Stop Wrestling with SSL Certificates for Your Docker Containers

I spent way too many hours in my career dealing with SSL certificates. Generating them, renewing them, debugging "certificate expired" alerts at 2 AM.

When I built SnapDeploy, I made a decision: custom domains should just work. Add your domain, point DNS, done. No certificate management.

The Old Way

Setting up a custom domain for a containerized app typically means:

1. Configure your ingress/load balancer

2. Set up DNS records (and hope you got them right)

3. Generate SSL certificates (Let's Encrypt? ACM? Something else?)

4. Configure automatic renewal (cert-manager? Cron job?)

5. Debug why HTTPS isn't working

6. Get paged when certificates expire anyway

For a simple container deployment, that's ridiculous.

The Simple Way

Here's what custom domains look like on SnapDeploy:

1. Click "Add Domain"

2. Enter api.yourcompany.com

3. Get an IP address

4. Add one A record at your DNS provider

5. Wait 5-10 minutes

That's it. SSL is automatic. Renewal is automatic. No infrastructure to manage.

Why A Records?

Most platforms make you use CNAME records, which don't work on root domains (yourcompany.com). You end up needing "CNAME flattening" or workarounds.

A records just work. Root domain? Works. Subdomain? Works. Every DNS provider supports them.

Real Numbers

PlanCustom DomainsFree0Hobby0Starter2Pro5BusinessUnlimited

Most indie projects need 1-2 domains. The Starter plan covers that.

The Technical Side (If You Care)

Behind the scenes:

• Caddy proxy handles incoming traffic

• Let's Encrypt provides free certificates

• Automatic renewal before expiration

• Zero downtime during certificate updates

But you don't need to know any of this. Just add your domain.

Conclusion

Developers should spend time building products, not managing certificates.

If you're tired of SSL complexity, give SnapDeploy a try. Your next custom domain setup should take 5 minutes, not 5 hours.

Question: What's your worst SSL certificate horror story?