Dhaka has no shortage of people willing to build you a website. Freelancers on Facebook groups, small studios, full agencies, all quoting different numbers for what sounds like the same project. Some of those quotes are genuinely fair. Others are missing half of what you actually need, and you won’t find out until three months in when something breaks and nobody answers the phone.
Before you hand over a deposit to anyone, run through this Website Development Checklist. It’s built around the questions that actually separate a solid agency from one that’ll leave you stuck, and it applies whether you’re getting quotes from a freelancer, a small studio, or a full-service agency.
Start With What You’re Actually Trying to Build
Before you even talk to an agency, get clear on the basics yourself:
How many pages do you realistically need? A five-page brochure site and a fifteen-page corporate site with a blog are different projects with different price tags.
Do you need e-commerce, or just a way for people to contact you?
Do you need bilingual support (Bangla and English), since that’s standard for most local businesses selling to a broad Bangladeshi audience?
Do you already have content and photos, or do you need those written and sourced too?
Walking into a conversation with these answers ready means you’ll get a quote that’s actually comparable to the next agency’s, instead of two numbers for two completely different scopes.
The Checklist: What to Ask Before You Sign Anything
1. Is the Pricing Broken Down, or Just One Number?
A serious quote separates design, development, content, SEO setup, and ongoing support into line items. If all you get is a single flat figure with no explanation of what’s inside it, that’s a red flag, not a good deal.
For reference, a well-scoped small business website in Dhaka typically runs somewhere between ৳30,000 for a basic 5-page site and ৳95,000 or more for a fully custom corporate build with advanced SEO, security hardening, and a full revision process. If a quote comes in far below that with the same page count and features promised, ask what’s actually being cut.
2. What’s the Delivery Timeline, and What Happens If It Slips?
A basic 5-page site should realistically take 7 to 10 days. A standard corporate site with 10 pages usually runs 12 to 15 days. A premium, fully custom build can take 18 to 25 days depending on scope.
Ask what happens if the agency misses that window. Vague answers here usually mean vague accountability later.
3. Do They Ask About Your Business Before Quoting?
An agency that quotes you a price within five minutes of hearing “I need a website” hasn’t actually scoped anything. A proper process starts with discovery, understanding your business goals, your audience, and what your competitors are already doing, before any design work begins.
4. Is the Site Actually Built Mobile-First?
Most visitors in Bangladesh are browsing on a phone, not a desktop. Ask to see mobile versions of the agency’s past work, not just desktop screenshots. If they can’t show you a responsive site that actually works well on a mid-range Android phone, that’s worth noticing before you commit.
5. What CMS Will You Be Left With?
Find out whether you’ll be able to update your own content, change a photo, add a new service page, without calling the agency every time. WordPress and similar systems make this straightforward. A site built on something obscure or fully custom-coded with no admin panel often means you’re locked into paying for every small change afterward.
6. Is Basic SEO Included, or Sold Separately Later?
At minimum, a new website should launch with proper page titles, meta descriptions, image alt tags, and a submitted sitemap. If SEO is treated as a completely separate, expensive add-on rather than part of a properly built site, you’re starting from behind the day you launch. This matters more than most business owners realize. If your last website never generated real leads despite getting traffic, read this on why business websites fail to generate leads to see the difference between a site that exists and a site that’s actually built to convert.
7. Do They Support Local Payment Gateways?
If there’s any chance you’ll sell online, even later, check whether the agency can integrate bKash, Nagad, or SSLCommerz without a full rebuild. Bolting this on after launch is far more expensive than building it in from the start.
8. Who Owns the Website Once It’s Live?
Ask directly. Do you own the domain, hosting account, and code, or does the agency retain control in a way that would make switching providers difficult later? A trustworthy agency has a clear, simple answer to this.
9. What Happens After Launch?
Find out how many months of free support are included, and what a maintenance plan costs after that. Websites need updates, security patches, and occasional fixes. An agency that disappears the day after launch is leaving you to figure that out alone.
10. Can You See Real, Working Websites They’ve Built?
Not mockups. Not a portfolio page with static images. Actual live sites you can open on your own phone right now. If an agency is hesitant to share these, that tells you something.
A Quick Side-by-Side Before You Decide
| What to Check | Weak Answer | Strong Answer |
| Pricing | One flat number, no breakdown | Itemised by design, development, content, SEO |
| Timeline | “We’ll let you know” | A specific delivery window with a plan for delays |
| Discovery | Quotes without asking about your business | Asks about goals, audience, competitors first |
| Mobile | Shows only desktop screenshots | Shows real, responsive sites on a phone |
| CMS | No admin access, must call for every change | WordPress or similar, with basic training included |
| SEO | Sold separately, added later | Included from launch: titles, meta, sitemap |
| Ownership | Unclear who controls the domain and code | Clear answer: it’s yours |
| After launch | No support mentioned | Defined support period plus a maintenance option |
If You’re Not Sure Where to Start
Getting three quotes and comparing them against this checklist will tell you more than reading ten more articles about web design will. Most business owners in Dhaka overpay for the wrong things and underpay for the ones that actually matter, like SEO setup, mobile performance, and clear ownership terms.
If you want a second opinion on a quote you’ve already received, or you’d rather skip the guesswork entirely, BrandXpart’s website development team will walk you through exactly what a project like yours should cost and what should be included, with real numbers, not a generic sales pitch.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a website cost in Dhaka?
A basic 5-page business website typically starts around ৳30,000. A standard corporate site with more pages and a blog runs closer to ৳50,000, and a fully custom, advanced-SEO build can run ৳95,000 or more depending on scope.
How long does it take to build a business website?
A basic site usually takes 7 to 10 days. A standard corporate website takes 12 to 15 days. A premium, fully custom build typically takes 18 to 25 days.
Should I hire a freelancer or an agency?
Freelancers can work well for very simple sites on a tight budget, but they carry more risk if they become unavailable mid-project. An agency typically offers more accountability, a defined process, and ongoing support after launch.
Do I need SEO included in my website build, or can I add it later?
Basic on-page SEO, titles, meta descriptions, alt tags, and a sitemap should be part of the initial build. Adding it properly after launch usually costs more than including it from the start.
What’s the biggest mistake business owners make when hiring a web developer?
Comparing prices without comparing scope. A ৳15,000 quote and a ৳50,000 quote aren’t the same project unless you’ve confirmed they include the same pages, features, and SEO setup.