So you want to build a website, but you’re from China? Well, here’s some tips and suggestions for getting domain name registration and web hosting from that part of the globe:

First, should you get a local domain name, or a regular domain name? Well, Local domain names are often more expensive than regular domain names, but having the former makes your site more relevant for local searches than the latter, and it also provides you an alternative should someone else have registered a similar domain name. For example, if you wanted the domain name porkdumplings.com but it’s already registered, you can register porkdumplings.com.cn or porkdumplings.cn instead.

Second, get your web hosting from a local provider instead of an international one. Benefits of doing so include easier renewal payments, faster customer service inquiries, and sometimes cheaper rates and bigger discounts than if you were to purchase from an international provider. Also, local providers often offer domain names in their native language, not necessarily English-only.

And third, while it seems like those monthly plans are cheap, in the long run you’re actually paying more – a whole lot more – than if you were on an annual plan. Always think long-term, and get at least one year. Believe it or not, a domain name and web hosting are always nice to have even if you don’t use them regularly.

Here’s some web hosting providers to get you started:

Ename – www.ename.cn
They offer domain name registration for a whole gamut of extensions, so don’t worry about not finding one you want – it’s most likely there. The cool thing about Ename, though, is that their web hosting solutions include types like gaming servers and blog accounts.

Xinnet – www.xinnet.com
Lots of options, but the VIP plan looks sweet. They have other telecommunication products on hand too.

DNS China – www.dns.com.cn
Standard fare, with domain name registration and lookup, and web hosting plans that don’t really stand out. The site loads awfully slow too.

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Let’s assume you’re Canadian, and you have this great product or service that’s only available locally. Now, let’s say you want to put this product up for sale on the internet – should you get a local domain name, or would a normal dot-com be sufficient enough?

You see, there’s a very good reason why local domain names even exist on the market – it helps search engines identify which websites are most relevant to the searcher’s immediate geographical vicinity, and conversely it helps website owners identify themselves to the search engines and to their viewers.

Here’s a rigid example: using the aforementioned assumptions, let’s say your website’s domain name is a local one, www.mycanadianmoosemug.ca. And there’s another website domain name online, called www.mycanadianmoosemug.com. When a viewer searches for your site (most likely with the keywords “my canadian moose mug”), both of those domain names will pop up on the list of hits because the domain names both meet the search criteria – but most likely, your local domain name is top of the list because it’s local name is more relevant to the search term “canadian.” Now, since the viewer wants a genuine Canadian moose mug, the local domain name is more prominent because it implies that the website is really from Canada itself – the regular dot-com might be just an importer or a copycat, and probably more expensive.

So you see, it is at that point getting a local domain name is more affordable than getting a normal dot-com in terms of garnering more viewers to your website. It more than compensates for the higher domain name registration costs (in general, local domain names cost around at least 20% more than regular domain names). But, of course, if your website is meant to cater to more than one country and consists of content spanning more than one nationality, perhaps a normal dot-com will do you more justice.

It all depends on your content and your intentions for your website, whether or not you should get a local domain name. Just keep that in mind the next time you go register.

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