d-log: Internationalising a B2B website for China

Starting point

d-log prepared a website relaunch. The company worked with customers and partners operating subsidiaries and production sites in China. In addition to English, the website therefore needed a Mandarin layer.

The actual task

The relaunch covered 44 structured website pages, around 30 of them containing substantial copy. The key requirement was reliable content mapping between the English and Mandarin versions together with robust quality control.

Implementation

• Structured mapping of website content across language versions
• Quality assurance for the Mandarin layer, which the client could not review internally
• Adaptation of contact layers for international users
• Further international corporate communication after the website project

Outcome

The Mandarin website went live as part of the relaunch and d-log announced it as its new international web presence. The website relaunch was followed by additional international corporate communication work.

What the case shows for international B2B websites

International expansion requires more than duplicating copy in another language. Page structure, contact logic, terminology and quality control have to work together so sales teams and buyers can rely on each market version.

Why the structure had to be clarified before translating 44 pages

In an international relaunch, the main risk does not begin with individual wording choices. The first requirement is a clear mapping of which content belongs to which page, which elements should remain aligned across languages, and where contact or user paths need to differ. For d-log, this was particularly important because the relaunch covered 44 structured pages, around 30 of them with substantial content.

The Mandarin layer therefore needed a traceable connection to the English source material rather than becoming an isolated parallel site. Missing sections, changed elements and content updates had to remain identifiable. When the client cannot review a language internally, that traceability becomes part of quality assurance.

What international buyers actually need from the website

For customers and partners operating in China, the objective was not to translate as much text as possible. They needed to find the relevant company information, understand the page structure and reach the right contact route. An international website therefore has to connect language, navigation and contact logic.

This matters especially in B2B sales cycles. A potential customer evaluates more than a single statement: they also see whether the supplier appears organised, reachable and consistent. The website becomes one of the trust-building touchpoints before a direct conversation starts.

What similar internationalisation projects can take from this case

A reliable page and content inventory should come before translation. Source pages, target languages, recurring terminology and responsibilities can then be defined before linguistic work begins.

The same logic can be reused when additional markets are added: instead of treating every language version as a separate project, companies can maintain one shared structure in which changes and approvals remain traceable. That reduces errors and makes later expansion easier.

Specific contribution to the project

The project contribution covered website content and its international mapping for the German and Chinese markets. Page structure, navigation and contact information were treated as one task so that content could be maintained and approved in a traceable way.