In this article, we will walk you through some speed tests we conducted to determine if Optimizely's Digital Experience Platform (formerly known as Episerver) 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 Optimizely if it works in Mainland China or not. Also, you can contact us to get a free speed test of your Optimizely site for China.
What is Optimizely (aka Episerver)?
Episerver was a software company offering web content management, digital commerce, and digital marketing, through the Episerver Digital Experience Platform Cloud Service. In January 2021, Episerver announced that they were rebranding as Optimizely, a company they acquired in October, 2020.
Does Optimizely (Episerver) Work in China?
The short answer is no.
Below is the long answer if you want to understand why:
Optimizely clearly states that they do not offer a presents within mainland China. However, they do offer a "near-China" presence with servers in Singapore. Below, we'll take a deeper dive into how Optimizely's "near-China" actually performs in mainland China.
If your business didn't have any legal licenses for your site and content in China, your ecommerce store is operating illegally in China.
Luckily we have put together solutions for you to make your business and your Optimizely site work in China.
Don't just take our words. Let's look at some websites powered by Optimizely and see how well they 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.
- How fast is the site in Mainland China?
- If your business doesn’t have any legal licenses for your site and content in China, it is operating illegally in China.
Speed Tests Results
We picked 5 websites from Optimizely's Global Customers and considered these websites to follow the best practices powered by Optimizely.
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 how the site 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 websites using Optimizely.
Mazda, www.mazda.com
Mazda Motor Corporation (MZDAY) is a Japanese multinational automaker based in Fuchū, Hiroshima, Japan.
From our speed test, people in China have difficulty viewing the images on the Mazda'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 Mazda's website in Shanghai, click the video below to see it in action:
Does the Mazda'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 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 Optimizely user's websites. To see the full case studies, just click on the brand name below:
Cuisinart, www.cuisinart.com
Cuisinart Corporation is a well-known manufacturer of small kitchen appliances. They manufacture and sell kitchen appliances worldwide.
Click here to see Cuisinart's full case study.
Burmax, www.burmax.com
The Burmax Company is a leading manufacturers, importers and distributors of professional beauty, barber, nail, and spa supplies.
Click here to see Burmax's case study results.
University of South Australia, www.unisa.edu.au
The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australia with approximately 32,000 students.
Click here to see UniSA's case study results.
Optimizely (Episerver), www.optimizely.com
For the final case study, lets take a look at Optimizely's own website.
Click here to see Optimizely's case study results.
Need Optimizely to Work in China?
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.
Reducing page load time by 0.1 seconds will increase the conversion rate by 8%. - Google, Deloitte
If you need to get Optimizely working in China, feel free to contact us or click here to get started.
For additional detail and future modifications, refer the original post.
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