A growing number of enterprises have decided to host their Web sites in or near China to maximize accessibility to Chinese users. Weigh the benefits and drawbacks of different locations to find the most appropriate hosting location.

Traditional Paths

Enterprises looking to relocate the hosting of their Web site must decide between two distinct options:

• A mainland Chinese hosting service. The enterprise signs a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with a China-based provider. Beijing-based HiChina Web Solutions dominates this space. Chinese hosting providers are generally more expensive than their Western counterparts – a basic package in China can cost almost twice as much as it would in the U.S.
  • Enterprises new to the Chinese market often elect to do this through an intermediary that includes additional services such as translation and Web design. Shanghai-based EmporioAsia offers these services, as does the publishing-oriented multinational Charlesworth Group. Chinese hosting is already expensive, and the intermediary services...