--- title: "Spanish Website for a Toronto Business: What to Plan — Dardo" description: "Plan a Spanish and English website for a Toronto business: one URL per language, hreflang, Google Business Profile, and AODA, CASL and PIPEDA basics." url: "https://dardo.studio/en/blog/spanish-website-toronto/" language: "en" translation: "https://dardo.studio/es/blog/diseno-web-en-espanol-toronto/" updated: "2026-10-09T20:36:41.667Z" --- [Blog](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/) # Spanish-language websites for Toronto businesses: what to plan A Spanish and English site for a Toronto business: URLs per language, hreflang, Google Business Profile, and the Ontario and federal rules that apply. By [Nicolás Cerón](https://dardo.studio/en/studio/) ·October 9, 2026 · [Leer en español](https://dardo.studio/es/blog/diseno-web-en-espanol-toronto/) ![Toronto's skyline at blue hour seen across the harbour, with a crimson thread of light stretching over the water from a lamplit pier to the city.](https://dardo.studio/_astro/01M4GYCSQ1HMJYARPSQBDDZXNQ_ZFm4BM.webp) ## Who this guide is for You run a business in Toronto, most of your customers prefer Spanish, and you also need English for partners, suppliers or English-speaking customers. This guide covers what to plan before you build: structure, local search, the Ontario and federal rules that touch the site, and Spanish for customers from many countries. Dardo works remotely from Bogotá and has no office in Toronto. The Toronto, Ontario and Canada specifics here come from the official sources linked, not from local projects. It isn't legal advice; confirm how a law applies to you with a lawyer. ## Decide what each language is for Write the Spanish pages first, for your Spanish-speaking customers, instead of translating from English at the end. The English version can mirror every page or cover only services, about and contact. Either works if every page that exists in both languages is complete in each. Google's [localized versions guide](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/localized-versions) notes that language versions are only treated as duplicates when the main content stays untranslated. A Spanish page with an English menu and footer serves neither reader. ## One URL per language Google [recommends separate URLs](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/managing-multi-regional-sites) for each language rather than cookies or browser settings. Googlebot usually crawls from the US without a language preference, so it may only ever see one version of a site that swaps languages on the fly. For a single business, subdirectories are simplest (`yourbusiness.ca/es/` and `yourbusiness.ca/en/`); Google lists them as easy to set up and low maintenance. The same page adds three rules: - One language per page, for content and navigation. No side-by-side translations. - Don't redirect visitors automatically based on their presumed language; it can stop people and search engines from reaching every version. - Add visible links to switch language. The switcher should land on the equivalent page, not the home page. ### Hreflang, done properly Hreflang annotations tell Google which pages are versions of each other. According to the [localized versions guide](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/localized-versions): - Declare them in HTML `` tags, HTTP headers or the XML sitemap. They're equivalent, so pick one. - Each version lists itself and every other version. If page A points to B and B doesn't point back, Google ignores the annotations. - Alternate URLs must be fully qualified (`https://...`). - Codes use ISO 639-1 (`es`, `en`), optionally with a region (`es-CA`). Google doesn't recognize `es-419`, the code often used for Latin American Spanish. - `x-default` names the fallback page for visitors whose language you don't offer. With one Spanish and one English version, plain `es` and `en` are enough. ### Keep the lang attribute anyway Google works out a page's language from its visible content, not the HTML `lang` attribute, but screen readers rely on it. WCAG 2.0, the standard Ontario's rules use, requires the [language of the page](https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-doc-lang-id.html) to be programmatically determined (Level A) and [passages in another language](https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/meaning-other-lang-id.html) to be marked (Level AA), so Spanish is pronounced as Spanish. One of the W3C's examples is the switcher itself: each link names its language in that language, like "Español" or "English", and carries its own `lang`. ## Local search in Toronto ### Google Business Profile Google's [Business Profile guidelines](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3038177) set who can have a profile and how to represent the business: - Eligible: businesses customers can visit at a staffed location during stated hours, and businesses that travel to customers. - Not eligible: virtual offices, P.O. boxes or mailing addresses where you don't operate. A co-working space qualifies only with signage, staff and customer reception during business hours. - If you serve customers only at their homes or offices, set a service area and hide your address; if they can also visit your staffed location, you can show it alongside a service area. Service areas generally shouldn't extend beyond about two hours' drive from your base. - Use your real-world name. Taglines, keywords and location details, such as "servicios en español" or a neighbourhood, aren't allowed in it. - Pick the fewest, most specific categories, a local phone number under your direct control, and one profile per location. Say you serve customers in Spanish on your website and in your profile's content, not in the business name. ### Signals on the site Google lists local addresses, phone numbers, currency and Business Profiles among the signals it uses to work out which country a site serves. Show the same address, phone and Canadian-dollar prices on both versions. After launch, Search Console's [Performance report](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7576553) shows which queries and pages bring visitors. If Spanish searches land on English pages, fix the hreflang or the Spanish copy. ## The Ontario and federal rules that touch the site The table summarizes what each official source says about the three that most often touch a small business site. | Law | Applies to | What the site needs | Official source | | -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | AODA, O. Reg. 191/11 | Public websites of businesses and non-profits with 50+ employees in Ontario; some duties for any business with employees in Ontario | WCAG 2.0 Level AA (50+); accessible formats on request (all) | [ontario.ca](https://www.ontario.ca/page/how-make-websites-accessible) | | CASL | Commercial emails and texts sent or accessed through a computer system in Canada | Consent, sender identification, a working unsubscribe | [ISED](https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canada-anti-spam-legislation/en), [Justice Laws](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-1.6/page-1.html) | | PIPEDA | Private-sector organizations handling personal information in commercial activities | Meaningful consent and clear privacy information | [OPC](https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/privacy-laws-in-canada/the-personal-information-protection-and-electronic-documents-act-pipeda/pipeda%5Fbrief/) | ### Accessibility under the AODA Ontario's [website accessibility page](https://www.ontario.ca/page/how-make-websites-accessible) says that since January 1, 2021, businesses and non-profits with 50 or more employees must make public websites, and web content posted after January 1, 2012, meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA, except live captions and pre-recorded audio descriptions. The duty falls on whoever controls the site, directly or through a contract, so hiring a studio doesn't transfer it. Both language versions are public websites. Ontario's [rules for businesses and non-profits](https://www.ontario.ca/page/accessibility-rules-businesses-and-non-profits) count full-time, part-time, seasonal and contract employees in Ontario, not volunteers or independent contractors. Smaller businesses have no listed website standard, but every business with employees in Ontario must provide accessible formats and communication supports on request and say so publicly; your site is the obvious place. With 20 or more employees, you also file a compliance report every three years; the current deadline listed is December 31, 2026. ### Newsletters and email under CASL Canada's anti-spam law focuses on [commercial electronic messages](https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canada-anti-spam-legislation/en), those that encourage participation in a commercial activity. Under [the Act](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-1.6/page-1.html) and ISED's guidance on [getting consent to send email](https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/canada-anti-spam-legislation/en/getting-consent-send-email): - You need express or implied consent. Implied consent from a purchase lasts up to two years; from an inquiry, six months. - A request for express consent states its purpose and who is asking. - Each message identifies the sender, gives contact details and offers a free unsubscribe that works for at least 60 days. Unsubscribes must be processed within 10 business days. - An email asking for consent is itself a commercial message, so collect consent on the site, not by cold email. - The rules apply when [a computer system in Canada](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/E-1.6/page-2.html) is used to send or access the message, wherever your email platform is hosted. On the site, that means a sign-up form in each language saying what people will receive and from whom, a checkbox they tick themselves, a confirmation email in their language, and a record of their consent: ISED says to be able to show proof if asked. ### Privacy under PIPEDA [PIPEDA](https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/privacy-laws-in-canada/the-personal-information-protection-and-electronic-documents-act-pipeda/pipeda%5Fbrief/) applies to private-sector organizations that collect, use or disclose personal information in commercial activities. Ontario's similar law covers only personal health information, so PIPEDA usually governs a Toronto business's forms, bookings and mailing lists. The OPC's [guidelines for meaningful consent](https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/privacy-for-businesses/appropriate-handling-of-personal-information/collecting-personal-information-and-consent/consent/gl%5Fomc%5F201805/) ask you to make four things prominent: what you collect, who you share it with, why, and any meaningful risk of significant harm. They recommend layers: a short summary by the form, the full policy one click away. If your hosting, form tool or web studio processes data outside Canada, the OPC's [cross-border guidelines](https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/privacy-topics/airports-and-borders/gl%5Fdab%5F090127/) say you stay accountable, should protect the data by contract, and should tell people it may be processed in another country, preferably when you collect it. Write that notice in both languages. ## Writing Spanish for customers from many countries Your customers may come from different Spanish-speaking countries. A careful neutral Spanish usually serves them better than one country's dialect: - Choose tú or usted and keep it everywhere, forms and emails included. - Use ustedes for the plural, not vosotros, and skip slang only one country uses. - When an everyday word changes by country (celular or móvil; carro, coche or auto), use your customers' word or rephrase. - Keep Canadian program and document names in English with a short Spanish explanation, so customers recognize them on official documents. - Keep a glossary and name one reviewer who checks every page before it goes live. Spanish usually runs longer than English, so design menus and buttons for it. ### What actually changes between versions | Element | Spanish version | English version | | ---------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | Main reader | Customers deciding whether to call or book | Partners, suppliers, English-speaking customers | | Search terms | Researched in Spanish, in your customers' words | Researched in English | | Contact | Who answers in Spanish, and when | Same channels; say which languages you answer in | | Forms and emails | Spanish labels, errors, consent text, confirmations | English equivalents | | Privacy notice | In Spanish | In English | | lang attribute | es | en | | Name, address, phone, prices (CAD) | Identical | Identical | ## Working with a studio in Bogotá Here's what working remotely with a studio in Bogotá means in practice. ### Time zones Bogotá is on UTC−5 all year, with no daylight saving time. Toronto uses Eastern Time: UTC−5 in winter and UTC−4 from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, according to the IANA time zone database for [Toronto](https://data.iana.org/time-zones/tzdb/northamerica) and [Bogotá](https://data.iana.org/time-zones/tzdb/southamerica); Colombia's legal time is kept by its [national metrology institute](https://horalegal.inm.gov.co/). From November to March the clocks match. The rest of the year Bogotá is one hour behind: 10:00 in Toronto is 9:00 in Bogotá. ### Calls, local work and contracts Calls and reviews can be in Spanish or English; the [contact page](https://dardo.studio/en/contact/) offers a booked call, email or WhatsApp. Some things stay with you: your Business Profile, photos of your premises (yours or a local photographer's), knowledge of your customers and their words, and the legal review of privacy, consent and accessibility wording. [Ask for a written proposal](https://dardo.studio/en/blog/compare-design-studios/) listing the pages, writer, reviewer and delivery date for each language. Agree on currency and payment schedule in writing; the budget ranges on Dardo's contact form are in US dollars. Keep the domain, hosting, email and analytics accounts in your business's name, and ask your accountant how a foreign supplier's service is treated for tax. ## How Dardo can help Dardo designs and builds bilingual Spanish and English sites: one URL per language, reciprocal hreflang, a switcher that lands on the equivalent page, and forms and confirmation emails in each language. See [multilingual websites](https://dardo.studio/en/services/multilingual-websites/) and [web design](https://dardo.studio/en/services/web-design/), and [web accessibility](https://dardo.studio/en/services/web-accessibility/) for WCAG audits and fixes. We don't give legal advice, so plan for counsel to confirm the compliance pieces. If you're planning a Spanish site for your Toronto business, [tell us what you need](https://dardo.studio/en/contact/). [Nicolás Cerón](https://dardo.studio/en/studio/) Nicolás Cerón is the founder of Dardo, a brand, web design and development studio in Bogotá, Colombia. ## Keep exploring. - [Service · **Multilingual and bilingual English–Spanish websites**](https://dardo.studio/en/services/multilingual-websites/) - [Your project · **Start a conversation**](https://dardo.studio/en/contact/)