China's hosting-first provider packaging website builders as cloud host products from ¥870/yr (or ¥88/yr intro) vs Zeso's modern static edge platform.
West.cn (西部数码, west.cn), operated by Chengdu West Dimension Digital Technology Co., Ltd. (西维数码), is a 24-year-old Chinese cloud infrastructure and hosting incumbent founded in 2002. Holding nationwide rankings as China's #2 domain registrar and #3 website ICP filing platform, West.cn sells website building primarily as an attachment to hosting: its flagship product, 云建站, is explicitly cataloged as a specialized host ('云建站主机'), with templates sold strictly as tied add-ons ('模板不能单独购买，且仅能和云建站主机配套购买使用'). In addition to its three-tier Cloud Builder ladder (基础版 ¥870/yr, 标准版 ¥1,170/yr, 营销版 ¥2,670/yr), it launched 刺猬响站 in August 2026 as an ultra-cheap ¥88/year first-year promotional offer. While West.cn offers established domestic hosting, staffed ICP filing assistance, and term prepay deals ('买3年得5年', effective ¥522/yr), it relies on traditional shared host metrics (disk space, monthly traffic, file counts), withholds payment gateways behind higher tiers, and leaves year-two renewals undisclosed.
Substrate
hosting first (云建站主机 + 模板绑定)
Lane
template
Target Audience
CN SMB
Editing Model
block
Renewal Jump
1.67×
Official Link
VisitKey Differences at a Glance
How architectural choices impact your website long term
Architecture & Philosophy
Hosting-first legacy architecture. The builder is treated as an application layer running on virtual hosts with strict resource metering: disk storage (15GB–100GB), monthly traffic caps (60GB–250GB), and file count limits (7,000–60,000).
Modern, serverless edge-native static delivery on Cloudflare's global edge network with sub-100ms TTFB worldwide, unmetered bandwidth, and zero server resource policing.
Why it matters: Zeso eliminates legacy web host bottlenecks, traffic overage anxiety, and artificial file-count limits entirely.
Pricing & Renewal Transparency
Cloud Builder list price starts at ¥870/year (or ¥88/year for entry 刺猬响站 promo). Prepay offers '买3年得5年' (pay ¥2,610 for 5 years, effective ¥522/yr). Card template defines list price as 2.0x, but year-two renewals and subsequent domain prices are unpublished.
1-page static site free forever with custom domain; App Hosting is flat $7.49/mo (annual) with a contractual 1.0x renewal guarantee forever. Domains renew at transparent wholesale registry cost ($14.99/yr for .com).
Why it matters: No term-doubling expiration traps, no surprise year-two renewals, and total lifetime budget predictability.
Monetization & Feature Gating
Base 基础版 (¥870/yr) withholds commercial transactions and payment gateways (Alipay, WeChat Pay, 快钱), forcing businesses to upgrade to the ¥1,170/yr 标准版 simply to accept customer payments.
Clean, unmetered static form capture, webhooks, and third-party checkout integrations available standard without arbitrary plan penalties.
Why it matters: You can monetize your site and collect customer payments without being forced into an immediate tier upgrade.
Code Ownership & Portability
Complete proprietary lock-in. Templates and CMS databases are tightly tied to West.cn's cloud hosts and cannot be exported to independent hosting providers.
Full static HTML/CSS/JS export and open JSON SiteSpec; complete freedom to download, archive, or self-host your web property anywhere.
Why it matters: You maintain permanent ownership of your web assets, code, and design specifications.
Total Cost of Ownership & Renewal Analysis
Headline prices vs what you actually pay over 5 years
| Aspect | 西部数码 | Zeso.net |
|---|---|---|
| Introductory Rate | ¥522/年 (effective rate via '买3年得5年' prepay: pay ¥2,610 for 5 years on 云建站 基础版) or ¥88/年 (刺猬响站 first-year intro promo) | $0 (1-page) / $7.49/mo (App) |
| Renewal Rate (Yr 2+) | ¥870/年 (云建站 基础版 published list price; 刺猬响站 standard renewal is unpublished) | $0 / $7.49/mo (Flat 1.0×) |
| Renewal Price Jump | 1.67× | 1.0× (Guaranteed flat) |
| 5-Year Total Cost | ¥2,610 (云建站 基础版 '买3年得5年' prepay covers exactly 60 months; standard annual path is ¥4,350 for 5 years) | $0 (1-page static) + domain at-cost |
| Year-1 Domain | 1st year free for .site/.xyz extensions (strictly bounded to year one even on multi-year purchases;delivered as 30-day coupon code on some tiers) | Free with qualifying annual hosting |
| Year-2 Domain Renewal | Unpublished by vendor (subsequent year renewal price is not stated on pricing cards) | At-cost wholesale ($14.99/yr for .com) |
| Hidden Costs / Upsells |
| |
刺猬响站首年特价¥88，次年按原价续费；云建站基础版买3年送2年，次年单年续费按原价。
The 7-Part Website Delivery Framework
Can each platform deliver a production-ready website out of the box?
| Job to be Done | 西部数码 | Zeso.net |
|---|---|---|
| Domain registration | Native West.cn is China's #2 domain registrar. Bundles a free .site/.xyz domain for year one only ('仅赠送首年'), but year-two renewal prices are unstated on builder cards. | Native Native domain registration at transparent wholesale registry cost ($14.99/yr for .com tracking Verisign) with automated DNS management and zero renewal markups. |
| DNS & CDN hosting | Native Hosted directly on West.cn cloud infrastructure (15GB–100GB storage, 60GB–250GB monthly traffic). Offers choice of mainland China or Hong Kong lines for ICP exemption. | Native Globally distributed static edge hosting across 330+ Cloudflare data centers standard on all tiers with sub-100ms TTFB. |
| SSL certificate | Native SSL certificates are sold separately as an adjacent add-on product starting at ¥38/year; not bundled free by default on base hosting plans. | Native 100% automated, zero-touch SSL certificate provisioning and renewal standard on all domains via Let's Encrypt / Cloudflare edge. |
| Business email | ⚡ 3rd-party Business email ('云邮') is a standalone, separately billed first-party product line; no mailboxes are included in the website builder fee. | Native Native automated email forwarding and DNS orchestration (MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC) for custom domain inboxes. |
| Form capture & leads | Native Native form builder ('表单系统'), user management, and inquiry collection tools included across cloud builder and 刺猬响站 tiers. | Native Native serverless form handling with automatic spam protection, instant email forwarding, and webhook notifications. |
| Maintenance & updates | None Provides 24-hour technical hotline and ticket support for server-level issues, but explicitly excludes website content maintenance and design updates. | Native Zero-maintenance edge static architecture; no database patches, zero server vulnerabilities, and permanent operational stability. |
| Transparent renewal pricing | ⚠️ Limited Displays multi-year prepay promo ('买3年得5年') on pricing cards, but omits post-term renewal rates and conceals year-two domain renewal costs. | Native Flat 1.0x renewal guarantee on App Hosting ($7.49/mo billed annually) with wholesale domain renewal pricing. |
Detailed Feature Comparison
| Capability | 西部数码 | Zeso.net |
|---|---|---|
| Editing & DesignEditing Paradigm | Block-based visual editor ('模块/底板/设计师模式') with drag-and-drop module ordering | Structured Section/Block editing powered by JSON SiteSpec, enforcing clean responsive hierarchy |
| Editing & DesignResource Metering | Traditional virtual host metering: 15GB–100GB storage, 60GB–250GB monthly traffic, 7,000–60,000 file caps | Unmetered static asset delivery with global edge caching and zero arbitrary file counters |
| Editing & DesignMulti-Surface Publishing | Multi-terminal support (PC + Mobile + WeChat site + WeChat Mini-Program on Standard+; APP on Marketing tier) | Universal mobile-first responsive static output optimized for modern browsers and devices |
| Editing & DesignE-Commerce & Payments | Payment interfaces (Alipay, WeChat Pay, 快钱) withheld on 基础版 (¥870/yr); requires upgrade to 标准版 (¥1,170/yr) | Clean support for third-party checkout widgets and payment links on all tiers |
| Pricing & TermsEntry Annual Price | ¥870/year (云建站 基础版 list) or ¥88/year (刺猬响站 first-year promo); effective ¥522/yr via 5-yr prepay | 1-page static site free forever with custom domain; App Hosting $7.49/mo (billed annually) |
| Pricing & TermsRenewal Multiple | 2.0x step against card-defined reference price; post-term renewal rates unstated | Contractual 1.0x renewal guarantee; no second-year price hikes |
| Pricing & TermsPromotional Mechanics | Term-doubling prepay: '买2年得3年，买3年得5年' requiring large upfront cash outlays | Predictable annual billing with no multi-year lock-in traps |
| Pricing & TermsBranding Removal | 刺猬响站 advertises '无广告、无制作方信息'; Cloud Builder tiers include clean branding on paid tiers | Zero vendor branding across all paid and free custom domain sites |
| Hosting & SpeedHosting Architecture | Shared cloud virtual hosts in mainland China or Hong Kong line option | Cloudflare global edge network with 330+ points of presence worldwide |
| Hosting & SpeedGlobal Performance (TTFB) | Fast within China if ICP filed; high latency for overseas visitors unless Hong Kong line or external CDN added | Consistent sub-100ms TTFB globally across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America |
| Hosting & SpeedTraffic & Bandwidth Caps | Strictly metered monthly traffic (60GB on 基础版, 120GB on 标准版, 250GB on 营销版) | Unmetered static bandwidth across Cloudflare's hyper-scale edge network |
| Ownership & PortabilityCode Portability & Export | Proprietary virtual host lock-in; website templates and CMS cannot be exported to independent servers | Full static HTML/CSS/JS export and open JSON SiteSpec; complete freedom to self-host |
| Ownership & PortabilityData Ownership | Data stored in West.cn virtual host databases; backups managed via host admin console | Total ownership of content, assets, and structural schema with zero proprietary containerization |
| Domain & EmailDomain Inclusions | Free .site/.xyz domain for year one only ('仅赠送首年'); year-two renewal prices unquoted | Domain registered at wholesale registry cost ($14.99/yr for .com); 1-page static site free forever |
| Domain & EmailICP Compliance Assistance | Free, staff-assisted ICP filing for mainland China nodes (ranked #3 nationwide); Hong Kong line option bypasses filing | Global edge deployment exempt from mainland ICP filing requirements for international websites |
| Domain & EmailBusiness Email Solution | Standalone first-party enterprise email ('云邮') sold separately; not bundled into site builder | Native automated email forwarding and DNS orchestration for custom domains |
Balanced Evaluation
Where They Excel
- •24-year established Chinese hosting and domain infrastructure provider (#2 domain registrar and #3 ICP filing platform in China)
- •Comprehensive, free, specialist-assisted ICP filing service ('全程专员协助，无需幕布，手机拍照核验')
- •Provides a Hong Kong hosting line option ('香港免备案主机') allowing users to bypass mainland ICP filing
- •Repeatable multi-year prepay incentives ('买2年得3年，买3年得5年') reducing effective annual hosting rates to ¥522/yr
- •Broad communications support including 24-hour hotlines, QQ support, and extensive help documentation
- •Bundles a 400 virtual phone number with ¥1,200 call credit across all Cloud Builder tiers
Trade-offs & Limitations
- •Hosting-first legacy mindset: imposes strict limits on disk storage (15GB), monthly traffic (60GB), and file counts (7,000)
- •Payment gateway integration (Alipay, WeChat Pay) is deliberately gated behind the higher ¥1,170/yr plan
- •Domain gift is strictly limited to year one only, with subsequent renewal rates omitted from builder pricing
- •SSL certificates are unbundled into a paid add-on starting at ¥38/year
- •WeChat Mini-Program functionality requires separate purchases (¥880/yr+) despite mini-program branding
- •Complete proprietary lock-in to West.cn's cloud hosts with no static code export or migration path
The Verdict: Which Should You Choose?
Choose 西部数码 if:
- →You are a mainland China SMB that already manages domain registrations and virtual hosts through West.cn
- →You require mainland China hosting with hands-on, specialist assistance for official ICP filing (蜀ICP备)
- →You want a bundled 400 telephone customer service line with ¥1,200 initial talk-time included
- →You are comfortable prepaying 3 to 5 years upfront to secure the lowest possible hosting price
Choose Zeso if...
- ✓You want a modern, high-performance static website delivered globally on Cloudflare edge with sub-100ms TTFB
- ✓You refuse to deal with legacy hosting limits like monthly bandwidth caps, disk quotas, or file counters
- ✓You demand 100% price transparency with flat $7.49/mo hosting, at-cost domains, and a 1.0x renewal guarantee
- ✓You want complete ownership of your website with the freedom to export clean HTML/CSS/JS anytime
- ✓You need e-commerce links and form capture without being forced into an expensive tier upgrade
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between West.cn's '云建站' and '刺猬响站'?
West.cn offers two distinct website building products: (1) '云建站' (Cloud Builder) is its flagship legacy platform, configured as a virtual host ('云建站主机') across three tiers (基础版 ¥870/yr, 标准版 ¥1,170/yr, 营销版 ¥2,670/yr) with traditional resource limits (disk space, monthly traffic, and file count); (2) '刺猬响站' is a newer product launched in August 2026, offering a promotional first-year price of ¥88/year with 2GB storage, 100 pages, and responsive mobile adaptation. While 刺猬响站 is significantly cheaper upfront, its second-year renewal rate is undisclosed.
How does West.cn's 'Buy 3 Years Get 5 Years' promotion work?
West.cn offers a term-doubling prepay promotion across its Cloud Builder plans: '买2年得3年，买3年得5年！' On the Entry plan (基础版), you pay ¥870 × 3 = ¥2,610 upfront to receive 5 years of hosting service, reducing your effective cost to ¥522/year. While this represents a 1.667x discount against the annual list price, it requires committing 5 years of capital upfront. The pricing card defines the struck original price as 2x the sale price, but post-term renewal rates are not published.
Are payment gateways included on West.cn's entry plan?
No. West.cn withholds online transaction capabilities and payment gateways on the base Entry plan (基础版 ¥870/yr). To enable online ordering and connect domestic payment interfaces (including Alipay, WeChat Pay, 99Bill, and Tenpay), businesses must upgrade to the Standard plan (标准版 ¥1,170/yr). Zeso allows payment links, third-party checkouts, and lead forms on all tiers without arbitrary feature gating.
How does West.cn handle ICP filings (备案)?
West.cn is China's #3 website ICP filing service provider. For mainland China server nodes, it provides a streamlined, free filing service with dedicated staff assistance ('全程专员协助') using smartphone photo verification without physical backdrops. Alternatively, West.cn offers a Hong Kong server line option ('香港免备案主机') that allows customers to deploy immediately without an ICP filing, provided they use an international domain name.
Is the free domain truly free forever with West.cn?
No. West.cn's free domain promotion (.site or .xyz extensions) is strictly limited to the first year only ('仅赠送首年'). The pricing documentation explicitly emphasizes: '建站一次购买多年，域名赠送一年' (even if you purchase multiple years of website hosting at once, the domain is gifted for only one year). Second-year domain renewals revert to standard registrar pricing, which is unquoted on builder pricing cards. Zeso provides transparent at-cost domain pricing ($14.99/yr for .com) with permanent at-cost renewals.
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