Slow Loading Rage

Do you hate wasting away precious seconds of your life while waiting for a webpage to load? Your website visitors do too. While you may need to host your website outside of China, there are simple steps you can take to make your website China friendly.

Host locally if you can

One of the most important elements of a website’s performance is the server location. The closer your server is to your user, the faster the content will be delivered.

If your users are in China, you will want to find a Chinese hosting provider. If you choose to host your website in China you will need an ICP license, and to get one you must have a business registered in China. If you either can’t get an ICP license or do not want your website to be hosted in China, a Content Delivery Network (CDN), is your best option.

Use a Content Delivery Network if you can’t host locally

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) will duplicate the content from your main server and distribute it to multiple servers spread around the world. Once you’ve set up a CDN, your users will receive the content from the closest server. In addition to exponentially increasing your page-loading speed, a CDN increases the security of your server.

Check your fonts

Many modern websites rely on external font services, (ie: Google Webfonts), which enable the implementation of a wider variety of fonts on your website. Services like these are sometimes blocked in China. Using these font services will make the website-loading process extremely slow and will result in a critically high bounce rate.

In order to make your website China friendly, you can either host fonts on your own server or rely on a Chinese alternative like useso.com.

Adapt your services

Your website may contain interactive elements or content from external service providers such as Google maps,Vimeo or ReCaptacha. Those services might be blocked or nonoptimal in China. It is important to identify those services and replace them, either with a local or China friendly alternative.

Be mobile and WeChat ready

China has more than 620 million mobile users, therefore having a mobile-optimized website became the web user experience standard. Mobile optimization includes general loading optimization as stated above, as well as several user interface tweaks. Having a responsive website will improve the user experience and your conversion rate on mobile and tablet devices. Finally, a website optimize for WeChat will facilitate sharing and reach.

You feel like your site my need some China-friendly optimization? Contact us