We shrunk images to the size that users were actually seeing. There’s no benefit to the user if an image is stored larger than the display size.
Then we compressed images to a smaller size, which means to further decrease the file size without decreasing the quality.
TESTING
We used Chrome to measure the speed before and telegram in philippines after. Plus, another useful tool we use for checking load times across China is 17CE.
The solutions we use here are not perfect. It would still be better to create a new website and host it in China. But we got a lot of benefits with little expense and hassle.
Once the site is working quickly enough, the next question is: Does anything need to be changed for their users? Are there things about Shopify that cause a problem for Chinese Internet users?
Luckily, Shopify sites are mostly ready for Chinese users.
ALIPAY
A Chinese payment solution such as Alipay should be integrated, and there are solutions for this. It isn’t installed yet due to some registration issues, but it will be soon. We went through the credit card payment process from within China and it went smoothly.
LOCALIZATION
The site must also be localized, which can be accomplished using manual translation and a plugin like Langify. This is a broad topic we talk about often in other posts and our newsletter. In short, a website should be translated by a professional translator/writer that is a native speaker of Chinese.