Challenge
When Alibaba.com opened its platform to US sellers in 2019, most American small businesses had no idea it was an option. The Build Up website needed to simultaneously introduce Alibaba.com as a platform built for US sellers and build enough trust and credibility to make those businesses feel confident joining. Without a recognizable brand presence in the US market, every page had to work harder than a typical marketing site, turning skepticism into genuine interest through content, community, and proof.
Overview
The Alibaba.com Build Up website was the first dedicated platform targeting US small and medium-sized businesses, launched in late 2019 to support the Build Up events initiative and grow brand awareness among potential sellers. Over time it evolved into a full content hub hosting expert tips, webinars, fireside chats, transformer talks, customer stories, and seller resources, while continuing to serve as the primary lead generation platform for the US market. I led the design and front-end development of the site from the ground up, collaborating with the engineering team to set up the domain and CMS foundation, and with an external agency on information architecture. The site ran from Q4 2019 until early 2023, when traffic was redirected to the newly launched Alibaba.com USA website.
Timeline
- Q4 2019 – Q2 2022
Role
- UX Design
- Wireframing
- Information Architecture
- Front-End Development
- On-Page and Technical SEO
Team
- Marketing Director
- Content Strategist
- Sales Team
- Communication Agency
- Pan Lau (Lead Designer / Developer)
Build Up Home Page
The homepage welcomed visitors with the key message “Build Up your business on Alibaba.com” and structured the experience around four core sections, featuring content, upcoming events, a team introduction, and Alibaba.com in the news. The overall visual direction used Alibaba.com’s brand orange as the foundation, signaling a consistent and recognizable presence for the US market. The homepage was revamped twice over the life of the site, each time reflecting a shift in business focus, first from in-person events to digital events, then from event promotion to rich content and community building. Two main lead capture mechanisms ran across the site, a form at the bottom of every main page and a timed pop-up that appeared after eight seconds.
B2B Today
B2B Today was the content engine of the Build Up website, a growing library of articles and videos organized into nine topic categories including Expert Tips, Fireside Chat, Transformer Talks, B2B Tuesday, B2B Pulse, Pivot Stories, Platform, Webinars, and 21 Tips for 21. From 2019 through 2022, the section accumulated 300+ articles and 100+ videos, promoted weekly through B2B Today email newsletters and daily social posts across Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Publishing consistently across email and social kept visitors coming back to the site and built SEO performance through steady audience engagement over time.
B2B Selling
The Seller Success Hub was the go-to resource for existing and prospective Alibaba.com sellers. It brought together a learning center with free tutorials and guides, an upcoming events calendar for seller-exclusive live sessions, and a FAQ section covering common B2B selling questions. Sellers facing challenges on the platform could also submit a support request directly from the page. The section served as a practical companion for businesses at every stage of their Alibaba.com journey, from getting started to growing their storefront.
Entrepreneur Economy
To demonstrate Alibaba.com’s commitment to the US SMB community, the Build Up website hosted two flagship support programs. The Digitalization Sprint Program offered free training courses for US manufacturers entering e-commerce, while the Alibaba.com Grants Program awarded $500K in funding to 50 small business recipients. Both programs lived within the Build Up domain, connecting their audiences back to the broader content and community on the site.
Our Customers
Customer stories were one of the most effective trust-building tools on the site. The Our Customers section showcased how US businesses had started and grown through Alibaba.com as both buyers and sellers, with many featured in live webinars to share their experiences directly with potential new sellers. A dedicated New Sellers page highlighted businesses that had recently joined the platform, giving prospective sellers a concrete and relatable picture of who was already succeeding on Alibaba.com.
Alibaba.com in U.S.
To reinforce local credibility, the site included a Meet Our Team page introducing US-based Alibaba.com team members, each with their own individual profile page. Alongside the team, an Alibaba.com in the News section aggregated 50+ press mentions from outlets including Forbes, TechCrunch, Business Insider, USA Today, and Digital Commerce 360. Together these sections helped establish that Alibaba.com had a real, invested presence in the US market, which was particularly important for the sales team when reaching out to potential sellers who might otherwise be skeptical of an unfamiliar platform.
Impact
Over three years, the Build Up website grew into a content platform with 400+ posts and 130+ videos organized across nine topic categories, serving as the primary digital presence for Alibaba.com in the US market. Lead generation grew 300%+ year over year from 2021 to 2022, driven by consistent content distribution across email and social channels. Organic search and social traffic were the top sources bringing visitors back to the site, and the sales team regularly used the content and media coverage as credibility tools when recruiting new sellers. When the Alibaba.com USA website launched in early 2023, the Build Up site had already laid the foundation for US seller awareness and trust that the new platform could build on.