TLDR; Bloomreach doesn’t work in China. Websites built with Bloomreach CMS load in 33+ seconds and have broken images and videos. Many Bloomreach sites are not even accessible in China. This article explains why Bloomreach has poor performance in China and then provides you with the only solution to fix your existing Bloomreach site that is fully compliant with the laws in mainland China.
In this article, we will walk you through some speed tests we conducted to determine if Bloomreach works in China or not. Our staff conducted the tests in Shanghai (China Mainland) and Hong Kong (outside Mainland China) and we used 3rd party testing tools to ensure our tests weren’t biased.
By the end of this article, you should have a good understanding of Bloomreach and if it works in Mainland China or not. Also, you can contact us to get a free speed test of your Bloomreach site for China.
What is Bloomreach?
Bloomreach (formerly known as Hippo CMS) is an Enterprise digital experience platform (DXP) for creating relevant, personalized experiences across all channels.
Bloomreach is one of the top Digital Experience Platforms by Forrester Wave in 2021.
Does Bloomreach work in China?
The short answer is no.
Below is the long answer if you want to understand why:
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Bloomreach Cloud claims to have Global coverage for your Bloomreach site, but actually, China is not included as we’ll see below.
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If your business doesn’t have any legal licenses for your site and content in China, it is operating illegally in China.
Luckily we have put together solutions to make your business and Boomreach site work in China.
Don’t just take our word. Let’s look at some popular websites powered by Boomreach and see how well they work in China
How do we check if a website works in China or not?
There are two tests we need to perform to conclude if a website works in China.
- How fast is the site in Mainland China?
- Does the website operated by the business comply with the laws in China?
The second part of the test is a must for most businesses or organizations, not optional. If you are unsure why it’s a must, read Untold facts about ICP for China, and why you should get it.
Speed Tests Results
We picked 10 websites from Bloomreach’s global enterprise customers and considered these websites to follow Bloomreach’s best practices.
Then we follow the test questions mentioned earlier for each website and create a report with the following format:
1. A figure to see how fast the site performs across Mainland China.
This figure basically shows how fast the website loads across Mainland China (green = fast, red =slow)
2. A video to see the site’s performance in China visually.
We made a screen record of the website loading in Shanghai, China. This provides you with an intuitive way to see how fast the site visually loads and understand what people in China actually experience when they visit the website.
3. A yes-no check to see if the site complied with the laws in China.
If the site passes the legal check, it’s a green check. If it doesn’t pass, we will tell you why it doesn’t pass.
Now, let’s dive into the reports for each of the selected businesses using Bloomreach to power their sites.
Bloomreach, www.bloomreach.com
To get started, lets take a look at Bloomreach’s own website.
From our speed test, people in China have difficulty viewing the images on the Bloomreach’s website. (that’s what the below figure means, red means unable to display images).
Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Bloomreach’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does the Bloomreach’s website comply with the laws in China?
No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not have an ICP license displayed at the footer of their website.
If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.
Finding if a website has an ICP license is pretty straightforward, just scroll to the bottom of the page, if you see a number like this (see below Nike’s websites for China), then the business behind the website has an ICP for China. If not, they don’t have it. You can check if your website has it or not.
Below is an example of Nike’s website in China, and its ICP number.
Similarly, we ran the same tests for the rest of the selected Bloomreach user’s websites.
Cedar Fair, www.cedarfair.com
Cedar Fair (FUN) is a publicly traded and one of the largest amusement-resort operators in the world, entertaining 26 million guests a year across its 11 amusement parks.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening them on Cedar Fair’s website (that’s what the below figure means, red means unable to display images).
Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Cedar Fair’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does the Cedar Fair’s website comply with the laws in China?
No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.
If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.
HellermannTyton, www.hellermanntyton.com
HellermannTyton is a leading global manufacturer of systems and solutions that help world-class customers better manage and identify wire, cable and components.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty opening HellermannTyton’s website (that’s what the below figure means, red means unable to display images).
Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses HellermannTyton’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does the HellermannTyton’s websites comply with the laws in China?
No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the international website does not have an ICP license at the footer of their website.
If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.
NHS Digital, www.digital.nhs.uk
NHS Digital is the trading name of a Health and Social Care Information Centre, which is a national provider of information, data and IT systems for commissioners, analysts and clinicians in health and social care.
From our speed test, people in China have difficulty viewing the images on the NHS Digitals website. (that’s what the below figure means, red means unable to display images).
To see the site load in action, here is what a normal user would see in China:
Since the website cannot be reached by the user in China, we don’t provide a screen recorded video, even if we did, you will only see a blank screen like the above image.
Does NHS Digital’s websites comply with the laws in China?
No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the website does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.
If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.
Sabra, www.sabra.com
Sabra Dipping Company is a U.S.-based company which produces Middle Eastern-style and other food products, including hummus and guacamole. It is co-owned by PepsiCo and the Strauss Group.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening Sabra’ website (that’s what the below figure means, red means unable to display images).
Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Sabra’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does Sabra’s website comply with the laws in China?
No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.
If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.
Williams-Sonoma, www.williams-sonoma.com
Williams-Sonoma (WSM) is an American publicly traded consumer retail company that sells kitchenware and home furnishings. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening Williams-Sonoma’ website (that’s what the below figure means, red/yellow/grey means unable to display images).
Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Williams-Sonoma’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does Williams-Sonoma’ website comply with the laws in China?
No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.
If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.
Dice.com, www.dice.com
Dice.com (DHX) is a career website based in New York City with primary sales and development operations. It serves information technology and engineering professionals, as well as contract and permanent engineering staffing firms. Dice.com is owned by DHI Group, Inc.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening Dice.com (that’s what the below figure means, red means unable to display images).
Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Dice.com’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does Dice.com comply with the laws in China?
No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.
If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.
Met Office, www.metoffice.gov.uk
The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom’s national weather service.
From our speed test, nearly half of China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening Met Office’s website (that’s what the below figure means, grey means unable to display images).
Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Met Office’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does Met Office’s website comply with the laws in China?
No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.
If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.
Guitar Center, www.guitarcenter.com
Guitar Center is an American music retailer chain. It is the largest company of its kind in the United States, with 294 locations. Its headquarters is in Westlake Village, California.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening Guitar Center’s website (that’s what the below figure means, orange/yellow means unable to display images).
Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Guitar Center’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does Guitar Center’s website comply with the laws in China?
No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.
If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.
Rocket Lawyer, www.rocketlawyer.com
Rocket Lawyer is an online legal technology company founded by Charley Moore in 2008, based in San Francisco, California. It provides individuals and international small to medium-sized businesses with online legal services—including incorporation, estate plans, and legal document review.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening Rocket Lawyer’s website (that’s what the below figure means, red/orange/yellow means unable to display images).
Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Rocket Lawyer’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does Rocket Lawyer’s website comply with the laws in China?
No. It doesn’t pass our legal check because the business does not even have an ICP license at the footer of their website.
If you don’t know what an ICP license is, click here to learn more.
In short, if your business is going to China, make sure your website passes the two tests we mentioned above to have a fast speed of first load and good viewing and browsing quality for your users in China.
If you need help going to China, please contact us, we are happy to help.
