Sitecore doesn’t work in China. In this post, we’ll show you a step-by-step guide on how to make your Sitecore site perform better in China. Websites built with Sitecore load in 20+ seconds and with broken images and videos. Some Sitecore sites can not even be reached in China. This article explains why Sitecore sites have poor performance in China and give the only solution to address them that is compliant with the laws in mainland China.
In this article, we will walk you through some speed tests we conducted to verify that if Sitecore works in China or not. Our staff conducted the tests in Shanghai (China Mainland) and (Macau, outside Mainland China) and we used 3rd party testing tools to ensure our tests weren’t biased. By the end of this article, you have a good understanding of if Sitecore works in Mainland China or not, also you can contact us to get a free speed test of your Sitecore site for China.
What is Sitecore?
Sitecore is the leading headless Enterprise CMS (Content Management Systems), and the leading Digital Experience Platform (“DXP”) by Gartner Magic Quadrant 2020.
Does Sitecore Work in China?
The short answer is no.
Below is the long answer if you want to understand why:
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Most hosting providers claim to have Global coverage for your Sitecore, but actually, China is not included.
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If your business didn’t have any legal licenses for your site and content in China, your Sitecore is operating illegally in China.
We found Sitecore has no data centers in China and the nearest you can see in the Asia Pacific is Singapore. (Last Updated: June 16, 2022).
Luckily we have put together solutions for you to make your business and your Sitecore work in China.
Don’t just take our words. Let’s look at some websites that are powered by Sitecore and see how well their sites work in China.
How do we check if a website works in China or not?
There are two checks we need to perform to conclude if a website works in China or not.
- How fast is the site in China Mainland?
- Does the website operate 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 Sitecore’s Customers and considered those are the websites that follow the best practices powered by Sitecore.
Then we follow the test questions we mentioned earlier on each website and create a report with the following format:
1. A video to see how the site performance in China visually.
We made a screen record of the website that was loaded in Mainland China this helps you to understand how fast the site was loaded visually.
2. A figure to see how fast the site performs across Mainland China.
This figure basically shows how fast the website load across Mainland China (green = fast, red=slow)
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 website.
MyStays Hotel Management, www.mystays.com
MyStays Hotel Management is the 3rd largest hotel management company in Japan, overseeing 85 properties.
From our speed test, people in China have difficulty viewing the images on the MyStays Hotel Management 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 MyStays Hotel Management’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does the MyStays Hotel Management 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.
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 the Nike website in China, and its ICP no.
Similarly, we run the same tests for the rest of the websites.
Millennium Hotels and Resorts, www.millenniumhotels.com
Millennium Hotels and Resorts owns and manages hotels in over 27 countries—treating.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening on Millennium Hotels and Resorts website (that’s what the below figure means, red means unable to display images).
To see it 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 do, you will only see a blank screen like the above image.
Does the Millennium Hotels 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.
Purina Australia, www.purina.com.au
Nestlé Purina Petcare, or simply Purina, is an American subsidiary of Nestlé, based in St. Louis, Missouri. It is a PetCare Company. It produces and markets pet food, treats, and cat litter.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty opening on the Purina 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 Purina Australia’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
So you can see that it took over 8 seconds to complete the first load of the website.
Does the Purina Australia 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.
Eisai, www.eisai.com
Eisai is a global pharmaceuticals company. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It has some 10,000 employees, among them about 1,500 in research. Eisai is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and is a member of the Topix 100 and Nikkei 225 stock indices.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty viewing the images and opening the Eisai 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 the Eisai’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does the Eisai websites 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.
Jabra, www.jabra.com
Jabra is a Danish brand specializing in audio equipment, and more recently videoconference systems. It is owned by GN Audio, which is part of the Danish company, GN Group.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty opening on the Jabra’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 Jabra’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does the Jabra’s website comply with the laws in China?
Yes. Jabra’s website when opened in China has it’s state issued ICP number displayed at the footer of their website.
Arm & Hammer, www.armandhammer.com
Arm & Hammer is a brand of baking soda-based consumer products marketed by Church & Dwight, a major American manufacturer of household products.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty opening on the Arm & Hammer’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 Arm & Hammer’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does the Arm & Hammer’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.
Avid, www.avid.com
Avid empowers media creators with innovative technology and collaborative tools to entertain, inform, educate and enlighten the world.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty opening on the Avid website (that’s what the below figure means, red/orange/grey means unable to display images).
Here is a more intuitive way to see it, we screen-recorded the process when a user browses Jabra’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does the Avid’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.
Mary Kay, www.marykay.com
Mary Kay Inc. is an American privately owned multi-level marketing company. Mary Kay is the sixth largest network marketing company in the world, with a wholesale volume of US$3.25 billion.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty opening on the Mary Kay 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 Mary Kay’s website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does the Mary Kay’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.
JCB, www.jcb.com
JCB is one of the world’s top three manufacturers of construction equipment. they employ around 14000 people on four continents and sell our products in over 150 countries.
From our speed test, people in China will have difficulty opening on the JCB’s website (that’s what the below figure means, red means unable to display images).
To see it in action, here is what a normal user in China would see:
Since the website cannot be reached by the user in China, we don’t provide a screen recorded video, even if we do, you will only see a blank screen like the above image.
Does the JCB’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.
