Navigating the Xiaohongshu Interface: A Complete Visual Guide for English Speakers

• Understanding the Xiaohongshu Home Screen

• Your Profile Tab: Settings and Analytics

• Shopping Features and E-commerce Integration

• Language Settings and Translation Tools

If you've ever opened Xiaohongshu (小红书) for the first time as an English speaker, you've likely experienced that moment of overwhelming confusion. Chinese characters fill every corner of the screen, icons seem unfamiliar, and the entire navigation structure feels foreign compared to Western social platforms like Instagram or Pinterest.

Yet with over 300 million monthly active users and a shopping conversion rate that outperforms most social commerce platforms, Xiaohongshu (also called RedNote or Little Red Book) represents one of the most valuable marketing channels for international brands entering the Chinese market. The challenge isn't whether you should be on the platform, but rather how to navigate it effectively when you don't read Chinese.

This comprehensive visual guide breaks down every element of the Xiaohongshu interface into clear, actionable sections. Whether you're a brand manager evaluating the platform, a marketer preparing to launch campaigns, or a business owner exploring new market opportunities, this guide will help you confidently navigate Xiaohongshu's features and unlock its potential for your brand. We'll walk through each screen, button, and feature with detailed descriptions that eliminate the guesswork and accelerate your platform mastery.

Understanding the Xiaohongshu Home Screen

The moment you open Xiaohongshu, you're greeted with a vibrant feed of visual content that resembles a hybrid between Instagram and Pinterest. The home screen serves as your primary discovery engine, and understanding its layout is essential for both consuming content and planning your own marketing strategy.

At the very top of the screen, you'll notice two main tabs with Chinese characters. The left tab (关注, or "Following") displays content from accounts you follow, while the right tab (发现, or "Discover") shows algorithmically recommended content based on your interests and engagement patterns. The Discover feed is particularly important for marketers because it represents where most users spend their time and where your content has the potential to reach new audiences organically.

The feed itself displays posts in a Pinterest-style grid with two columns of content cards. Each card shows a preview image, the post title, engagement metrics (likes and comments), and the creator's avatar. This visual-first approach means that your content's thumbnail image and title are critical for driving clicks. Unlike Western platforms where captions might be hidden, Xiaohongshu prominently displays titles, making them a crucial element of your content strategy.

Above the feed, you'll find a search bar with a camera icon on the right side. This camera icon enables visual search, one of Xiaohongshu's most powerful features that allows users to snap photos of products and find similar items or related content. For brands, this means your product images need to be clear, high-quality, and properly tagged to appear in visual search results.

Decoding the Bottom Navigation Bar

The bottom navigation bar contains five icons that serve as your primary navigation system throughout the app. Understanding each icon's function transforms the platform from confusing to intuitive.

The first icon on the far left (usually depicted as a home symbol) returns you to the main feed we just discussed. The second icon (typically a magnifying glass or compass) takes you to the dedicated search and explore page, where you can browse trending topics, seasonal campaigns, and category-specific content hubs.

The center icon, often shown as a plus sign (+) inside a distinctive shape, is your gateway to content creation. Tapping this opens the camera interface where you can create new posts, upload images or videos, and begin crafting your content. This is where your brand's Xiaohongshu journey truly begins, as the platform prioritizes active content creators in its algorithm.

The fourth icon (typically represented by a speech bubble or chat symbol) opens your messaging center. Here you'll find direct messages from followers, comment notifications, new follower alerts, and system notifications from Xiaohongshu. For brands running expert Xiaohongshu marketing campaigns, monitoring this section is essential for community management and customer engagement.

The fifth and final icon on the far right (usually shown as a person silhouette) opens your profile page. This serves as your brand's headquarters on the platform, displaying your posted content, saved items, analytics data, and account settings. We'll explore this section in greater depth shortly.

Your Profile Tab: Settings and Analytics

Your profile page is more than just a display of your content. It's a comprehensive dashboard that controls your entire Xiaohongshu presence and provides valuable insights into your performance.

At the top of your profile, you'll see your profile picture, username, and a brief bio section. Just below this, three key metrics are prominently displayed: your follower count (关注, on the left), following count (粉丝, in the middle), and total likes received across all your content (获赞与收藏, on the right). These metrics provide a quick snapshot of your account's growth and engagement.

The edit profile button (编辑资料) appears as a rectangular button near the top of the screen. Tapping this allows you to modify your profile information, including your display name, avatar, background image, bio, and linked social accounts. For international brands, optimizing this section with both Chinese and English text can help bridge language barriers while maintaining brand consistency.

Below your bio, you'll find two or three tabs that organize your content. The first tab (笔记, meaning "notes" or posts) displays all your published content in a grid format. The second tab (收藏, or "collections") shows content you've saved for later reference. If you're running a Xiaohongshu store, a third tab (商品, meaning "products") will display your product catalog.

In the top-right corner of your profile, you'll see three horizontal lines or a settings icon. This opens a comprehensive menu with critical functions including:

Account Settings where you manage privacy controls, notification preferences, and security options. For brands managing multiple team members, understanding these settings is crucial for maintaining account security.

Creator Center (创作中心), which is absolutely essential for brands and marketers. This section provides detailed analytics including post performance, audience demographics, engagement trends, and growth metrics. The data here rivals what you'd find in professional social media management tools.

Customer Service and Help sections that provide platform guidelines, content policies, and support resources. While primarily in Chinese, these sections often include visual guides that transcend language barriers.

The Content Creation Interface

Tapping the central plus icon (+) on the bottom navigation bar opens Xiaohongshu's content creation interface, where your marketing strategy comes to life. This screen presents several options that determine your content format.

The camera interface allows you to capture photos or videos directly, while the gallery icon (typically in the bottom-left corner) lets you upload existing content from your device. You can select multiple images (up to nine) to create carousel posts, which tend to perform exceptionally well on the platform for storytelling and product showcases.

Once you've selected your visual content, you're taken to an editing screen packed with features. Filter options appear along the bottom, allowing you to adjust your image's aesthetic to match Xiaohongshu's characteristically bright, clean visual style. Text overlay tools, stickers, and drawing functions let you annotate images with product callouts, pricing information, or brand elements.

After editing your visuals, you'll proceed to the caption and details screen. This is where many English speakers struggle, but understanding the layout makes it manageable. The top section is for your post title (limited to about 20 characters), which should be compelling and keyword-rich as it appears prominently in feeds. Below this, a larger text box allows for your detailed caption (up to 1,000 characters), where you should include comprehensive product information, storytelling elements, and relevant hashtags.

The hashtag system on Xiaohongshu functions differently than on Western platforms. Topic tags (话题) not only categorize your content but also significantly impact its discoverability. The platform often suggests trending hashtags based on your content, and including 3-5 relevant tags is considered best practice. For brands developing industry-specific Xiaohongshu marketing strategies, selecting the right topic tags can mean the difference between a post that reaches thousands and one that reaches millions.

At the bottom of this screen, you'll find additional options including location tagging (添加地点), product tagging for e-commerce integration (贴商品标签), and visibility settings that control who can see your post. The publish button (发布) in the top-right corner finalizes and posts your content.

Search and Discovery Features

The search and discovery tab (accessed via the second icon in the bottom navigation) serves as Xiaohongshu's content categorization hub and trending topic center. This section is invaluable for market research and content planning.

The top of this screen features a search bar where you can enter keywords in either Chinese or English (though Chinese yields better results). Below the search bar, you'll typically see a carousel of trending topics, seasonal campaigns, and platform initiatives. These trending sections change frequently and reflect current consumer interests in China.

The main body of the discovery page is organized into category tiles representing different verticals such as beauty (美妆), fashion (时尚), food (美食), home decor (家居), travel (旅行), and many others. Each category tile is clearly labeled with Chinese characters and representative imagery. Tapping any category opens a curated feed of top-performing content in that niche.

For brands conducting competitive research, this section is a goldmine. By exploring your industry's category, you can identify trending content formats, popular products, successful creators, and emerging consumer preferences. This intelligence directly informs your content strategy and helps you understand what resonates with Xiaohongshu's audience in your vertical.

The search results page itself offers multiple filtering options. After entering a search term, you'll see tabs that filter results by comprehensive content (综合), newest posts (最新), users (用户), videos (视频), and products (商品). These filters help you conduct targeted research on specific topics, competitors, or consumer conversations.

Messages and Engagement Tools

The messaging tab (fourth icon in the bottom navigation) consolidates all your platform interactions into one notification center. Understanding this section is critical for community management and customer relationship building.

The top of the messages screen typically displays direct messages (私信) from other users. For brands, these often include customer inquiries, collaboration requests from creators, or feedback on products. Xiaohongshu's messaging system supports text, images, and even product cards, making it a powerful tool for customer service.

Below the direct messages section, you'll find engagement notifications including new comments on your posts (评论), new followers (新增关注), and likes on your content (赞和收藏). Each notification type is clearly separated, allowing you to prioritize your responses.

The system notifications section (系统消息) contains important updates from Xiaohongshu itself, including policy changes, feature announcements, content review results, and promotional opportunities. For brands, paying attention to these notifications ensures compliance with platform guidelines and awareness of new marketing features.

A particularly useful feature within the messaging tab is the ability to filter comments and messages by time and type. This becomes essential as your account grows and engagement increases. Responding promptly to comments and messages significantly impacts your algorithmic performance, as Xiaohongshu rewards active community engagement.

Shopping Features and E-commerce Integration

Xiaohongshu's seamless integration of content and commerce sets it apart from Western social platforms. Understanding the shopping interface is crucial for brands leveraging the platform's social commerce capabilities.

Throughout the app, you'll notice small shopping bag icons on posts that contain tagged products. Tapping these icons reveals product details, pricing, and purchase options without leaving the app. This frictionless shopping experience contributes to Xiaohongshu's exceptional conversion rates.

If you operate a Xiaohongshu store, your profile will include a dedicated products tab displaying your catalog. Each product listing includes images, descriptions, pricing, and direct purchase buttons. The integration between your content and your store allows seamless product tagging in posts, creating a direct path from inspiration to purchase.

The shopping cart icon (typically in the top-right corner of product pages) functions similarly to Western e-commerce platforms. Users can add items, view their cart, and proceed to checkout all within Xiaohongshu's ecosystem. For international brands, setting up payment processing and logistics requires partnering with Chinese payment providers and fulfillment services, but the platform provides robust support for these integrations.

When browsing content as a researcher or marketer, pay attention to how successful brands integrate product tags. They typically appear as small white labels overlaid on product images within posts. These tags are not intrusive but clearly indicate shoppable items, balancing content quality with commercial intent. This subtlety is a key aspect of Xiaohongshu's marketing culture, where hard-selling is discouraged in favor of authentic recommendations.

Language Settings and Translation Tools

While Xiaohongshu remains primarily a Chinese-language platform, several features can help English speakers navigate more comfortably and manage their presence effectively.

To access language-related settings, navigate to your profile, tap the settings icon (typically three horizontal lines in the top-right corner), and look for the settings menu (设置). Within this menu, you'll find general settings (通用设置) where language preferences can be adjusted. However, it's important to note that even with adjusted settings, Xiaohongshu's interface remains predominantly in Chinese, as the platform is designed primarily for Chinese consumers.

For reading content, your smartphone's built-in translation features become invaluable. On iOS devices, you can select Chinese text and choose "Translate" from the popup menu. Android devices offer similar functionality through Google Translate integration. While these translations aren't perfect, they provide sufficient understanding for navigating menus and reading content.

For brands creating content, professional translation services are essential. While you might navigate the interface with basic tools, your actual content requires native-level Chinese that resonates culturally with your audience. This is where resources like AllXHS's comprehensive Xiaohongshu resources become particularly valuable, offering localization guidelines, cultural insights, and best practices that go far beyond simple translation.

Screen recording and screenshot tools also help bridge language barriers during the learning phase. By capturing your navigation process, you can create visual reference guides for your team or work with Chinese-speaking consultants to understand specific features without language confusion.

The platform's visual nature actually works in favor of English speakers. Much of the user experience is driven by images, icons, and intuitive gestures that transcend language. Once you've learned the position and function of key interface elements, the Chinese text becomes less of a barrier to daily navigation and content management.

Navigating Xiaohongshu's interface as an English speaker certainly presents challenges, but as you've seen throughout this guide, the platform's structure is logical, intuitive, and learnable with the right roadmap. From the home feed to the creator center, each section serves a specific purpose in your journey toward successful marketing on China's premier social commerce platform.

The initial language barrier often discourages international brands from fully embracing Xiaohongshu, yet those who invest time in understanding the interface gain access to one of the world's most engaged and conversion-ready audiences. Remember that interface navigation is just the foundation. True success on Xiaohongshu requires deep cultural understanding, localized content strategies, and consistent community engagement that resonates with Chinese consumers.

As you become more comfortable with the platform's layout, you'll discover that many of your assumptions about social media marketing need adjustment for the Chinese market. The content that performs well, the engagement patterns that matter, and the commercial approaches that convert all differ significantly from Western platforms. This is where comprehensive resources and expert guidance make the difference between experimenting with Xiaohongshu and truly succeeding on it.

Whether you're just beginning your Xiaohongshu journey or looking to optimize your existing presence, mastering the interface is your first step toward unlocking the platform's immense potential for your brand.

Ready to Master Xiaohongshu Marketing?

Navigating the interface is just the beginning. To truly succeed on Xiaohongshu, you need comprehensive strategies, cultural insights, and proven frameworks that drive real results.

AllXHS provides everything international brands need to excel on China's fastest-growing social commerce platform—from 378+ industry reports and a complete training academy to ready-to-use templates and expert consultation.

[Contact our team today](https://www.allxhs.com/contact) to discover how we can help you transform Xiaohongshu from a confusing Chinese app into your most powerful marketing channel in China.

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