Website Localization in China: A Guide for Foreign Companies
Updated on |By QPSoftware
Website localization in China means adapting a website to Chinese users, not only translating it: Simplified Chinese written for local buyers, a layout that follows local habits, hosting close to China with the right ICP filing, local alternatives to blocked services, fast mobile pages and Baidu SEO.
Key takeaways
- Translation is the first step, not the whole job: the message, the design and the technical setup must be adapted too.
- Use Simplified Chinese for mainland China and Singapore, and Traditional Chinese for Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau.
- A website hosted on servers in mainland China needs an ICP filing, which a foreign company files through an entity registered in China. Hosting in Hong Kong needs none.
- Replace the third-party services that do not work reliably in China, such as Google Maps, Google Fonts or YouTube videos.
- Design for phones first: 99.6% of Chinese internet users go online with a mobile phone, according to CNNIC (December 2025).
If you are planning to expand into the Chinese market, you need to localize your website for Chinese users. The first thing that comes to mind is translating your content into Chinese. It is an important first step, but succeeding in China requires much more: careful planning and a good understanding of your target market.
Which Chinese will you use, Simplified or Traditional? Will you keep the same page layout, or change it? How will your website rank on Chinese search engines? Will you host it inside or outside mainland China?
This guide to website localization in China covers the most important steps to make your website ready for the Chinese market.
What Is Website Localization?
Website localization is the process of adapting an existing website to a different market or geographical area. Translating the content into the local language is essential, but localizing a website requires more.
It involves adapting your message, images, user experience and multilingual SEO, along with every other element that makes your website perform well in a given area and appeal to a specific audience. As you localize your website, keep the image of your site and your branding consistent.
Why Is Website Localization Important in China?
In China, localizing an existing website requires an understanding of cultural differences and technical issues that are uncommon in Western markets.
For instance, web design trends in China differ in many ways from the West, which calls for a different user interface (UI) and user experience (UX). The marketing approach is different too, and it affects the way you present your product and the channels you use.
Moreover, the internet in China is controlled by the government, and many resources, such as Google Maps or Google Fonts, are not available in the country. This affects the technical side of your website, which needs to be adapted and optimized to rank and perform in China.
Chinese website localization therefore requires professionals who understand the local culture, Chinese consumer behavior and the technical constraints of the local internet environment.
How to Localize a Website for China, Step by Step
The four main steps of Chinese website localization are:
- Translate and adapt the content.
- Adapt the UI and UX.
- Host the website in or near China.
- Replace blocked APIs and third-party services.
1. Translate and Localize the Content
Google Translate and other machine translation tools are useful in many situations, but not to translate your website into Chinese. Chinese is a complex language and a word-for-word translation does not work: if you rely on a machine instead of a professional translator, the result will read awkwardly and will not appeal to local customers.
Where your audience lives also decides which Chinese you write. If you mostly target mainland China and Singapore, use Simplified Chinese. If your users are in Hong Kong, Taiwan or Macau, Traditional Chinese is the right choice.
Beyond translation, adapt the content itself. Your message must address the specific needs and questions of the local audience. What motivates a Chinese user to buy a product or a service may be very different from what motivates your customers elsewhere, and Chinese users often need to be educated about foreign products. These differences will likely require you to rewrite your content rather than translate it.
2. Adapt the UI and UX
When you visit Chinese websites, you may notice that the design is often very different from what we see in the West, for several reasons.
Chinese characters, with their many strokes, can easily make a page look busy. Moreover, the complexity of the Chinese language can make search less efficient, so many webmasters prefer to provide a lot of links on the homepage. It may look cluttered, but it helps users find what they need.
Since around 2018, we have seen more Chinese websites switch to a minimalist design. Either way, if you want to generate revenue in China, study the habits of your audience and adapt your user interface to give them the best experience.
3. Host Your Website in or Near China
Hosting your website within China is a critical step of your localization strategy. You can still serve your website from outside the country, but be ready for several downsides.
A website hosted outside China must pass through the filters of the Great Firewall. They can slow your pages down and hurt the performance of your site, and some of your resources may not be visible at all inside China.
Hosting on servers in mainland China requires an ICP filing before the website goes live, and a foreign company files it through an entity registered in China, such as a WFOE or a joint venture. Our guide to the ICP license in China explains which permit applies to you. Without a Chinese entity, hosting in Hong Kong is the usual alternative, and it needs no ICP filing.
Local users also tend to trust websites that show an ICP number in their footer. Hosting in China takes more preparation, but for a long-term presence in the market it is worth it.
4. Replace Blocked APIs and Third-Party Services
Your existing website probably relies on several APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and third-party services, and many of them will not work in China. Your Chinese website localization strategy must list the services that do not work in the country and replace them with ones that do. For example:
- Replace Twitter with Weibo, and YouTube videos with Youku or Bilibili, or with video files hosted on your own server.
- Replace Google Maps with Baidu Maps or Tencent Maps.
- Replace Google Fonts and Google tags with fonts hosted on your own server and analytics that work in China.
- Replace a CDN that is blocked in China with one that works there.
Our article on why many foreign websites do not work in China lists the usual causes and how to fix them.
Best Practices for Chinese Website Localization
Beyond the main steps above, several practices contribute to a successful website in China.
QR Codes
QR codes are very popular in China. You see them everywhere, from TV ads, billboards and flyers to websites. Social platforms like WeChat have contributed greatly to their popularity, to the point that Chinese users scan them to open pages, transfer money, make payments and much more.
QR codes have become a key marketing tool. Your existing website probably does not show any, so add them where they help your Chinese customers, for example to follow your WeChat Official Account.
Page Speed
Page load speed matters as much in China as anywhere else. We have already seen how much hosting your website in or near China improves its performance.
Also remove from the Chinese version of your website any plugin or element you do not need, starting with the resources that do not work in China, such as Google Fonts and Google tags. If you do not, your pages will not load fast enough to give your audience a good experience.
To increase load speed further, consider using a CDN service that is not blocked in China.
Mobile First: A Responsive Website for the Chinese Market
Mobile is the main way Chinese users access the internet. According to the 57th Statistical Report on China’s Internet Development, published by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) in March 2026, 99.6% of Chinese internet users went online with a mobile phone in December 2025, against 32.5% with a desktop computer and 31.2% with a laptop.
A mobile-responsive website is therefore a necessity in China. When you localize your website, make sure every element of your site works well on a phone, and test it on the devices and networks your users have.
Language and Typography
We already mentioned the need for a translation that is not only correct but also resonates with the local culture.
Typography is another difference. English uses 26 letters, while Chinese uses thousands of characters, so a complete Chinese font file is much heavier than a Latin one. You cannot switch fonts as freely as in other languages without slowing your pages down.
To get around this, web designers use the system fonts of the device for Chinese text, or host a subset of a web font on their own server. Images can also carry decorative titles, as long as the text also exists in the page for search engines.
Go Social
Popular social networks like Facebook and Twitter are not available in China, so your social media strategy must take a different direction. The most popular social network in China is WeChat, and the Chinese version of your website should connect to it.
WeChat gives you many ways to market your products and services in China. Open a WeChat Official Account for your brand, then consider H5 pages and WeChat web apps for campaigns, or WeChat Mini Program development for services and sales inside WeChat.
Optimize Your Website for Baidu
Google Search is not available in mainland China, so your SEO strategy must focus on making your website rank on Baidu. The techniques that boost a website on Baidu are not the same as those for Google: our guide on how to implement SEO in China gives practical advice.
Several other Chinese search engines can also bring traffic to your website, and you should take advantage of them too.
Example: Localizing The Economist’s App for Chinese Readers
In 2020, The Economist decided to offer a more localized experience to its Chinese audience with a local app, and asked QPSoftware for a global audit of its Chinese app. In a one-week audit, our team checked how the app adapted to the local network, its loading speed and its user experience, and tested it on devices in local conditions (4G, Wi-Fi, online payment).
The recommendations covered page speed, a hybrid multilingual experience, a payment feature for subscriptions, text zoom, article and video downloads, comments and likes, and features that connect the app to the Chinese ecosystem, such as WeChat. The Economist then extended the project with a monthly audit retainer. Read the case study of The Economist’s app audit.
What Should You Do Next?
Chinese website localization takes time and energy. There are many variables to consider, and many of them do not exist for Western websites. Once your website is adapted to this market, it can perform far better with Chinese users.
QPSoftware is a digital agency based in Shanghai, founded in 2009, with more than 200 projects delivered. Our team provides Chinese website localization services, from professional translation and design to hosting and Baidu SEO, and can turn your existing website into a resource built for Chinese users.
Contact us today and get your website off to a good start in China.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you translate an English website into Chinese?
Start with a native Chinese translator, not a machine. Tools such as Google Translate or Baidu Translate help with a first draft, but they miss tone and local expressions. Choose Simplified Chinese for mainland China, rewrite the key pages for local buyers, translate images, forms and error messages, then adapt your keywords to what Chinese users type in Baidu.
Should a website for China use Simplified or Traditional Chinese?
Use Simplified Chinese for mainland China and Singapore, where it is the standard written form. Use Traditional Chinese for Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau. If you target both, create two language versions rather than converting one automatically, because vocabulary and expressions also differ between regions, not only the characters.
Do you need to host your website in China?
Not always. A website on servers in mainland China loads fastest there, but it needs an ICP filing before launch, filed through an entity registered in China. Without a Chinese entity, companies often host in Hong Kong, which needs no ICP filing, and remove the third-party services that do not work in China.
Are there tools that help localize a website for Chinese users?
Yes, for part of the work. Machine translation tools give first drafts, a CMS with multilingual support manages the language versions, speed tests run from China reveal blocked resources, and Baidu Search Resource Platform lets you submit your sitemap to Baidu. The translation, the design choices and the market adaptation still need people who know China.
