photographs. The website grabs you right away, not just with the photos, but with their arrangement and the interactivity such a design invites. You just can’t help but engage.
Related: Squarespace Review
Website Builder: Shopify
Based in Etobicoke, Ontario, Vitaly Design sells genderless fashion accessories, like sunglasses, bracelets and necklaces. Its striking, minimalist and geometric design of three horizontal panels with one motion graphic in the centre is the most memorable thing on its homepage. But scroll down and its simple photos of the product in question–only shown being worn when you scroll over it–is refreshing, given that many retail websites are busy to the point of being assaultive. This element seems to be working for the company, too, since in 2022 it reportedly made $4.69 million in revenue off its Shopify store, according to commercial data and analytics from Dun & Bradstreet.
Related: Shopify review
Website Builder: Wix
Bringing to mind the Jr. Jays Magazine of the ‘90s, the Cricket Canada Kids website is meant to introduce children to the international sport by reaching them in the classroom. Schools have the option of registering a team for fun, no-pressure youth competition through this engaging and colourful website that brings to mind a comic book superhero aesthetic.
Related: Wix Review
Website Builder: WordPress
The Canadian Museum of History is the self-appointed, “Most visited museum in Canada.” WordPress is so proud that a Canadian cultural institution chose the WordPress CMS to host its over 65,000 pages of content that the website builder features the museum’s homepage on its own WordPress showcase. Thankfully, it isn’t all hype. Its eye-catching presentation really does give you a window of all the different exhibits and programs that are housed within its walls. The photos are sharp, the navigation is clear and like any good museum it presents what you’re likely looking for first—tickets, hours, opportunities to donate—right across the top in one word that gets straight to the point. Though there’s a lot going on here, it feels organized, not cluttered. It’s a website that you actually want to get lost in–just like the best exhibits at the museum itself.
Website Builder: Weebly
Born and raised in Kelowna, B.C., illustrator Ashleigh Green keeps things simple, yet striking, on her website with easy navigation, a straightforward portfolio layout, charming illustrations and a colour palette highlighted by whimsical pastels. She gives you exactly what you’re looking for when hiring an artist: A brief introduction, a diverse sample of her work and her past clients, along with a sense of what you can expect when you work with her. It all comes in a simple, clean and neat design powered by Weebly.
Related: Weebly Review
Website Builder: Squarespace
Using Squarespace’s Bedford template, Vancouver-based senior product designer Beta Takaki, who currently works at Shopify, uses one page to not only create a beautifully modern website, but also show you what she can do for you with her design and UX/UI expertise. In this case, the appeal of her website is not only her portfolio, but her calling card.
Website Builder: Squarespace
Named for the Canadian stereotype of reflexive apologies, The Sorry Girls, focuses on sustainability, home renovation and interior design without the cable confines of HGTV. Co-founded by Becky Wright and Kelsey MacDermaid, their website evokes the DIY aesthetic they champion, while appealing to their primarily female audience with a handwritten script-font, behind-the-scenes photos and blue-collar design elements like duct tape and paint over carefully curated photos you might see in House & Home Magazine. Their site appears haphazard and fun, while feeling trendy and professional–just like the best DIY home projects.
Website Builder: Squarespace
Judy Quartel-Benjamins is a psychotherapist practicing in Kitchener, Ontario, specializing in treating clients who are depressed, anxious or grieving a loss and those who have experienced trauma. As such, her website evokes the calm you would expect from one of her sessions, with minimal text, a single tranquil landscape and plenty of serene white space. The highlight is hearing from Judy herself in a brief introductory video that should immediately tell you whether you’ll match well with her energy, vibe and conversation style.
Website Builder: Shopify
Landing Page Builder: GemPages
Uppercase is a quarterly high-end magazine and book publisher for design-centric creatives based in Calgary, Alberta. It is run and put together by one woman, Janine Vangool, but its website makes it seem like there are a lot more people involved. The short video that dominates the homepage immediately gives you a sense of what to expect from Uppercase and the orange borders and hearts instead of bullets gives the website a whimsical nature. It’s more than just aesthetics though, since the information for ordering the magazine and discovering its content is clear and easy to find immediately.
Website Builder: Shopify
One of the most successful Shopify websites, Inglot Cosmetics makes navigation easy for shoppers with one word categories: “Face,” “Eyes,” “Lips” and “Nails.” Not only that, but beyond design, Inglot’s command of push notifications, email subscription and text messaging, virtually ensure the company will follow you around if you happen to navigate away. It might be annoying, but it works, contributing to a 2.13% increase in revenue per message, according to a Shopify case study of the e-commerce platform’s Omnisend service.
Note: Website builder is according to What CMS where information was available and confirmed with a look at the site’s page source code.
The websites above have vastly distinct designs, but they each follow some fundamental principles of good website design, namely clarity. Not every website has to use a minimalist design, but they should all offer clear, uncluttered information for the visitor.
When a visitor lands on your homepage, they should find two basic things: what you do and what you want them to do, says Stefan Davis, owner and principal designer of Stefan Davis Design, which offers website and other design services for campaigns and nonprofit organizations.
“Whatever your goal is, pick a call to action that gets you to that goal,” says Davis. “[Include] one section that tells [the visitor], what will this website do for you? What kind of information are we giving the reader? And what do we want them to do?”
Davis recommends these key elements of good website design:
A designer and developer can add bells and whistles to help your site stand out, but you can achieve a professional and useful website experience without a ton of technical know-how or a big budget by following these basic principles. Davis notes that drag-and-drop website builders such as Squarespace and Wix are intentionally set up for non-coders, while WordPress is a better fit if you want to heavily customize.
Your website is the face of your business online, the first impression many potential clients or customers will have of your brand. Take care to create a positive experience that helps them find just the information they need and encourages them to take the next step that will move them down your sales funnel and into your community.
Avoid overcomplicating your design, especially if you don’t have design chops or a budget to hire a designer. Prioritize building a website that’s easy to navigate and offers visitors only the most vital information about how to connect with your business.
Featured Partners
1
Wix
On Wix’s Website
Starting price
$16 USD ($21.88 CAD) per month
Drag-and-drop editor
Yes
E-commerce in entry-level plan
No
2
BlueHost
On Bluehost’s Website
Starting price
$2.95 USD ($4.05 CAD) per month
Storage and bandwidth
Unmetered bandwidth, and SSD storage starts at 10GB
Extras and inclusions
Free domain name and SSL for a year, free CDN
3
Squarespace
On Squarespace’s Website
Starting price
$16 USD ($21.88 CAD) per month
Drag-and-drop editor
Yes
Standout Features
Free domain and SSL certificate, no transaction fees, award-winning templates
Clean website design usually refers to uncluttered, minimalist design that includes only essential elements and text and uses a lot of negative or white space.
Seven common types of business websites are online hubs, e-commerce, portfolios, event websites, education/courses, directories and membership or subscription sites.
To get your website online, you need web hosting, a content management system (CMS), a domain and content (copy and images for the pages). Hosted website builders such as Squarespace and Wix include web hosting and a free domain along with a CMS, while self-hosted products such as WordPress require you to buy hosting and a domain separately and plug the CMS into it.
Dana Miranda is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance® and founder of Healthy Rich, a platform for inclusive, budget-free financial education. She’s written about work and money for publications including Forbes, The New York Times, CNBC, NextAdvisor, Insider and Inc. Magazine.
Aaron Broverman is the lead editor of Forbes Advisor Canada. He has over a decade of experience writing in the personal finance space for outlets such as Creditcards.com, creditcardGenius.ca, Yahoo Finance Canada, Nerd Wallet Canada and Greedyrates.ca. He lives in Waterloo, Ontario with his wife and son.
