Creating a website for China requires careful attention to the country’s strict regulations.
It goes without saying that political or adult content is strictly prohibited, but even if your own website complies, you could still face issues if any other site hosted on the same web server violates these rules. This makes it essential to choose a web server specifically designed to support websites in China.
One commonly overlooked issue is video content. It’s widely known that services like Google, Facebook, and YouTube are inaccessible in China. This means that if your company website includes embedded YouTube videos, they won’t play. While a small, non-critical video might not cause much trouble, a large, prominent video that takes up half the screen would look unprofessional if it fails to load.
Instead, you need to use China’s alternative to YouTube—Youku. Uploading your videos to Youku and embedding them on your website ensures they play correctly for users in China. However, there are a few challenges:
You need a Youku account to upload videos, but creating an account from outside China can be inconsistent. Sometimes it works, and other times it doesn’t.
Videos often need to be uploaded from within China, although there are occasional reports of successful uploads from abroad.
Given these complexities, it’s safest to have someone based in China handle video uploads. Additionally, it’s crucial to test the completed website from within China to ensure it’s fully accessible and the videos play as intended.
For these reasons, creating a website for the Chinese market is more than just translating content—it requires working with a production company that has local connections and a solid understanding of the unique challenges involved.
