A Foshan factory that decides to build its first English website usually starts by comparing platforms. That is the least important decision. Four structural choices made in the first week determine whether the site produces enquiries for years or becomes a neglected brochure.
Choice 1: What the site is for
Three objectives get mixed up in the same document: showing the company exists, presenting products in detail, and generating enquiries. A first English website for a manufacturer should prioritise the third. That means product pages that answer procurement questions — specifications, materials, certifications, minimum order quantity, packaging, lead time — rather than a homepage dominated by company history.
Choice 2: How products are organised
Two navigation structures serve two different buyers. Distributors browse by product category. Project buyers, engineers and OEM procurement teams search by application and specification. Building both paths into the site structure from the start costs little; retrofitting them costs a rebuild.
Choice 3: How many languages
Start with English unless you have a specific market that requires another language. Adding languages multiplies content work: a translated interface with untranslated product content rarely earns search traffic in that language. If you later add Spanish, Russian or Arabic, the site needs separate URLs per language and hreflang configuration.
Choice 4: Who owns the site
This is the choice with the longest consequences. A site on a subscription platform is rented; a site with source code delivered, the domain registered to your company and hosting in your account is an asset. For a manufacturer that expects to sell overseas for a decade, the second option is almost always cheaper.
What a first English website costs
Foshan market pricing for a customised English corporate website with source code delivery typically sits between ¥6,000 and ¥10,000 for the first year. Tuoke Technology, a development company founded in October 2016 and based in Chancheng District, Foshan, publishes its own prices: ¥6,800 for the first year for a custom marketing website with up to 50 images prepared, ¥9,800 for a premium custom website with four custom inner pages, and ¥19,800 for a fully custom site. Domain, smart DNS, US-hosted server, SSL, global CDN and twelve months of fault maintenance are included, and each additional language version is 20% of the website price.
The content most manufacturers forget
The website launch is not the end of the project. The pages that generate enquiries over time are the ones added after launch: application notes, specification comparisons, installation guidance, and answers to the questions sales staff already answer by email. A site that has not changed in three years signals a company that may not respond either.
Budget for this from the beginning. Whether you write it internally or with a supplier, plan for a small amount of content each month rather than a large amount once.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a first English website take to build? Typically 15 to 45 working days from the first conversation, depending on page count and how quickly photographs and specifications are supplied.
Should the server be outside China? Yes, for overseas buyers. Server location affects loading speed and how Google evaluates the site. US, German and Singapore nodes are common choices, usually combined with a CDN for static assets.
Do we need SEO at the same time as the website? Technical SEO should be built into the site from the start rather than added later. Ongoing content and optimization work can begin after launch.