“Our company spent 20,000 yuan on an official website last year. The pages lag, and the backend is a pain to use. We plan to scrap it this year,” Li Ming, marketing head of a Shenzhen-based smart hardware startup, complained to reporters at the recently held “2025 Enterprise Digital Services Expo.” His experience is not unique. As generative AI technology rapidly permeates the sector, the seemingly traditional field of corporate website building is undergoing a dramatic transformation from “template stacking” to “intelligent generation.”
According to a survey by industry media outlet Digital Business Observer, the current domestic corporate website building market is showing a clear polarization: On one hand, order volumes for traditional website service providers have generally declined by 15% to 30%, with some small and medium-sized studios relying on manual customization facing existential crises. On the other hand, smart website building platforms, marketed with features like “AI one-click generation, zero-code operation,” saw a 47% quarter-over-quarter surge in user numbers in Q1 2025. Behind this reshuffle lies an explosive surge in demand from SMEs for website building solutions that are “low-cost, high-conversion, and easy to maintain.”
“In the past, when companies built websites, bosses cared most about ‘does it look good?’ Now, they only ask three things: Can I modify it myself? Can it capture customers? Can it work on mobile?” stated Wang Lei, founder of a Shanghai-based digital marketing agency, during a roundtable forum at the expo. Among his SME clients, over 60% require the website building system to have built-in CRM (Customer Relationship Management) functionality and support integration with social e-commerce platforms like Douyin and WeChat. “Corporate websites are no longer just ‘hanging up a business card’; they have become customer acquisition engines.”
This shift in demand has directly spurred technological iteration in website building tools. Reporters at the expo tested products from several platforms: by entering a company name, industry, and product keywords, AI can generate a complete website featuring brand VI, product showcases, and online inquiry functions within 30 seconds. Ms. Zhang, owner of a garment trading company in Hangzhou, told reporters that after using an AI website builder, her website went from design to launch in just 2 hours, whereas the traditional method would take at least a week. “The key is I can update promotional information myself anytime, without begging technicians to change the code.”
However, the rapid proliferation of AI website building is not without its concerns. Several interviewed technical experts pointed out that some current AI-generated websites suffer from code redundancy and weak SEO structures, potentially leading to difficulties in search engine indexing. “One of the core purposes of building a corporate website is to gain organic search traffic. If AI only pursues ‘speed’ while ignoring the underlying SEO logic, that website could become an ‘information island,’” emphasized Chen Tao, a senior SEO consultant.
In response, leading website building platforms have begun adjusting their strategies. Reporters learned that Alibaba Cloud’s “YunSuCheng MeiZhan” recently updated its AI website building engine, specifically strengthening modules for automatic TDK tag generation, structured data markup, and on-site link optimization. Tencent Cloud’s “Smart Website Building Pro” version includes a built-in keyword analysis tool to help companies lock in long-tail search terms during the website building phase. These actions indicate that industry competition is shifting from an “efficiency race” to an “effectiveness race.”
Notably, the geographical distribution of corporate website building service providers is also undergoing subtle changes. Previously, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen were hubs for such companies. However, in the past six months, a number of website building teams deeply rooted in regional industries have emerged in new first-tier cities like Chengdu, Wuhan, and Changsha. A local service provider in Chengdu named “ShuZhanWang” launched a “Store + Website + Mini Program” tri-sync website building solution specifically for the catering and tourism industries, securing contracts with over 200 local hotpot restaurants and homestay clients within half a year. “SME owners in lower-tier markets are more sensitive to cost-effectiveness in website building, but they also show higher loyalty,” stated the team leader.
Industry analysts believe that 2025 will become a watershed year for the corporate website building industry. As AI technology further lowers the barrier to entry, traditional website building companies must either transform towards “deep customization + operational consulting” or face elimination. For SMEs, building a website is no longer a “one-time investment” but a digital asset requiring continuous iteration. How to balance “speed” with “quality,” and “cost” with “effectiveness,” will be the core proposition for industry competition in the coming year.