How Val Town made custom domains effortless for developers

A conversation with Steve Krouse, Co-founder of Val Town

8.5K+

Users

100%

API-first solution

450+

Engineering hours saved

0 Hours

Infrastructure maintenance

About Val Town

Founded in 2022, Val Town is reimagining cloud programming as a social experience. It's a platform where developers can write, run, and share TypeScript code directly in their browser - think of it as "GitHub Gists that can run and AWS Lambda that's fun."

The platform enables developers to create APIs, schedule cron jobs, send emails, and persist data with minimal setup. With over 8,500 vals created, it's growing into a vibrant community that makes cloud computing feel more like a social network than a traditional development environment.

The Challenge

Since Val Town is all about making development simpler and faster, we needed an API-first solution that would be easy to integrate and maintain. The traditional approach to SSL and DNS management would have added unnecessary complexity to our codebase.
— Steve Krouse, Co-founder of Val Town

•Need for a reliable system to let users deploy their vals to custom domains
•Avoiding the significant development time that building and maintaining their own custom domain system would require

The Solution

SaaS Custom Domains provided Val Town with a streamlined solution that aligned perfectly with their needs:

•Clean, well-documented API that made integration straightforward
•Minimal code required to add custom domain functionality
•Cost-effective alternative to self-hosting solutions like Caddy
•Responsive support team that quickly implemented needed features like instant DNS verification

Key Results

Faster Development

Dramatically reduced implementation time for custom domain functionality, allowing the team to focus on core features

Zero Maintenance

Eliminated the need for ongoing maintenance and management of custom domain infrastructure

Cost Efficiency

Significantly reduced costs compared to self-hosting alternatives and managing internal solutions

Enhanced Experience

Improved developer experience with instant DNS verification and seamless domain management

Final Thoughts

What really sets you apart is the personal touch - having a trustworthy expert in the space who's great to work with. The API is clean and simple, implementation is quick, and support is solid when you need it.
— Steve Krouse, Co-founder of Val Town

Steve

Hey Steve! Thanks for chatting about Val Town's experience with our custom domains solution. Mind if I ask you a few questions about your journey?

11:23 AM

Happy to share our experience!

11:24 AM

Could you tell us about Val Town? What does your platform do?

11:24 AM

Val Town is a social platform where developers can write, run, and share TypeScript code directly in their browser. Think of it as if GitHub Gists could run and AWS Lambda was fun.

We're making cloud programming as accessible as using a spreadsheet, while maintaining the power of modern cloud computing. Developers can create APIs, schedule functions, and deploy full-stack apps without any setup hassle.

11:25 AM

What challenges were you facing with custom domains before using our service?

11:26 AM

We needed a reliable way to let our users deploy their vals to custom domains. Since Val Town is all about making development simpler and faster, we needed an API-first solution that would be easy to integrate and maintain.

Building and maintaining our own custom domain system would have taken significant development time away from our core features. The traditional approach to SSL and DNS management would have added unnecessary complexity to our codebase.

11:28 AM

How did our solution help address these challenges?

11:29 AM

The clean, well-documented API made integration incredibly straightforward. We were able to add custom domain functionality to Val Town with minimal code.

You're so much cheaper and simpler than hosting Caddy ourselves and dealing with those headaches. Plus, your quick and thorough responses to emails have been crucial for us.

11:31 AM

Were there any specific features that stood out to you?

11:32 AM

The simplicity of the API was the standout feature - it did exactly what we needed without overcomplicating things.

When we needed an instant DNS verification endpoint, you were super responsive in building it out. That really showed us you understand developer needs.

11:34 AM

Would you recommend our service to other companies?

11:35 AM

For sure. If you're looking for a custom domains API that just works and won't slow down your development, this is it.

What really sets you apart is the personal touch - having a trustworthy expert in the space who's great to work with. The API is clean and simple, implementation is quick, and support is solid when you need it.

11:36 AM

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