To start an online business in Bangladesh, choose a small range of products you can source reliably, price them to cover delivery, Cash on Delivery charges and returns, get a trade licence and the paperwork online sellers need, open courier and bKash or Nagad merchant accounts, and start selling through a Facebook page. Build your own website when repeated questions, manual orders or ads make the page hard to manage. The steps below follow that order.

1. Choose what to sell, and start small

Pick products you understand, can buy again at a steady price, and can describe clearly: size, colour, material, ingredients or volume. Start with 10 to 20 products, not 200. A small range is easier to photograph, stock and advertise, and it tells you quickly what customers actually want.

2. Work out your real price

Many new shops lose money because the selling price only covers the product. Add up everything for one order:

  • Product cost and packaging
  • Delivery charge inside and outside Dhaka, and what you charge the customer
  • The courier’s Cash on Delivery charge
  • Returns and failed deliveries (some orders will come back)
  • Advertising cost per order once you start running Facebook Ads

If the profit after all of this is too small, change the product, the price or the minimum order before you scale.

3. Sort out the paperwork

  • Trade licence from your city corporation, municipality or union parishad.
  • Digital Business Identity (DBID), which the Ministry of Commerce introduced for online and Facebook sellers. Check the current requirements on the official government portal.
  • TIN for tax, and a bank account in the business name if possible. Payment providers usually ask for these when you apply for a merchant account.

Rules and documents change, so confirm the latest requirements with the issuing office before you apply.

4. Set up payments

Most customers still prefer Cash on Delivery, so start with it. For online payment, use a bKash or Nagad merchant account, not a personal number: it looks more professional, keeps business money separate, and is required if you later connect a payment gateway to a website. Apply early, because approval takes time.

5. Open courier accounts

Open merchant accounts with one or two couriers such as Steadfast, Pathao or RedX. Compare delivery charges, COD charges, how quickly they pay out collected cash, and how they handle returns. Keep a simple sheet of every order and its tracking number from day one.

6. Write your shop policies

Decide your delivery time, delivery charges, and return and exchange rules before the first order, and post them on your page. Clear policies reduce arguments and fake orders. See our guide to return and exchange policies for an online shop.

7. Build your Facebook page properly

  • Use the same business name everywhere: page, courier account, merchant account and, later, your website.
  • Post real product photos with price, sizes and delivery information in every post.
  • Pin a post with your policies, delivery charges and how to order.
  • Reply quickly on Messenger and WhatsApp; slow replies lose orders.

8. Know when it is time for your own website

A Facebook page is enough to start. These are the signs you have outgrown it:

  • You answer the same price, size and stock questions all day.
  • Orders are copied by hand from Messenger and mistakes happen.
  • You run Facebook Ads and want a proper product page and checkout to send people to.
  • Customers ask whether you are a real business.

Read more in Facebook page vs e-commerce website. A landing page for one product or campaign is a cheaper first step than a full shop.

9. Grow carefully

Spend a small, fixed amount on ads first, measure cost per order and return rate, and only increase the budget for products that are profitable after delivery and returns. Repeat customers and good reviews matter more than one big sale.

Quick checklist

  1. 10–20 products chosen and sourced
  2. Price checked against delivery, COD charge, returns and ads
  3. Trade licence, DBID, TIN and bank account
  4. bKash or Nagad merchant account applied for
  5. Courier merchant account opened
  6. Delivery, return and exchange policies written
  7. Facebook page with real photos, prices and a pinned policy post
  8. Order sheet with tracking numbers

Common questions in Banglish

Online business kivabe shuru korbo? Olpo kichu product diye shuru korun, delivery ar COD charge dhore dam thik korun, trade license ar DBID korun, courier ar bKash/Nagad merchant account khulun, tarpor Facebook page e bikri shuru korun.

Website chara ki online business kora jay? Ha, Facebook page diye shuru kora jay. Order barle, ad chalale ba bar bar eki proshner uttor dite hole website lagbe.

How we can help

When you are ready for your own website, we build WooCommerce e-commerce websites for ৳16,000 one-time, with Cash on Delivery, bKash/Nagad and courier setup on your own accounts, and landing pages for a single product or campaign for ৳6,000. See what our e-commerce website includes.

About the author: Aura Digital Bangladesh builds e-commerce websites for product businesses in Bangladesh. This article is informational and reflects the service approach used by Aura Digital.