How to Create a Website Like WordPress in China
WordPress is one of the most popular CMS platforms around today due to its simplicity and flexibility. The open source software is free to use and enables website owners to quickly and easily create web pages without needing any previous knowledge regarding website design.
Although WordPress was originally designed for use in western countries, it is rapidly expanding its audience and now boasts over 400 million active monthly users as of January 2021.
The platform’s popularity has led to a cottage industry of WordPress consultants springing up to help businesses and organizations with their online presence in other countries. While it’s an easy option for a western business to outsource their web design and content curation to a company in a different country, what is often overlooked is just how complex the process can be for a business entity located in China.
If you’re considering establishing a website in China but don’t have the time to learn WordPress’ native language or have access to a local web designer, this article will teach you everything you need to know about creating a WordPress website from scratch in China.
Things To Keep In Mind
If you’re planning to start a WordPress website in China, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.
Firstly, if you’re operating a business in China, you will need to consider the legalities of doing so online.
Aside from the fact that China has one of the most sophisticated and extensive legal systems in the world, making sure you are not breaking any relevant laws, becomes your responsibility. Thankfully, WordPress is a fairly easy platform to use and avoid legal problems; if you’re operating within the boundaries of Chinese law, you are free to do so online without having to worry about any legal ramifications. The same applies to any advertising you may do on your site.
Security
Another important thing to consider when creating a website in China is security. With so much intellectual property theft and cybercrime in China, taking security seriously is paramount. WordPress is a widely used platform and one of the most secure publishing tools available, boasting an average of 89.3% rating on the site’s review scale.
While it’s great to have an open and flexible platform like WordPress that allows users to update content and make changes to the site directly, this also means that it is a target for hackers and cybercriminals who want to wreak havoc. As a business owner in China, you may want to consider investing in some form of website security whether you’re running a WordPress site or not.
Censorship
If you’re operating a business or undertaking in China, you may be subject to censorship restrictions imposed by the Chinese government. While it’s important to understand and respect the restrictions, it is also crucial to know how to work around them.
Certain topics and themes are forbidden, with strict rules regarding what can and cannot be published. While you don’t want to upset the Chinese government by breaching their censorship laws, it is important to understand how to work around them. For example, it is usually permissible to discuss the English Premier League or the NFL in America but may not be in England. Likewise, it is usually permissible to discuss fashion in America but not in England.
If your website is about fashion, it may be permissible to show pictures of women’s clothing but not of men’s or children’s clothing. Knowing how to work within the rules is a vital part of establishing a presence in China. It also helps to establish credibility when working with the Chinese government or Chinese businesses. If you keep these limitations in mind whilst still meeting the needs of your audience, you’ll be able to promote your business and website successfully in China.
Localization
If you’re considering creating a website in China, don’t just think about having an English-language website. In today’s world, translation tools such as Google Translate make it easy for anyone to translate websites and documents for the whole world to see. Whilst it may be tempting to just use translation tools to make your website appear as though it was originally created in China (or anywhere else for that matter), you should never do this.
If you want to expand your audience in China and beyond, you should always consider localizing your content for the specific location in which you are operating. If you’re writing news articles for publication, consider writing them in both English and Chinese. Having a dual-language site means more exposure and credibility for your business in China.
Best Practices
Once you’ve launched your website and started to accumulate content, you’ll want to start applying best practices to your site. There are a few tips and tricks that will make your WordPress website shine and help you to create the perfect blog to promote your business.
One of the most important things you can do is establish yourself as an expert in your field. If you’re a fashion expert and you’ve created a website discussing fashion, applying for and maintaining a fashion-related blog may be a good idea. Not only will this help you to become more credible as an expert in your field, it will also help to establish your blog as a hub for information relating to your niche.
If your blog’s content is highly relevant to your target audience, engaging with your readers by responding to their comments and questions will not only help to drive traffic to your site but will also make you appear more authoritative.
To create the perfect blog, you’ll want to think about all the aspects that make up a good and successful blog:
- Content worth sharing (and not just product pitches)
- Regular posts to keep audiences engaged
- Attractive and easy-to-use design
- Active social media (Facebook, Twitter, and the like)
- A sense of authority
- Proactive use of keywords
- Well-written, independent content
- A review culture
- And last but not least, SEO (seo, uh-oh)
Now, these are all general guidelines to follow when creating a blog. Each business and blog will be different and will need to consider their specific needs and goals when applying these best practices.
How To Create A WordPress Website In China
If you want to learn how to create a WordPress website in China, follow these simple steps.
Firstly, open up a free WordPress account. You can use a free domain name such as myblogger.com to get started. Then, download and install the Jetpack plugin from the WordPress repository. Once installed, login to your WordPress dashboard and click on the “Settings” icon to get to the Settings screen. Then, click on the “Add New Plugin” button to install the Google Translate plugin. Connect your WordPress account to your Google account and then click “Save Changes” to activate the plugin.
Now that you’re set up with a WordPress account, you can start creating your blog. To do this, click on the “Welcome to WordPress” tab at the top of your screen. From here, you will see a number of different options for blog posts. To get started, click on the “Add New” button to open up a blank blog post. Once you’ve written your post, click on the “Publish” button to go live.
Next, you will want to set up your blog to accept comments. To do this, click on the “Reading” tab at the top of your screen and then click on the “comments” option. From here, you can choose to “Allow Anonymous Comments” or to require a login.
You can also set up your blog to “auto-publish” posts to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. To do this, go back to your “Reading” page and click on the “Connect” button next to your social media accounts. Once connected, click on the “Publish To Twit” button to have your posts published to Twitter.
If you want to be able to establish yourself as an expert in your industry, consider writing and publishing an eBook on the subject. EBooks allow you to engage with your audience in a way that regular blog posts sometimes cannot. You can use a tool like Wondermapper to map out the structure of your eBook (guide, synopsis, table of contents, etc.). Then, use a tool like HubSpot to bring life to your eBook (create video tutorials, write blog posts around specific topics, and so on).