The Challenges of Managing Custom Domains and SSL Certificates: A Six-Month Saga for Solo Developers
In the world of SaaS development, providing clients with the flexibility to use their own vanity domains (such as app.clientcompany.com) is often considered a value-added feature. However, behind the scenes, this seemingly straightforward request can pose significant technical hurdles—especially for solo developers or small teams.
Recently, I embarked on a journey to implement custom domain support for a business platform I was building. The goal was simple: enable clients to point their own domains to our service and ensure secure, seamless connections via SSL certificates. What appeared to be a manageable task quickly turned into a six-month ordeal.
The process involved intricate steps such as verifying DNS configurations, automating SSL certificate issuance with providers like Let’s Encrypt, and managing renewals across numerous customer domains. Each phase introduced unexpected complexities—manual interventions, unpredictable renewals, and handling domain validation errors—that drained valuable development time from core product enhancements.
This experience led me to reflect: Is this a widespread challenge faced by other SaaS providers? Do many companies struggle with the technical intricacies of offering custom domains and SSL management?
If you’re involved in SaaS development, I’d love to hear about your approach:
- How do you currently handle custom domain onboarding and SSL provisioning?
- What obstacles or frustrations have you encountered?
- Have you considered developing an automated, self-service system for these tasks? What factors influenced your decision?
- Would a comprehensive portal that automates domain validation and SSL renewals be beneficial in your workflow?
Understanding these pain points can help us all identify potential solutions or improvements. If this resonates with your experience, please share your insights—I’m eager to learn how others are navigating this complex aspect of SaaS infrastructure.
Thank you for your engagement!
