PORTFOLIO — WEB LOCALIZATION FOR CHINA (SIMPLIFIED)

Translation isn’t localization.

A site can be flawlessly translated into Chinese and still read as foreign to mainland visitors — and parts may not even load behind the Great Firewall. Below is the same skincare page in three states. The content never changes; only the design does.

“A Chinese font that’s just inherited from your English one isn’t a small thing — it’s a signature. It means no one who reads your customers’ language ever touched your site. And if the type is foreign, the design is too — they come from the same knowledge.”
01

Original (English)

The English site — clean, considered, built for a Western audience.

View the live page →
Original (English)
02

Just translated

Simplified Chinese poured into the same design. The type is inherited and the layout offers none of the density, red/gold accents, WeChat/QR or social-proof cues mainland buyers expect. This is what “just translate it” actually ships.

View the live page →
Just translated
03

Localized (Mainland)

Rebuilt to mainland conventions — same content, native structure: denser rhythm, red/gold accents, ★ ratings + member CTA, a WeChat QR, ICP footer, and type set in Noto Sans SC.

View the live page →
Localized (Mainland)

Scroll each panel, or click to open full size.

LOCALIZING FOR CHINA IS MORE THAN TYPE

The page also has to load — and feel native — inside the mainland.

Resources that load

Google Fonts, Maps, reCAPTCHA and many CDNs are blocked. Localized pages self-host fonts and drop blocked embeds — so nothing breaks behind the firewall.

Trust the local way

Red/gold accents, dense modules, ★ ratings and member counts, a WeChat QR, and an ICP line in the footer — the cues mainland buyers read as legitimate.

Set for Chinese

Body and headings in a proper SC typeface (Noto Sans SC), spacing tuned for Hanzi — not your English font with Chinese characters dropped in.