I want to talk about something that most website owners don't think about—but they absolutely should. SSL certificates. You know that little padlock icon in your browser? That's SSL doing its job, encrypting your connection and keeping your data safe.
When we built custom domains for Jottings, we faced a decision: make it complicated for our users, or handle the SSL complexity ourselves. We chose the latter, and I'm going to explain how we did it using Cloudflare's SSL for SaaS.
What's SSL and Why Should You Care?
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer, now TLS) is the protocol that encrypts communication between your browser and a server. When you visit a website with HTTPS—see that "S"?—you're using SSL.
Without SSL:
- Your data travels in plain text
- Hackers can intercept passwords, emails, and personal information
- Browsers warn visitors your site isn't secure
- Search engines penalize you in rankings
With SSL:
- Your data is encrypted end-to-end
- Visitors trust your site
- Search engines favor you in search results
- You meet compliance requirements (GDPR, PCI-DSS, etc.)
For Jottings users with custom domains (like blog.example.com), getting an SSL certificate used to be a pain: buy it, install it, renew it annually, manage certificate files. Nobody wanted that friction.
The Traditional SSL Problem
Historically, SSL certificates required:
- Buying a certificate from a certificate authority (CA) like DigiCert or Let's Encrypt
- Configuring your domain's DNS to prove ownership
- Installing the certificate on your web server
- Managing renewals every 1-3 years
- Keeping private keys safe and secure
For a SaaS company like ours, asking users to do all this defeats the purpose of "simple." We needed the SSL to just... work.
Enter Cloudflare SSL for SaaS
Cloudflare's SSL for SaaS product lets us handle all the certificate management on behalf of our users. Here's the beautiful part: our users just point their domain at Jottings and we handle everything else.
When a user adds a custom domain to their Jottings site:
- User adds domain (blog.example.com)
- User adds DNS records (one TXT for validation, one CNAME to point traffic)
- We make one API call to Cloudflare to request a certificate
- Cloudflare validates ownership using the TXT record
- Certificate is automatically issued and deployed globally within minutes
- Certificate auto-renews before expiration—no user action needed
That's it. No purchasing, no installation, no manual renewal. Just a secure site from day one.
How the Magic Happens
Cloudflare's network sits between our users' visitors and Jottings. This gives Cloudflare a special ability: they can automatically respond to certificate validation requests on behalf of any domain pointing to us.
Here's the technical flow:
Certificate Issuance (5-15 minutes):
- Cloudflare receives our API request with the domain name
- A certificate authority (usually Let's Encrypt) challenges the domain
- Cloudflare's edge automatically responds with the validation token
- The CA verifies ownership
- Certificate is issued and pushed to Cloudflare's 300+ global edge locations
- User's site is immediately secured
The TXT record validation is just our way of ensuring the user actually owns the domain. It's a security check that takes minutes to propagate.
Automatic Renewal:
- Cloudflare monitors certificate expiration dates
- 30 days before expiry, renewal process starts automatically
- No user action needed
- Certificate is renewed and deployed before old one expires
- Zero downtime
What Does This Mean for You?
If you have a custom domain on Jottings:
- No cost: SSL is included—no additional fees
- No complexity: Add your domain and point DNS; we handle the rest
- No maintenance: Certificates renew automatically
- Always secure: Your site is encrypted from day one, globally
- SEO benefit: Search engines see your custom domain as secure
Your visitors see that padlock icon immediately. Their connection is encrypted. Their trust in your site increases.
The Global Picture
Cloudflare's infrastructure means your SSL certificate doesn't just exist in one place—it's deployed to edge servers worldwide. When someone visits your Jottings site from Tokyo, Mumbai, or São Paulo, they get the encrypted connection from the nearest Cloudflare edge location.
This is infrastructure that would normally require enterprise-level resources to maintain. We've democratized it.
Why This Matters
This feature represents something I believe in deeply: removing unnecessary friction from creation.
Too many creators avoid custom domains because the technical barrier feels too high. With Cloudflare SSL for SaaS, that barrier disappears. You can own your domain, control your brand, and stay secure—without hiring a DevOps engineer.
That's the Jottings philosophy: powerful features, zero complexity.
The Real Cost
You might wonder: how much does this cost us? Cloudflare's SSL for SaaS requires their Business Plan and above, plus a small fee per hostname (around $2/month per custom domain beyond a certain threshold).
For us, it's worth it. The infrastructure, the global deployment, the automatic renewal management, the security guarantees—all of that would cost thousands of dollars to build ourselves, if we could even do it reliably.
By partnering with Cloudflare, we pass the benefit to you: enterprise-grade security without enterprise prices.
Looking Ahead
As we expand Jottings, custom domains will become even more central to the platform. Some users will want multiple custom domains. Others will want advanced security features like DDoS protection and WAF rules. Cloudflare gives us a foundation to build those features.
All because they solved the SSL problem first.
Try It Out
If you're on Jottings, head to your site settings and try adding a custom domain. Add the DNS records. Within minutes, your Jottings site will be live at your custom domain with automatic SSL.
That padlock icon? That's Cloudflare working behind the scenes, keeping your readers safe, and keeping your mind at ease.
No configuration. No headaches. Just security that works.
Have questions about setting up a custom domain? Check out our help docs or reach out to support. We're here to help make it simple.