Fundamental basics you need to know to build your organization’s website
You do not have to complete a "web design course" to become a web developer. However, if you want to
✅ create a corporate website that represents your organization, or
✅ build an e-commerce website to expand your product market through the internet, or
✅ develop a specialized website for a specific purpose or to promote specific information,
then you must have a good understanding of some basic concepts. If you don't, you may lose ownership and control of your website at any time. In this article, I will try to discuss each topic step by step.
⭕ What is a Domain? ⭕
Let's look at a few examples of domains:
✅ devilhunter.net
✅ facebook.com
✅ yahoo.com
✅ google.com
✅ tawhidurrahmandear.com
This is your primary address - your identity. Using this address, visitors will be able to find you on the internet. You can think of it like a mobile phone number or a bank account number.
An organization called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is responsible for managing domain names that use extensions such as .com, .biz, .info, .name, .net, .org, and others. Through a limited number of partner organizations under contract with them, domains are sold on a yearly basis.
All sovereign states sell "National Domain" too. For example, in Bangladesh, .bd domains are sold by the government organization BTCL.
Have you decided what your organization's web address (or, in technical terms, domain) should be? A domain must be available. Just as your mobile number belongs only to you, once someone registers a domain name, no one else can register the same one. How to check whether a domain is available or not - you'll learn that shortly in this article.
⭕ What is Hosting? ⭕
Now let's learn about hosting. When you visit a website, you see various images, text, videos, and other content. Naturally, on your own website you will also have images, text, videos, and similar materials related to your organization. To store all these images, text, and videos on the internet, you need space - this is called hosting. This hosting space can be 1 gigabyte, 500 gigabytes, or even unlimited. It's just like renting space in a warehouse to store your goods - the amount of space you rent determines how much you can store. For a standard website, 1 gigabyte is usually sufficient. However, for a news-based website that requires adding new information every day, a large amount of hosting space is needed.
Another important aspect closely related to hosting is bandwidth. In this context, bandwidth refers to the number of visitors your website can handle each month. For a regular website, 100 gigabytes of monthly bandwidth is generally enough. Once the monthly bandwidth limit is reached, visitors may see a blank page or a message such as "Account Suspended" when trying to access the website.
World-leading technology companies (such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, etc.) set up their own hosting servers within their office buildings - much like building their own warehouses. This is an extremely expensive process. However, for ordinary individuals or small to medium-sized organizations like yours or mine, this is not feasible. In such cases, you need to purchase a domain and hosting from a hosting service provider.
Now let's learn how to identify a hosting service provider as the right business partner. Who is trustworthy? Who provides good service?
⭕ How to Buy Domain and Hosting? ⭕
In reality, only a limited number of companies actually sell domain names and hosting. However, worldwide there are countless resellers. Resellers of resellers, and even resellers of resellers of resellers. In third world countries, there are very few truly professional companies that sell (mostly resell) domain and hosting services. Most are "here today, gone tomorrow" type companies. These providers often do not give you access to a control panel (meaning full control). Your website may remain down for four or five days every month, and when you call them during such times, they don't answer the phone. When it's time to renew for the next year, if you discover that they have shut down their business for any reason, you're simply out of luck - because they never gave you full control of your website. Once the term expires, your website will simply disappear from the internet. That's why buying domain and hosting from such low-quality third-party companies - just because they have a flashy website design or because a familiar friend recommended them out of courtesy - comes with a high risk of getting burned. This isn't like buying a shirt or a sharee from a shop and later realizing it's defective. In that case, you might accept losing a few thousands. But a website address is used everywhere: on your visiting cards, leaflets, banners, Facebook ads, TV commercials, and more. If you suddenly lose it at the end of the year, how will you inform all the potential customers who have already memorized your website address about a new one?
In the situations mentioned above, the smartest decision is to buy from globally popular and trusted companies. Who are the most reliable?
✅ BlueHost
✅ GoDaddy
✅ Squarespace
To purchase from these companies, you must have:
✅ An email address, and
✅ An International MasterCard, or PayPal, or Payoneer account.
It should be noted that international transactions are strictly regulated, and using MasterCard in this manner can be quite complicated in some countries. For example, in third world countries, including Bangladesh, some banks issue MasterCards that are labeled "Valid only in Bangladesh." These cards will not work for international transactions. You should tell your bank: "I want to make purchases from international e-commerce websites. I need an International MasterCard."
Government institutions in different countries sell national domain names, but most of their servers are frequently down. Therefore, instead of contacting them, buy your domain names from the popular hosting service providers mentioned above, using extensions such as .com, .biz, .info, .name, .net, .org, etc. Your budget may be slightly higher or lower - but even if it costs a little more, it's better to build a strong foundation than to go cheap. Security comes first.
✅ Domains generally cost $10 - $40 per year.
✅ Hosting usually costs $50 - $500 per year including SSL.
Sometimes, buying hosting may include a free domain, which is fine. However, if someone offers a domain for only $1 without hosting, it's best to avoid them - they usually cause problems the following year.
⭕ Which Programming Language or CMS is the Best? ⭕
In the past, almost all websites were created using a programming language called HTML. Today, modern and professional websites are built using a variety of programming languages. For example, Facebook is built with PHP. (Note: This "language" is not like Bangla, English, Arbi, or Hindi - it's a completely different language that computers can understand.)
You may often hear web developers say they want to build your organization's website using PHP. Most of the time, these developers are not very reliable. Large organizations can build websites using PHP or equivalent programming languages. For instance, Google has only about 49,000 employees, yet they manage PHP-based systems. Even organizations that have their own IT divisions find it difficult to do anything PHP-based. However, if you want to hire someone to create your website once and then update it yourself in the future, PHP is not the ideal solution. For small or medium-sized organizations, the best solution is a Content Management System (CMS).
In many job postings on Facebook, it is often stated that a degree in PHP along with five years of experience is required. However, such a course does not exist anywhere in the third world; especially not in universities of poor or poorer countries. Some institutions do offer two-month courses, but the question is: do they somehow compress five years of education into a two-month "drink" and make students force-drink it? Those who complete two-month courses gain only basic knowledge. Truly skilled professionals do not earn their living by building websites for individual organizations - they are already employed by international companies at very high salaries. Therefore, if a web developer insists on building your organization's website using PHP, you should understand one of two things: either they have only superficial knowledge ("a little learning is a dangerous thing"), or they are deliberately setting things up so that you can never properly control your website. The intention is to ensure that every time your website needs an update, you are forced to rehire the same developer again and again - each time for a hefty fee.
Returning to our earlier discussion: the most popular CMSs are WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. All of these are built using PHP, but they are designed so that once your website is created, you can easily update text, images, links, and other content yourself - without permanently hiring a web developer. You may not be able to create the website from scratch, but with minimal technical knowledge, you can perform updates and minor changes on your own.
Among these CMSs, the most popular is WordPress, used by organizations and individuals such as CNN, The Obama Foundation, Katy Perry, Usain Bolt, Georgia State University, TechCrunch, OpenID, and the Library of Congress. The second most popular is Joomla.
⭕ Which Package should I buy when purchasing Domain and Hosting? ⭕
According to the official WordPress website, the best hosting service is BlueHost. Just as mobile companies in Bangladesh offer different packages - some with 24/7 flat rates, some with 10 "FnF" numbers and higher rates for others - hosting service providers also offer multiple packages. For WordPress, the best package on BlueHost is the one labeled Recommended Package.
Don't forget, no matter who you buy from in the world, this "purchase" must be renewed on an annual basis. You can renew for several years at a time if you are interested, especially domains. You need to renew at least 15 days before the year ends, though it's even better to renew two or three months in advance. If you forget at the last minute due to other work or budget constraints, you could face significant problems. Purchasing this package completes your domain and hosting acquisition process! Next, we will move on to the second step of the related topics. But before that, let's briefly discuss some security considerations.
⭕ Who is the owner of your registered website? ⭕
You. Just as your company belongs to you, your organization's website also belongs to you. No matter how difficult it is, do these first two steps of purchasing a domain and hosting yourself. If you let someone else do it, or use another person's email address or mobile number, you may face serious problems proving ownership in the future.
Imagine you are a Bangladeshi expatriate and you send a large amount of money to your uncle in your village in Bangladesh to buy several acres of farmland. You can't come in person, so the land is registered temporarily in your uncle's name. If he later denies your claim, you won't be able to do anything. Or if he passes away before you return, by law the property will belong to your cousins.
The same risk applies here. You may keep an expert beside you if necessary, but make sure you clearly learn how to change passwords and domain keys, and once that "expert" leaves, change the passwords yourself. Even when entering credit or debit card details, ask the assisting expert to step away. There is nothing to be embarrassed about in doing so.
⭕ Store your Passwords very carefully in a secure place ⭕
✅ Username and password for your email account (which you already have)
✅ Web address, username, and password for accessing the domain control panel (provided by the hosting service provider)
✅ Web address, username, and password for accessing the hosting control panel (provided by the hosting service provider)
✅ Web address, username, and password for accessing the website dashboard to update content (this will be created by the web developer)
✅ Every domain has a domain secret key, which is extremely confidential. It is even more important than a password.
If your hosting service provider gives you a pre‑generated password, you must change it immediately. If you hire a web developer to build your website, give them only the web address, username, and password for the hosting control panel, and once the work is completed, be sure to change the password. Similarly, change the password for the website dashboard. If your website becomes a target of hackers, the responsibility lies with you, because once the web developer finishes the job, their responsibility ends.
Keep your passwords secure, and never use your date of birth, mobile number, or any password that others can easily guess. The best practice is to create a password of at least 12 characters using a combination of:
- CAPITAL letters
Also, always enable mobile phone verification (two‑factor authentication) wherever available. The mobile number you use for verification should be registered in your own name (or, in the case of an organization, in the organization's name or the name of its managing director or CEO).
⭕ Choose a Design for your website ⭕
Usually, the official WordPress website WordPress.org offers many free website design samples for the Content Management System mentioned earlier. These designs are known as WordPress themes, and web developers work based on them. However, let me repeat - cheap has its consequences. All of these free designs are only of "average" quality.
If you want a truly eye‑catching design, you'll need to purchase one from Envato ThemeForest, which is the world's number one marketplace for WordPress themes and other CMS platform's themes. In the search box, you can type the type of website you need - Corporate, eCommerce, Magazine, Blog, Photography, etc. - and then select a design you like. Each theme usually costs between USD 43 and USD 75. This is not an annual fee - once purchased, you can use it for a lifetime. However, a purchased theme can be used on only one website.
⭕ Hire a Full Stack Web Developer ⭕
Before hiring the web developer, make sure you have your company logo, high-quality images, and all text content typed and ready. Logos that are circular or square work best, because profile pictures on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other platforms are usually circular or square. If your logo is rectangular or diamond-shaped, it may be difficult to align properly. Also, visualize how you want the design to look. How many pages will there be? What information will each page contain? Will you have accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube?
If you handle all of this preparation yourself, what will the web developer actually do? Imagine you go to a market that sells all types of meat: chicken, buffalo, beef, goat, quail, etc. You decide what you want to eat. Suppose you choose beef. You also buy the necessary spices and ghee and take them to the cook. You cannot just hand it over; you need to give instructions - do you want it as a stew, kebab, roasted, or a biryani-style dish? The cook then prepares it and serves it to you perfectly.
Now compare the theme you purchased from Envato ThemeForest to the beef. The theme is completely raw - it is unprepared. Your company's logo, high-quality images, and typed text are like spices and ghee. The web developer, like the cook, takes the raw theme and your materials, plus your instructions (how many pages, which content goes where, etc.), and turns them into a fully functional website.
⭕ How much should you pay a Web Developer? ⭕
You can hire a well-known web design company or a freelance web developer. Compare their services calmly and objectively to see who provides the best value. In this case, the developer's job is to create the website and hand it over to you. Later, if you want to update any content, you will either need to do it yourself or hire the developer again.
Here's a general idea of web developer fees by website type:
✅ Corporate - $50 to $500
✅ E-commerce - $100 to $2,500
✅ Online magazine or online newspaper - $50 to $2,500
✅ Photography - $50 to $500
✅ Social network - $100 to $2,500
Why do these costs vary? If you keep things very simple, the cost is low. But if you want additional features, such as:
✅ Creating an email address that matches your domain (e.g., YourName@WebAddress.com)
✅ Social media sharing options
✅ Blog or latest news section
✅ Image gallery with slideshow
✅ Contact form for inquiries
✅ Polls or surveys
✅ Links to Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, YouTube, LinkedIn profiles
✅ Integration with Google and Bing search engines
✅ Displaying your office location via Google Maps
✅ Multi-language support (Bangla or English, with Google Translate support for 90+ languages)
... then the cost will naturally increase. For example, on an e-commerce site, if you provide images and information for 10 products, the rate is standard. But if you provide 250 products, the rate will be higher.
How long will it take? Purchase a theme from Envato ThemeForest or use a free theme from the official WordPress website. Provide your designer with detailed information, images, videos, logos, and instructions on the number of pages and how the website should look. Usually, your website will be ready within one week.
⭕ Conclusion ⭕
Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Do you fully understand it? If your answer is yes, then go ahead and take the next steps. If you do not understand this article, then there's no need to create a website for your organization. The internet has only been around for a few decades, and Facebook even less. For thousands of years, businesses operated without websites, and the sky did not fall. So, if you have the basic capability to manage these technical aspects, move forward. If not, don't waste your money.
