How to Optimize Your Website for Global Audiences
Sep 24, 2024 • 3 Minute Read

With the second-largest population in the world and over a billion internet users, China presents an incredible opportunity for businesses looking to boost revenue and brand reach. But establishing a strong digital presence in China is not as simple as replicating your existing website. China's digital landscape is complex, governed by stringent laws and controls that can slow down, block, or even ban your site if it doesn't meet local requirements.
This topic has come up recently for some of Verndale's clients who are making the move from on-premise servers hosting their websites to SaaS solutions like Sitecore's XM Cloud and Optimizely's SaaS Content Management System (CMS). The concern is about data residency and whether they're in compliance with the needs of local customers in various regions, whether that's Canada, Europe, or as far as China.
The first important point to understand, is that the CMS becomes truly just a content and website orchestration system, and ideally there's no customer data or Personal Identifiable Information (PII) in that platform anymore. Therefore, where the vendor is hosting the managed system for administering the CMS itself becomes irrelevant. What becomes more important is where the website for the end user is delivered from, and in this headless architecture, that's going to be in a CDN that's within the user's region. So compliance should not be an issue.
That said, China does have a lot of rules and there's simultaneously a lot of information and yet not enough on this topic out in the wild. We've synthesized most of it in a guide to help provide clarity on navigating the unique legal, performance, and searchability challenges of establishing a successful digital footprint in China.
China is an unparalleled market for businesses looking to expand globally. However, with this opportunity comes a host of requirements beyond those seen anywhere else in the world. A few factors stand out:
Navigating these factors is critical for any organization that wants to connect with Chinese consumers.
To operate online in China, you must first understand the Great Firewall, a set of legal and technological controls that monitor and restrict content. It filters or blocks sites that fail to comply with Chinese standards, creating a twofold challenge: (1) keeping content legally permissible and (2) optimizing performance so users can access your site without frustration.
The Great Firewall's controls touch every aspect of a website's operation:
With legal compliance, your website will reach your Chinese audience. Here are the primary steps required to remain accessible within China:
Chinese Data Regulation Policies: China enforces data residency requirements for PII through strict guidelines:
Tools like InCountry for Salesforce can simplify compliance by storing PII on local instances while enabling access for foreign entities.
Delivering a fast, reliable website experience in China involves addressing significant performance obstacles:
CDNs address STATIC assets delivered on your primary domain, but websites aren't serving content and data from just one application and source. A web page is likely a conglomeration of DYNAMIC information coming from multiple sources and back-end services: also known as a composable application. Global accelerators and API gateways can address latency in data flow, optimizing the route between user and data sources. However neither of these can help when a 3rd party domain is completely blocked or significantly slowed.
Solutions like Chinafy and 21YunBox can create a China-optimized proxy of your main website by scanning for slow or blocked content and dynamically replacing it with compliant equivalents. Additionally, 21YunBox helps deploy CDNs and API accelerators within China while assisting with ICP licensing and other white glove services to ensure success in China.
Compliance and performance won't matter if Chinese users can't find your website. Baidu, China's primary search engine, prioritizes websites that adhere to local standards, including:
With legal, performance, and findability requirements covered, the next step is identifying practical solutions that simplify compliance and deliver a seamless user experience. Here are some recommended approaches:
Whether you're exploring the market or committed to a full expansion, these guidelines provide a solid foundation:
Navigating China's digital ecosystem has its challenges. Yet, the potential for growth is vast for organizations willing to invest. With proper preparation and partnerships, your brand can tap into one of the world's largest, most dynamic consumer bases.