Most guides to “getting your business online” assume you already know what a domain is, or that payment processing is the same everywhere. Neither is true for a small business starting out in Bangladesh. Here is the order things actually need to happen in, based on the clinics, shops and service businesses we have taken through this.
1. Register your domain and business name together
Pick your domain name before you register your trade licence, not after — a mismatch between your legal business name and your web address confuses customers and complicates payment gateway approval later. A .com or a .com.bd both work; .com.bd signals “local” more clearly to Bangladeshi customers, .com is easier for anyone outside the country to remember.
2. Choose hosting that matches your traffic, not your ambition
Shared hosting on a provider like Hostinger is enough for almost every small business site at launch. You do not need a dedicated server because you hope to go viral — you need a fast, reliable, affordable host now, and the option to upgrade later if traffic actually demands it.
3. Set up payments before you need them
bKash, Nagad and Rocket cover most local customers. If you plan to sell to Qatar or the USA as well, you will also need an international-friendly gateway — and the approval process for that can take longer than building the site itself, so start it early, not at the end.
4. Get the paperwork nobody warns you about
- A trade licence, which most payment gateways will ask for before approving your account.
- A TIN certificate, needed for many B2B and international payment setups.
- A business bank account in the exact legal name on your trade licence — mismatches here are the single most common cause of delayed payment gateway approval.
5. Build the site last, not first
It sounds backwards, but a site built before the business name, domain and payment setup are settled usually needs to be partly rebuilt once those details lock in. Get the foundations right, then build.
None of this is complicated on its own. It is the order that trips people up — and the order is exactly what this list fixes.