What is Geo-Targeted Routing?
Geo-targeted routing is a smart way to direct website traffic based on the visitor’s location. This is especially useful for websites that want to remain accessible in China, where internet regulations and firewall restrictions can block foreign-hosted sites.
How Traffic Flows Without Geo-Routing
Before geo-routing is enabled, every visitor to your domain is sent directly to your origin server. This is usually:
- A built-in domain provided by your website platform (e.g.,
username.squarespace.comfor Squarespace,store.myshopify.comfor Shopify). - A custom domain pointing to your server, as defined in your DNS settings.
If your site isn’t properly optimized for China, visitors from the region might experience slow loading times, broken pages, or even complete blocking.
How Geo-Routing Works
With geo-routing, we introduce a “switch” that detects whether a visitor is coming from mainland China.
- If the visitor is from outside China, they are sent to your existing website (origin server) as usual.
- If the visitor is from inside China, they are redirected to an optimized version of your site, ensuring a smooth and accessible experience.
Step 1: Prepare Your Website
Before enabling geo-routing, take the following steps:
✔ Ensure Your Built-In Domain is Working Properly
- Some plugins, third-party tools, and extensions may require the built-in domain to be whitelisted.
- Some website templates use absolute paths, which can cause display issues if not configured correctly.
- Test thoroughly with your team to prevent unexpected errors.
Step 2: Go Live with Geo-Routing
- Once our team provides you with the geo-routing domain, you’ll need to update your DNS settings.
- Replace your current DNS record with the geo-routing domain. Do not add a new record while keeping the old one—this may cause conflicts.
💡 This step ensures that traffic flows correctly through the geo-routing system without disruptions.
Step 3: Troubleshooting & Support
If you encounter any issues after enabling geo-routing:
✅ Start by Checking Your Built-In Domain
- If the original site has errors, those will likely affect the optimized version as well.
✅ Verify That Your Origin Server is Functioning Correctly
- Ensure your hosting provider or platform isn’t experiencing downtime or misconfiguration issues.
✅ Test the Optimized Site in China
- If the built-in domain and origin are working fine, then check whether the optimized version is displaying correctly within China.
📌 Need Help?
- Check our troubleshooting guide for common fixes.
- If the issue persists, contact us at support@21yunbox.com with a HAR file, and our team will investigate.
Final Thoughts
Geo-targeted routing is a simple yet powerful solution for businesses that want to ensure their websites remain accessible and fast in China. By directing Chinese users to an optimized version of your site, you reduce load times, avoid accessibility issues, and improve the user experience—all while keeping your original website intact for users outside China.
Need more guidance? Our team is happy to help. 🚀
