How To Build A Website In China？

20 August 2021

 As the one of the world’s strongest economies, China is a country that cannot be ignored. However, it is very different from the rest of the world, and the online landscape is no exception.

digital chinese digital services

Websites such as Google and Facebook are blocked and accessing foreign websites are often slow. This creates an environment where websites hosted in China boom. For the most of Chinese users, it is a fairly easy decision on how to use the internet.

Given this vastly distinct digital ecosystem, creating a website in China is not the same as building a site anywhere else in the world. Whether it is to market your business or to sell a product, there are a number of differences to consider before starting with your China website.

Hosting a website in China is not like the rest of the world where you can get up and running in one day. Instead, there are a couple regulatory hoops you need to jump through and follow. To start, you will need a domain name, ICP license, and a server hosted in China.

Firstly, you need to have a domain. A domain name is the first thing you will need to acquire. Contrary to what some may say, a .cn domain name is not required. 

Secondly, you have to register a ICP license. An ICP is a permit that is issued by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Businesses in China must obtain the license before setting up a website as China-based websites will not be allowed to operate without it. The process takes about one month to receive the license.

Next, getting a server in China. A server in China is necessary if you want to rank on Baidu or if you plan on taking Wechat Pay and Alipay on your website. These payment services will not be available to websites on a foreign server. As mentioned above, a server outside of China may be a great choice if Baidu SEO is not important.

  • Make sure your website is mobile-friendly

China has a population of 1.4 billion people, and more than 800 million of them are connected to the internet. When you launch your website in China, chances are that people are going to view it on a mobile device. If your website is not mobile-ready, your users will not be sticking around for very long. That’s could result in a lot of lost business! Make it easy and relevant for your audience and ensure your website is mobile-friendly.

  • Optimize for Baidu’s search engine

Baidu’s algorithm is very different from that of Google. For starters, Baidu has a preference for local servers. If your website is not hosted on a server in China, it will rank significantly lower or not at all. Hosting within Mainland China indicates to Baidu that your content is targeted to the Chinese audience.