How to make an ecommerce website in Bangladesh without burning a lakh on a half-finished store.
This is a practical, founder-level walkthrough. Pick a platform and register a .com.bd or .com. Hook up bKash, Nagad and cash-on-delivery. Set up Pathao or Steadfast for courier, and ship a store buyers really trust. If you'd rather skip the DIY route, I build the whole thing for you from 50,000 BDT.
Senior operator, about 5 years building stores for BD founders. No agency, no juniors, no jonno-jonno templates.
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Before you learn how to make an ecommerce website in Bangladesh, know the usual story. Someone on Facebook quotes you 8,000 taka for a 'full ecommerce website'. You pay 50%. You get a Shopify trial pretending to be a custom site. Three weeks later, the developer goes silent.
Or you buy a 1,500 taka WordPress hosting plan from a reseller and install a free WooCommerce theme. Then you realise your product images take 11 seconds to load on a mid-range Walton handset. This guide skips that whole detour.
To start an online shop website in BD in 2026 isn't really a coding problem anymore. It's an order-of-steps problem. Think domain, hosting, platform, payments, courier, product photos, return policy and ads. Do them in the wrong order, and you'll overspend or launch a store nobody can check out on. Do them in the right order, and you can be live in about three weeks. You'll be taking bKash payments and pushing orders to Pathao.
I'm RH Fardin. I've spent about five years building ecommerce sites for Bangladeshi founders. Most work in fashion, food, electronics reselling and small-batch consumer brands. I work alone, and I design and develop everything myself. I've watched enough launches to know exactly where people get stuck.
The walkthrough below is what I'd tell a friend over cha. Say they asked, 'bhai, ecommerce site banaite koto lagbe ar kothai start korbo?' This is my answer.
If you'd rather not DIY this, my done-for-you ecommerce builds start at 50,000 BDT. A custom-coded store starts at 3,00,000 BDT. Either way, the steps on this page will save you from the most expensive mistakes.
Ignore the YouTube tutorials promising '15 minutes to launch'. These six choices decide whether your store sells or sits dead. Get them right, and the rest is just doing the work.
WooCommerce on managed WordPress hosting still gives the best value for flexibility. That's true for most BD stores under 500 SKUs. Shopify is faster to launch, but its monthly fees in taka hurt small margins.
Grab the .com first, then the .com.bd through BTCL if you want it. Bangladeshi buyers Google your brand before paying advance. A free Pages URL or .xyz domain quietly kills sales.
bKash Merchant, Nagad and a card gateway like SSLCommerz or ShurjoPay cover 95% of buyers. Cash-on-delivery is a must for first-time customers in Dhaka, Chattogram and beyond.
Pathao Courier, Steadfast, RedX and Sundarban have APIs. They auto-push orders, print labels and sync delivery status. Typing 40 orders a day into a courier panel by hand is how founders quit.
70 to 80 percent of your traffic will be on Android handsets over patchy 4G. Compressed WebP images, lazy-loading and a light theme matter more than a fancy hero animation.
Use real product photos, not stock. Show a mobile number, a clear return policy and customer review screenshots. Put a Bangladeshi address in the footer. Without these, abandoned-cart rates stay brutal.
Here is the order I'd really run it in. Step 1: register your .com from Namecheap or GoDaddy, for about 1,200 to 1,500 BDT a year. Step 2: buy managed WordPress hosting from a trusted provider. For a new store, a 6,000 to 12,000 BDT a year plan with at least 2 GB RAM and LiteSpeed is enough. Avoid the 1,500 taka 'unlimited' shared plans. They buckle under your first Facebook ad spike.
Step 3: install WordPress, WooCommerce, a clean light theme and a caching plugin. Astra, Kadence or a well-built custom theme all work. Step 4: list 5 to 10 hero products first, not 30 half-built listings. Shoot real photos on a decent phone in daylight. Step 5: apply for a bKash Merchant Account, which needs a trade license and NID. Register as a Nagad merchant. Then set up SSLCommerz or ShurjoPay for cards and Visa Direct.
Step 6: link Pathao Courier or Steadfast through their plugins or APIs, so orders sync on their own. Step 7: write a one-page return policy. Add WhatsApp click-to-chat with your number, and put a Bangladeshi address in the footer, even your home. Step 8: test the full flow with your own bKash. Place an order and confirm the courier API picks it up. Then start running Facebook and Google ads.
DIY budget: about 25,000 to 45,000 BDT in year one, covering domain, hosting, gateway setup, a paid theme and product photos. First-timers need 4 to 8 weeks, since BTCL domains, bKash merchant approval and good photos all run slow. With decent products, photos and ads, expect a 0.8 to 2 percent conversion rate. Or let a senior ship it in 3 to 5 weeks. My package starts at 50,000 BDT, 50% advance and 50% on launch. It includes bKash/Nagad/SSLCommerz setup, Pathao or Steadfast, and a design-approval guarantee.
Clear packages, fixed quotes, paid in BDT. Pick a starting point. I'll tailor the exact scope on a quick call.
Every project starts at ৳50,000
A sharp, credible site that makes the right first impression and brings enquiries.
Books a 15-min call · fixed BDT quote · 50/50 · hosting extra
A full, professional site that ranks and converts for a growing business.
Books a 15-min call · fixed BDT quote · 50/50 · hosting extra
An online store built to sell and scale.
Books a 15-min call · fixed BDT quote · 50/50 · hosting extra
Need something bigger? Custom & enterprise builds from ৳3,00,000. Pay by bKash, Nagad, bank transfer or card. Ask for an exact price or send an email.
These are the real questions Bangladeshi founders message me about every week.
On the DIY path, plan for about 25,000 to 45,000 BDT in year one. That covers domain, hosting, a paid theme and gateway fees, plus your time. Done-for-you with me starts at 50,000 BDT for a clean WooCommerce store with bKash/Nagad/COD. It's 90,000 BDT for a richer multi-category store and 1,50,000 BDT for a brand-grade build. Fully custom-coded stores start at 3,00,000 BDT.
Most BD founders have under 500 SKUs and thin margins. For them, WooCommerce on good hosting wins. There's no monthly platform fee. bKash, Nagad, SSLCommerz and Pathao all have free or cheap plugins. Shopify is truly faster to launch and more polished. But the 29 USD a month base plan, plus 1.5 to 2 percent in transaction fees, adds up fast in taka.
bKash and Nagad both have official merchant programs. Apply with your trade license, NID and bank account. Approval usually takes 1 to 3 weeks. Once approved, you get API keys and install their official WooCommerce plugin. Or use a gateway like SSLCommerz or ShurjoPay that bundles everything. COD is a built-in WooCommerce shipping method. Just turn it on and set rules per district.
Technically, yes. You need at least a trade license from your city corporation or union parishad. It's required for a bKash/Nagad merchant account and an SSLCommerz/ShurjoPay account, and to sell legally. It costs about 500 to 5,000 BDT, depending on category and area. You can soft-launch with personal bKash for a few weeks. But plan to get the license within the first month.
A realistic DIY timeline is 4 to 8 weeks for a first-timer. bKash merchant approval takes 1 to 3 weeks. Decent product photos and clean product descriptions also take longer than the build itself. When I build it for clients, the full WooCommerce store goes live in 3 to 5 weeks. That includes payments, courier links and 20 to 40 products.
You can run a 'shop' from a Facebook Page or Instagram, and many sellers start there. But at some point you'll want to run Google Ads or take card payments. You'll want to look professional to a corporate buyer, or stop losing orders to DM chaos. Then you need a real website on real hosting with a proper domain. Free hosting and free subdomains hurt trust and SEO. Buyers in Dhaka and Chattogram do Google your brand before paying advance.
Grab a free 15-minute call. I'll show you what your new website should do and what it will cost in BDT. No pitch, no pressure.
Grab a free 15-minute call, or send a message and I'll reply with the clearest next step.
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