Custom Domains: Jottings vs Competitors

When I built Jottings, I made a bet: most people want to own their platform, but they're terrified of technical configuration. DNS records. SSL certificates. Cloudflare workers. CNAME vs TXT records. For a lot of people, the friction was so high they just accepted a jottings.me subdomain and moved on.

But that's not owning your platform. That's renting a corner of someone else's.

So I spent the last few months figuring out how to make custom domains actually simple. And in doing that, I learned how every other platform makes it unnecessarily complicated.

The Problem Everyone Else Has

Let me walk you through what custom domains look like on other microblogging and publishing platforms. I've tested quite a few, and they all follow the same frustrating pattern.

First: Custom domains are a paid feature. That stings. You're already paying for the platform, and now you want to own your address? That'll be another $50-200/year on top of your subscription. I understand the business logic—custom domains have operational costs. But still, it feels like you're paying twice.

Second: The DNS setup is... let's call it "challenging." You get a list of instructions:

• Log into your domain registrar (GoDaddy? Namecheap? Google Domains?)
• Find the DNS settings
• Create a CNAME record pointing to subdomain.competitor-platform.com
• Or create an A record pointing to an IP address
• Or add a TXT record for validation
• Wait 24-48 hours for DNS propagation
• Hope you didn't make a typo

If something goes wrong, the support documentation is unhelpful and support tickets go unanswered for days.

Third: SSL is slow. Most platforms use basic SSL provisioning that takes 12-48 hours. You add your domain, you wait, you refresh the page every 10 minutes like a kid waiting for Christmas, and finally your site works. During that waiting period? Your site is returning warnings and mixed content errors.

Fourth: If something breaks—if your DNS suddenly points to the wrong place, or your certificate expires—you're on your own. No automatic renewal. No monitoring. No alerts.

Why This Sucks

Let's be real about what this creates for users:

1. Cost barrier: You're paying extra to own your platform
2. Technical friction: Most people don't understand CNAME vs A records
3. Time friction: Waiting 24-48 hours for DNS to propagate
4. Uncertainty: "Is it working yet? Did I do it right? Why am I still seeing an error?"
5. Maintenance burden: Manually checking certificate expiration dates

The result? A lot of people just keep their subdomain and never own their address. They stay dependent on the platform for their URL.

How Jottings Does It Differently

When I was building this, I wanted to solve all four problems at once.

It's included. No extra cost. If you're on Jottings Pro, you get one custom domain. This wasn't a business decision (custom domains have real costs in certificate provisioning and support). It was a philosophical decision: owning your platform shouldn't be a premium feature.

The setup is actually simple. You don't need to understand DNS. Here's the actual user experience:

1. Go to your site settings
2. Click "Add Custom Domain"
3. Enter your domain (blog.example.com)
4. We show you two DNS records to add:
   • A TXT record for validation
   • A CNAME record for routing
5. Add them to your registrar (takes 5 minutes)
6. Click "Check Verification"
7. Done

No waiting for 24 hours. No certificates to manually provision. No complex decision trees.

SSL is automatic and instant. Here's the technical magic: I'm using Cloudflare's SSL for SaaS service. When you add a domain, we create a Custom Hostname in Cloudflare that automatically generates an SSL certificate. Once your DNS records are validated, the certificate is issued immediately. Not 24 hours later—immediately.

This means when someone visits blog.example.com, they see the green lock. No mixed content warnings. No browser errors. Just an instant, secure connection to your site.

Renewal is automatic. You never think about it again. Cloudflare manages certificate renewal behind the scenes. If something breaks, we know about it before you do and fix it automatically.

Verification happens in the background. We don't make you manually trigger a verification check and wait for results. When you load the custom domain page, we automatically verify your DNS setup in the background. The page shows you real-time status—"Pending," "In Progress," "Active." You see what's happening without having to refresh or wonder if you did it right.

The Technical Tradeoffs

I should be honest about what this costs.

Custom domains infrastructure runs about $200/month on the Cloudflare side alone. Add in the support overhead, the automatic verification system, the certificate management, and you're looking at real operational expense. Charging per domain (like competitors do) would be simpler for me financially. Including it for free is not a sustainable long-term decision in isolation—it works because it's part of the larger Pro bundle.

But here's the bet I'm making: if you own your address, you're less likely to leave. You're more invested. You're more likely to keep writing and sharing. So the long-term retention value is worth the short-term cost.

The Real Difference

The fundamental difference between Jottings and other platforms isn't the technology—it's the assumption about who you are.

Other platforms assume: "You're a casual user. DNS sounds scary. We'll charge you extra to handle this complexity for you."

Jottings assumes: "You deserve to own your platform. We'll make the technical parts invisible so you can focus on what matters."

This difference shows up everywhere. In how we approach domain setup. In how we handle certificate renewal. In whether you pay extra or not. In whether we make you wait for verification or do it automatically.

When Custom Domains Matter

You don't need a custom domain. Some of the most successful microblogs run on jottings.me subdomains. Your identity matters more than your URL.

But there are moments when custom domains unlock something:

• You're building a professional site for your portfolio
• You want blog.yourname.com (it looks way better than yourname-blog.jottings.me)
• You're migrating from another platform and need to preserve your existing URL
• You care about SEO and want to consolidate your domain authority
• You're building something you plan to keep for 5+ years and want complete independence

For these cases, Jottings makes it frictionless. No extra cost. No technical knowledge required. Just your domain, your content, your rules.

The Bigger Picture

Custom domains are about more than convenience. They're about ownership. When your platform is at a custom domain you control, the platform works for you. If I shut down Jottings tomorrow (I won't, but hypothetically), your domain is still yours. You can move your content elsewhere and keep your address intact.

That's what true platform ownership looks like.

With a jottings.me subdomain, you're dependent on me. Which is fine if you trust me (and I hope you do). But with a custom domain, you have optionality. You're in control.

This is why I built it into the Pro tier without extra cost. Because I believe everyone deserves that optionality. Not just people willing to pay $50/year extra.

Try It Out

If you have a Jottings Pro site, you can add a custom domain right now. Go to your site settings, click on the custom domain section, and follow the simple setup process. You'll have your domain live within minutes.

And if you don't have a Pro site yet? Create one today and claim your corner of the internet. Not someone else's platform. Yours.

Your domain. Your content. Your rules. That's the Jottings promise.