Doing Business in China:

Designing and Localizing

Websites for the Chinese Market
Part 2 of 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As China’s economic importance continues to grow, Western companies have come to
regard the country as “the place to be.” China is achieving an important milestone as its
second generation of consumers arises, a target market numerically on par with all of
Western Europe combined.

How do Western companies build a Web presence in China that will compare favorably
with other sites in its category? How do existing sites set, meet, or exceed the
expectations of Chinese customers? How high is the bar for an entering company?

This two-part paper is based on a December 2009 webinar presentation by Rebecca Ray,
1
former Managing Editor for the Localization Industry Standards Association (LISA). In this
second part, we outline the business case for localizing Websites into Chinese, and point
out the costly errors that smart companies avoid. Part 1 examines prominent
characteristics of doing business in China.

MAIN MESSAGES
1. For both Web design and content guidelines in China, Western companies should
obtain input from subsidiaries, local partners, local suppliers, and a language service
provider from the outset.
2. Western companies should design promotions and Web offerings with China in
mind, even before their Chinese Web presence is live.
3. Website localization is an important step in attracting and retaining Chinese
consumers’ attention.

1
In January 2010, Ms. Ray was named a senior analyst at market research firm Common Sense Advisory,
Inc.
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KEY STEPS TO DESIGNING YOUR B2B WEBSITE

Once a business strategy is in place, a Western company can turn its attention to a Web
presence that will compare favorably with other sites in its category, whether owned by
Chinese, Asian or Western companies. How do these existing sites set, meet or exceed the
expectations of Chinese customers, and how high is the bar for an entering company?

1. Prepare the “Global Gateway”

2
The Art of the Global Gateway, as described by John Yunker, is the practice of designing
headers and landing pages on multilingual Websites that direct visitors to content in their
desired language. The reality is that most Web visitors find global brands through the main,
corporate URL (e.g., microsoft.com) in the home country’s language, so a well-built Global
Gateway takes them to content in their language with as little hunting and as few clicks as
possible.

This typical example shows a map of the world near the upper-right corner of the home
page:

Source: www.ge.com

Global brands with large Web localization efforts often contain a selection page with the
name of the language in native script alongside the home script for easier identification:

Source: www.lenovo.com

2
“The Art of the Global Gateway – Web Globalization Strategies for Successful Navigation,” 2006,
http://www.bytelevel.com/books/gateway
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The Global Gateway should value function over aesthetics. The following example, while
pleasing to the eye, contains elements that keep non-readers of English from promptly
reaching content in their desired language:

 [1] “Welcome” in multiple languages is gratifying to a global audience, but the text
is not linked; clicking on it has no effect.
 [2] The site is available in the nine languages shown in the header; however, the
Welcome text includes three additional languages [2a] – Slovenian, Italian and
Greek – in which there is no content on the site.
 [3] The selection box does not offer languages or even countries, but regions, and
these are given in English. Its appeal for visitors with weak English is limited.

Source: John Yunker, Byte Level Research

Centralize design, customize content

As a Chinese site becomes more important, tension arises between the corporate owners of
the global brand, who are keen to preserve as much uniformity across regions as possible
and local experts in content and preferences, whose job it is to keep the Chinese site
relevant and innovative. Companies with large multilingual efforts often publish templates
with approved color schemes and design elements, and then allow in-country staff to
populate the templates with local content.
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These examples show the parallels between a U.S. corporate site and its corresponding
Chinese site, both based on a template:

Source: www.hp.com Source: www.hp.com/country/ch/zh

The following examples compare a global English-language Website to its Chinese

counterpart. The sites use the same design elements and navigation, yet each site focuses
on a different product (Sapphire and Business One) and uses photographs of people with
whom local visitors can identify:

Source: www.sap.com/index.epx Source: www.sap.com/china/index.epx

The use of a template allows flexibility in each locale’s Web presence, while preserving the
motif and message of the global brand.

However, the template approach is not a panacea. Asian Websites in general are busy and
content-filled in comparison to most Western sites, and for some local marketing efforts,
the parameters of a template will be prohibitive. Consider the examples on the next page
from the Website of a Chinese wireless carrier, aimed at both consumer and corporate
audiences.
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These pages represent the Chinese tendency to use long pages with multiple, small blocks
of information that indicate value to Chinese users. Even on corporate sites, animated
graphics, multimedia, sound, and scrolling text are common.

Source: www.chinamobile.com

Source: www.chinamobile.com
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Contrast the look and feel of the Chinese Web pages with those of a U.S. wireless carrier’s
home page, containing much less information and more emphasis on hardware:

Source: www.vzw.com

The following examples show two different approaches to Chinese Websites with a
corporate focus. The first site belongs to a company specializing in online payments
(mobile phones, credit cards, voice activation from landline phone) and employs small
blocks of text, animated characters and rich color:

Source: www.yeepay.com
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The second uses muted colors and design elements that are closer to those of its U.S.
counterpart:

Source: www.verisign.com/cn

While the latter is more corporate-looking in the Western style, neither site is a priori better
than the other, and both work well for Chinese users. Of importance is the need to be
aware of what local competitors are doing and of local users’ expectations for the look and
functionality of a Website.

To summarize, for both design and content guidelines, Western companies should obtain
input from subsidiaries, local partners, local suppliers, and the language service provider
(translation company) from the outset. They should also design promotions and Web
offerings with China in mind, even before the Chinese Web presence is live. As more people
at home and abroad become involved, the effort gains traction and credibility, and the
Chinese audience will receive the company’s eventual offerings more readily.

2. Design for the mobile Web

China has become the proving ground for micropayments, virtual currencies, and mobile
coupons, all of which help companies monetize the mobile Web. The Websites of Western
companies operating in China need to incorporate them because many local competitors
will already have implemented them to accommodate the small wallets and purses
mentioned in Part 1 of this paper.

 Micropayments – used in small increments of USD.50, 1.00, 1.50, etc. to pay for
small pieces of content, games, avatars, and other forms of online content.
 Virtual currencies – used in virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft and
SecondLife. Users can use USD and Chinese RMB to purchase virtual currencies, but
once they become virtual, they stay in the virtual world. The companies are able to
monetize them without redeeming them to the holders.
 Mobile coupons – accessed through mobile phones for special offers or
promotions.
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FOUR CONSIDERATIONS WHEN LOCALIZING

YOUR B2B WEBSITE

With a business strategy and site design in place, a Western company can build a Web
presence that meets local expectations and supports the global brand.

1. Language Service Providers (LSPs) do more than translate

While most companies think of them only in the context of translating text, LSPs add value
in many more ways. They can help clients navigate technical issues (see sidebar) related to
Website internationalization (I18n) and localization (L10n), recommend local content,
perform local-language search engine optimization (SEO), put together L10n initiatives, and
evangelize the entire effort among other departments in the company.

2. Study Chinese SEO Seven Technical Considerations

When Implementing Asian Language
Baidu.com is the dominant search engine Websites
3
in China, and companies trying to sell
there should optimize their sites
1. Standardize on Unicode for storing
accordingly.
multilingual content, especially where
Latin and Asian languages will show up
Important notes on Baidu: on the same page.

 Companies can buy good position
on Baidu, which mixes pay-per-
click (PPC) and organic search
results.
 SEO still matters on Baidu
because its PPC pricing is based
on organic results.
2. Implement a system for each user’s
language preference, so that the Web
experience is linguistically smooth.
3. In database-driven Websites,
differentiate between translatable and
non-translatable text to lower
translation costs and optimize storage.

 To rank highly on Baidu, a site 4. Extend locale-specificity to style sheets

must be hosted in China.
 Sites not hosted inside China may
be occasionally unavailable or
down, resulting in frustrated
visitors and lower page rank.
that contain font definitions, to ensure
readability across languages.
5. Research browser support and
requirements from region to region, and
between desktop and mobile Web.

In short, for most companies that have not 6. Avoid the use of third-party software
already had success with SEO in China, it and Web components that don’t
is worth paying for experienced, local support Chinese character sets.
help. 7. Prepare for shrinkage (approximately
25%) when translating from Latin-based
languages to Chinese.
3. Explore Chinese characters
in Internet Domain Names
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced in 2009
that users would soon be able to create Internet Domain Names (IDNs) in non-Latin
characters. This will allow Chinese users to enter, for example, either 百度 or “baidu” in a
browser’s address field to reach baidu.com. It also means that Western companies

3
Figures for 2009 show Baidu at 77% of total search traffic, google.cn at 17% and Yahoo.cn and other
local search engines at 6%. Source: “2008-2009 China Search Engine Research Report Brief Version,”
November 2009, iResearch Consulting Group, China Internet Research Center,
http://english.iresearch.com.cn/reports/Search_Engines/detailreports.asp?id=9073
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introducing their brands to China can create and reserve IDNs with Chinese characters.

This change is unlikely to have a big influence on the Chinese Web in the short run because
established Chinese companies have already reserved and are widely known by Latin-
based IDNs. Government entities and new companies may use Chinese characters as they
establish new identities and brands, but even if other companies have applied for these
names, short-term changes are unlikely.

4. Research flavors of Chinese

There are two main systems of writing Chinese: Simplified and Traditional. Simplified
Chinese is read and written in China and Singapore, and Traditional Chinese is used in Hong
Kong and Taiwan. While a Simplified Chinese translation will satisfy users in China,
companies intent on a deep customer relationship with both China and Taiwan, for
example, should plan on maintaining separate Simplified and Traditional sites.

Capable LSPs can advise Western companies in these and other linguistic and technical
issues.

THE SEVEN MOST COMMON ERRORS WHEN

DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA

1. Many Western companies make rough calculations based on 1.3 billion “Chinese
consumers,” as if the potential addressable market were really that large, but there are
far too many other factors in any realistic business plan.
2. It is easy to underestimate the speed, agility, and capacity for innovation of both
Chinese competitors and non-Chinese competitors operating in China. Success in China
depends on innovation, using whatever resources are available.
3. Companies should resist the temptation to go general and broad, and instead should
go laser-focused and deep. Buckshot approaches to the Chinese market are likely to
fail.
4. LSPs, suppliers, customers, and distributors represent potential partners whose
expertise in China is easily overlooked and whose horror stories can be cautionary.
Companies should align themselves with these partners and reap the benefits of their
insights, experience, and contacts.
5. Chinese prospects have high expectations which few companies can meet by
translating merely a subset of a Website. Because of the ease with which a Chinese
competitor can create a satisfying Web presence and capture the attention of a
market, smart Western companies take the effort seriously by localizing either their
entire site or a self-contained Chinese subset with all market-relevant information.
6. In-country feedback on China (market outlook, messaging, audience, competition) is
critical, and Western companies should incorporate this input as a standard process in
their Web design planning stages, not as an afterthought. There will always be tension
over control of content and the speed with which in-country feedback is incorporated
to products and Websites, but that is not a reason to abandon the process.
7. In descending order of importance, Western companies building a Chinese Website
should focus on four things:
1. Suitable translation of text on the site
2. Hosting inside China
3. SEO
4. Graphics, colors, design elements
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Established companies with a long-standing corporate mindset and “way of doing things”
often face problems with the growing pains of going into China. While these problems
seem like cultural differences at first glance, they are more often a function of corporate
mindset and practice, and smart companies treat them as such.

Read Part 1. “Doing Business in China: How Western Companies Develop their Strategy”

OTHER RESOURCES

 “Website Globalization and E-Business China” (Globalization Partners International

White Paper)
 Byte Level Research (“The Art of the Global Gateway”), www.bytelevel.com
 “The Culturally Customized Website,” Dr. Nitish Singh
 “7 Steps to Successfully Managing Partners: East and West,” www.lisa.org/7-
Steps.976.0.html
 “Ten Best International Web Sites Book,” www.lisa.org/Best-International-
W.513.0.html
 “China as a Global Development Center” includes detail and background material
from Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong’s presentation at LISA Beijing 2009. LISA members
may visit www.lisa.org/Beijing2009.1331.0.html.
 “Building a Global Web Strategy,” www.lionbridge.com/lionbridge/en-
US/kc/globalization/building-a-global-web-strategy.htm
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CONTACT INFORMATION

About Lionbridge
Lionbridge Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: LIOX) is a leading provider of translation,
localization, and testing services. Lionbridge combines global language resources with
proven program management methodologies to serve as an outsource partner
throughout a client's product and content lifecycle. Organizations in all industries rely
on Lionbridge language and testing services to increase international market share,
speed adoption of products and content, and ensure the integrity of their global
brands. Based in Waltham, Mass., Lionbridge operates across 26 countries, and
provides services under the Lionbridge and VeriTest® brands.

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