Website Building Q&A: Do I Need to File for Recordal When Building a Website Myself?

If you plan tobuilding your own website, you must have heard that websites need to be filed for ICP Bei'an.

the answer to "Do I need to file for a self-built website?"? There are two answers to this question. Naiba will explain in detail below whether you need to file for ICP Bei'an when building a website yourself.

WeBasic Steps to Build a WebsiteAs written, building a website requires a domain name, server, website environment, and website program. Whether a website needs to be filed for ICP Bei'an depends on where the server you use is located.

If you are usingdomestic server, then itrequires ICP Bei'an。

If you use a foreign server, then ICP Bei'an is not required.

Website using a domestic server: ICP Bei'an required

According to the provisions of the "Measures for the Administration of Filing of Non-commercial Internet Information Services":

Article 7: Those intending to engage in non-commercial internet information services shall truthfully fill out the "Registration Form for Filing of Non-commercial Internet Information Services" through the Ministry of Information Industry's filing management system and complete the filing procedures.

Article 22: Those providing services beyond the filed items shall be ordered by the provincial communications administration of their domicile to make corrections within a specified time limit and shall be fined not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 10,000 yuan; if they refuse to make corrections, their website shall be shut down and their filing shall be canceled.

Article 23: Those who fill in false filing information shall have their website shut down and their filing canceled by the provincial communications administration of their domicile.

Article 5: Providing non-commercial internet information services within the territory of the People's Republic of China shall complete the filing procedures according to law. Without filing, one shall not engage in non-commercial internet information services within the territory of the People's Republic of China. Non-commercial internet information services provided within the territory of the People's Republic of China as mentioned in these Measures refer to organizations or individuals within the territory of the People's Republic of China using websites accessible via internet domain names or websites accessible only via internet IP addresses to provide non-commercial internet information services.

Article 19: Internet access service providers shall record the filing information of the non-commercial internet information service providers they connect.

Relevant legal basis:"Measures for the Administration of Filing of Non-commercial Internet Information Services" (Ministry of Information Industry Order No. 33)

That is to say, if your website server is within mainland China, as long as you are building a website, you must file for ICP Bei'an registration for the website; otherwise, you cannot establish the website.

Website using a foreign server: ICP Bei'an not required

If the website server you purchased is located abroad, then you can establish a website without filing for ICP Bei'an.

Difference between ICP Bei'an and no ICP Bei'an

Whether a website is filed for record or not makes no difference to the website itself.

Not filing for record only affects the operation of the website.

If your website's main users are domestic, not filing for record means you cannot use domestic servers, resulting in slower website speed and poor user experience.

If you want to use certain domestic services, such as opening a public account or mini-program, you cannot do so without filing for record.

Therefore, whether a website needs to be filed for record depends entirely on whether your target audience is domestic or foreign users. If there are more domestic users, it is recommended to file for record to provide better service.

If there are more foreign users, there is no need to consider filing for record. If you are just creating a website for fun and do not expect many visitors, using foreign servers is more convenient and does not require filing for record.

After reading this article, do you now knowthe answer to "Do I need to file for a self-built website?"the answer? If you still have any questions, feel free to leave a comment.