Two separate jobs, and people mix them up
"I bought the domain, but the site does not show up."
This sentence is heard so often because it is really two jobs.
One, renting the address. Two, telling that address who will show the visitor the page.
The domain company does the first job. The second you have to do yourself, and it is a job of writing one line. Until that one line is added, the domain is bought and held, but it does not take anyone anywhere.
One more thing to say early, because many people rush to buy a domain without knowing it: you do not need a domain to keep a site live. In BanglaCodes, one tap publishes the site at your-name.banglacodes.app, free, up to three at a time. Install, offline and the cart all work there. Buying a domain only makes the name your own. It does not unlock any new features. So publish first and see if it is useful. You can buy the domain later.
A domain is a rental, not a purchase
This needs to be clear from the start. You pay for each year, and if you stop paying you have to give up the name.
A .com usually costs ৳1,000 to ৳1,500 for one year. In the first year it is often heavily discounted, and in the second year it goes back to the regular price. Before you buy, look at the second year's price. That is the real price.
Which extension to take
| Extension | Who it is for | Worth remembering |
| .com | Almost everyone | People assume a site means .com |
| .com.bd or .bd | If you want to stress a Bangladeshi identity | Needs paperwork, takes longer |
| .org | Organisations or non-profits | Not for business |
| Newer ones like .xyz, .shop | Cheap, for hobby work | Less familiar, and people mistype them |
If in doubt, .com. If the name is not available in .com, a slightly different name in .com is better than the same name in another extension, because people type .com anyway.
What makes a good name
Three tests are enough.
Can you say it on the phone? You will have to say it to someone on the phone, and they should be able to write it down without a mistake. Hyphens, numbers and the same letter twice in a row all cause trouble on the phone.
Is it short? The shorter the better, because it fits on a business card and people remember it.
Does it match the business? The name of the shop is the best domain, because whoever searches will type exactly that name.
The costliest mistake
The domain should be in your own name.
Many people tell a developer or agency "you buy it for me", and they buy it in their own account. While the relationship is good, you notice nothing. But if you want to change who does the work, or contact stops, the name of your business slips out of your hands, and there is no easy way to get it back.
Before buying, ask whose name the registration will be in, and whether you hold the account's email and password.
Three jobs right after buying
- Turn on auto-renew. The most common reason for losing a domain is forgetting, not choosing.
- Use an email you check every day for the account. The renewal notices will go there.
- Check that WHOIS privacy is on. If not, anyone can see your name, address and phone number, and sales calls keep coming.
Now, connecting it
Once the domain is bought, the real job is one line. Go into the domain company's panel, find the DNS or "name records" section, and add one line there.
| Field | What to put |
| Type | CNAME |
| Name | @ or www |
| Target or Value | The address shown in our box, exactly as it is |
The CNAME line tells your domain where to send a visitor when one comes. That is all.
Some domain companies do not accept the @ sign. In that case leave the Name field empty or write the domain name, whichever of the two they want.
A TXT line may also be asked for, to prove ownership. It is added the same way, only the Type is TXT and the Value is the long code we give you.
What happens after
A DNS change takes time to spread across the world, usually a few hours, sometimes up to a day. During that time the site will show for some people and not for others, and that is normal.
Once it has spread, the HTTPS padlock comes by itself. You do not buy anything separately. For the first few minutes the browser may show "not secure". That is the time it takes for the certificate to be made.
What to check if you get stuck
| Problem | Usual cause |
| Verification is not working | DNS has not spread yet, press again after 15 minutes |
| It still shows the old site | The earlier A or CNAME line is still there, delete it |
| It works at www but not at the bare domain | The two need separate lines |
| Wrong Target | Copy the whole address exactly, with no blank space at the end |
| No padlock | The certificate takes time to be made, wait a little |
The most common one: the panel already has a line for a "parking" or advertisement page. You have to delete the old one before you add the new line, or two instructions sit together and the browser follows the old one.
A domain and hosting are not the same thing
The domain is the address, hosting is the house. Buying an address does not give you a house.
Here, hosting is a one-time payment, not a yearly rent: for ৳6,999 the site stays live on your own domain, and after that there is no bill. This does not include the domain's rent. You pay that every year where you bought it.
What you get on which plan is written separately in the post on choosing a hosting plan. And what it all comes to in a year is in the post on what a website costs.
It is shown step by step with pictures in the guide to adding a domain.
Questions and answers
Once I buy a domain, does the site come online? No. A domain is only an address. You have to add a CNAME line in DNS to say where that address should point. Until the line is added, typing the domain brings nothing, or an advertisement page of the company's own.
Should I take .com or .com.bd? For most businesses .com, because that is what people assume and they do not mistype it. If you want .com.bd you have to submit paperwork and it takes longer, so choose it only if a Bangladeshi identity matters.
If I buy a domain once, is it mine for life? No, it is a yearly rent. You have to renew every year, and if you do not, the name has to be given up when the term ends. Keeping auto-renew on and giving an email where the renewal notices arrive are both important.
How long does a DNS change take? Usually a few hours, sometimes up to 24 hours. During this time it is normal for it to look different to different people, because the change spreads in steps. Do not change the line again and again, because that makes the time longer.
Does HTTPS or the padlock cost extra? No. Once the domain is connected, the certificate is made by itself and renewed by itself. If the browser shows a warning for the first few minutes, that is the time it takes to be made.
Can I keep more than one site on the same domain? A domain shows one site at a time. If you want separate parts, you can use a subdomain, such as shop.aiinbangla.com, and each one needs its own DNS line.
Can I move the domain from an old site? Yes, and if the domain is already bought you do not need to buy it again. You only delete the old DNS line and add the new one. If the domain is in someone else's account, you first have to get it into your own account.
I cannot get into the domain company's panel. What do I do? Reset the password with that account's email. If you do not have the email either, you will have to get the account into your own name from whoever bought it for you. This is exactly why it matters so much to buy in your own name.
In short
- Buying a domain and connecting it are two separate jobs
- A .com is usually ৳1,000 to ৳1,500 as one year's rent, so look at the second year's price
- Register the domain in your own name; getting this wrong is the costliest mistake
- Connecting means one CNAME line in DNS, and deleting the old line
- It takes a few hours to spread, and HTTPS comes by itself
- The domain is the address, hosting is the house, two separate costs