The Six-Month Struggle with SSL and Custom Domains: A Common Challenge for SaaS Developers?

In the world of SaaS development, offering customers the flexibility to use their own custom domains—like app.customerwebsite.com instead of a shared subdomain—is often a sought-after feature. However, for solo developers and small teams, enabling this functionality can turn out to be a surprisingly complex and time-consuming task, as I recently experienced firsthand.

Over the past six months, I found myself immersed in troubleshooting and building infrastructure to support custom domains with automated SSL certificate issuance and renewal. From DNS validation to integrating certificate authorities, the process proved far more intricate and labor-intensive than initially anticipated. It became a substantial distraction from core product development, highlighting how challenging seamless domain management can be in a SaaS environment.

This experience led me to wonder: Is this a widespread pain point among SaaS providers, especially those who prioritize offering flexible, branded experiences for their clients?

Key questions I’m curious about:
– How are you managing custom domain setups and SSL provisioning for your users?
– What obstacles or hurdles have you encountered along the way?
– Have you attempted to develop an in-house solution? If so, what delays or challenges did you face?
– Would a streamlined, self-service portal that automates domain validation and SSL management be beneficial for your platform?

I’m eager to hear from fellow developers and SaaS entrepreneurs about their experiences. If this resonates and you believe a simplified system could save substantial time and prevent headaches, let’s connect and explore potential solutions.

Thanks in advance for sharing your insights!