How to Choose a Web Design Agency in Bangladesh (Without Getting Burned)

Last year a shop owner in Mirpur paid 35,000 taka to an agency that posted slick work on Facebook. They took a 50% advance over bKash, sent two mockups, then stopped replying to WhatsApp. He never got the login to his own site. If you are about to hire a web design agency in Bangladesh, that story is the one you want to avoid, and this guide shows you the checks that prevent it.

Know what you actually need before you call anyone

A four-page company profile site is not the same job as a Daraz-style store with online payment. When you mix them up, you overpay or you hire the wrong team. Write down three things on paper first: how many pages you need, whether customers will buy or just send an inquiry, and who will update the site after launch. A restaurant in Dhanmondi needs a menu and a phone number that works on mobile. A clothing startup needs a cart, SSLCommerz or a bKash payment gateway, and a way to track stock. Decide which one you are before any salesperson decides for you.

What a website actually costs in Bangladesh

Here is the part nobody puts on their pricing page. A basic WordPress business site (five to seven pages, contact form, mobile responsive) runs roughly 15,000 to 40,000 taka from a small agency or a good freelancer. A proper e-commerce store with payment integration starts around 60,000 taka and climbs past 150,000 once you add custom features. A custom-coded web app is its own world and starts in the lakhs. If someone quotes you 5,000 taka for a “complete professional website,” they are using a free template, will charge you again for every edit, and often disappear before year two.

Hosting and domain are separate, and people forget this constantly. A .com domain costs about 1,200 taka a year and shared hosting runs 3,000 to 8,000 taka a year. Make the agency tell you, in writing, whether those renewals are in your name or theirs. You want them in yours.

Agency or freelancer? Pick by how much hand-holding you need

A freelancer on Fiverr or a local Facebook group is cheaper and often faster for a single small site. The risk is one person, one laptop, no backup. When you hire a web developer in Bangladesh as a solo freelancer and he gets a full-time job in month three, your half-built site stalls. A website design company in Dhaka costs more but keeps a team, a phone you can call during office hours, and usually a contract. For a 20,000-taka brochure site, a trusted freelancer is fine. For anything you will run a business on, the agency structure earns its premium.

The seven questions that filter out the cowboys

I assumed a polished portfolio meant a polished process. Then I cleaned up after three agencies whose Behance looked stunning and whose handoff was a zip file and a goodbye. The portfolio shows taste. These questions show whether they will still help you in March.

• Will the domain and hosting be registered in my name, with me holding the passwords? Get a yes in writing.
• Can I see two live sites you built that are still online today, not screenshots?
• What exactly happens after launch, and what does month-two support cost?
• Will I get full admin access to WordPress, or only a limited editor login?
• How many revisions are included before you start billing extra?
• What is your payment schedule, and do you take the full amount upfront?
• Who owns the design files and the code when the project ends?

If a salesperson dodges the password question or pushes for 100% advance, walk. A fair split in this market is 50% to start and 50% on delivery, paid over bKash, Nagad, or bank transfer with a receipt each time.

Read the contract, not the Facebook reviews

Five-star Facebook reviews cost about 50 taka each in this country, so they tell you almost nothing. A one-page written agreement tells you everything. The contract should name the deliverables, the timeline in days, the total price, the payment milestones, and what counts as “done.” My biggest gripe with this industry is the verbal-only deal: the client and the agency shake hands, agree to “a nice website,” and then fight for a month because nobody wrote down how many pages “nice” included. Put it on paper. If they refuse a simple written scope, that refusal is your answer.

Watch for the vanishing act

The most common way owners get burned here is the post-delivery ghost. The agency hands over the site, collects the final payment, and then ignores you when a plugin breaks in two months. You protect yourself by holding your own credentials from day one and by agreeing on a support window before launch. Ask for at least 30 days of free bug fixes and a clear rate after that, maybe 1,500 to 3,000 taka a month for upkeep. An agency that plans to stick around will happily put that number in writing. One that plans to vanish will get vague.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a small business website cost in Bangladesh?

A standard five-to-seven page business site runs about 15,000 to 40,000 taka. Add e-commerce with a payment gateway and you start near 60,000 taka. Budget another 4,000 to 9,000 taka a year for domain and hosting renewals.

Should I hire a freelancer or an agency?

Hire a freelancer for a single small site if you have a trusted reference. Hire an agency when you need a team, ongoing support, and a contract you can hold someone to. The agency costs more and gives you a phone number that still answers next year.

How do I avoid an agency that disappears after delivery?

Keep the domain, hosting, and WordPress admin passwords in your own name from the start. Agree on a written support window, usually 30 days free plus a monthly rate. Pay in milestones over bKash or bank transfer, never 100% upfront.

How long does it take to build a website?

A simple WordPress business site takes about 7 to 14 working days once you hand over content and logo. An e-commerce store with payment integration takes three to six weeks. Delays usually come from the client side when photos and text arrive late.