Chinese vs. Western Web Design

If you were thinking that just translating your Western website into the Chinese language was going to be enough to win over the Chinese market, think again.

Here are some of the big differences between Chinese and Western websites, and the reasons why they matter so much.

You don't need to spend much time looking at the average Chinese website to realise that the design principles it was developed with were very different to what you would expect from a Western site. In fact, the first thing you’ll probably notice is that what's happening on-screen is giving you a headache.

What, to Chinese users, is an interesting, well designed website, appears to be a chaotic, cluttered mess to the average Western user. Here are our Top 5 distinguishing design features of Chinese websites:

Cluttered Page Layout

In China, the preference is for presenting huge amounts of information on the landing page rather than have the user navigate to relevant content.

Chinese users are used to this format, so are less susceptible to information overload than Western users. Although this content-heavy approach might cause Western users to leave a site, in China the reverse is true; if a landing page doesn't contain enough information they are more likely to think the site has little value and dismiss it.

Animated / Flashing Graphics

Animated graphics are everywhere on Chinese websites. Again, to Western eyes this never-ending on-screen festival of flashing graphics and dancing icons is distracting and unnecessary, but does not bother Chinese users in the least.

Interestingly, Western Internet behaviour studies have shown that users now actively screen out page elements like animated graphics as they have similar characteristics to adverts. Whether this eventually becomes the case in China remains to be seen.

Garish Colour Schemes

Use of colour on Chinese websites can be a little less conservative than on their Western equivalents. Eye-watering use of strong colours, often in contrasting schemes, is commonplace.

Bright colours are a chief tool in attracting visitor attention. Unfortunately, it means usability is frequently sacrificed in Chinese websites, with text that can be difficult to read. The range of palettes used also reflects the lower average age of Internet users in China.

Scrolling Text

Although you might have thought scrolling website text went out fashion circa 1998, in China the practice is immensely popular.

Not only is it an excuse to get some more movement on the page, it is a valuable means of displaying more information in the same space. Chinese characters are slightly taller and take a little more space on the page than Roman characters. Combine this with the Chinese preference for lots of page information and it's clear how devices like this, that allow a site to display more text, are extremely useful to Chinese web designers.

Decorative Java / Flash

There's no denying that there is a definite tendency for embellishment on Chinese sites. Whether the site belongs to a teenage blogger or a large corporate company, don't be surprised to find Flash or Java Script elements that have a purely decorative purpose.

Usual suspects include background music, falling snowflakes and the notorious trailing cursor. Again, these would be entirely inappropriate for a Western site but are the norm in China.

Chinese website design

Although these are possibly the most obvious, there are also many other nuances you must take into account when creating a website for a Chinese audience. For instance, using language and concepts acceptable to both Chinese culture and law are vitally important.

The China Search Marketing service from Backbone IT Group is backed by our years of experience in the Chinese market and the knowledge of our native Chinese team members. Find out how we can help your company do business in China - contact us today.

To avoid expensive mistakes in any marketing campaign it is important to know your market. Our intimate knowledge of Chinese search marketing practices can guide you safely through the potential pitfalls.

The China office of Backbone IT Group has been established since early 2004 and now has over 80 native Chinese staff.

Our combined knowledge of Chinese and Western markets means we're able to effectively bridge the divide.

Our China Search Marketing service includes everything your business needs to target the Chinese online marketplace; from an ICP licence and hosting to a Chinese language website and local optimisation.

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Last Updated : 4th July 2008

 
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