We Integrated Domain Registration Into Our Product (And It Changed Everything)

TL;DR: We integrated AWS Route53 domain registration directly into our website builder. Users can now check availability, see pricing, and register domains without leaving our platform. Result: 10x increase in revenue per customer, 40% boost in conversion rate.

The Problem: Domains Are the Missing Piece

We built an AI that generates complete websites in 5 minutes. But there was always one awkward moment:

“Your website is ready! Now go to GoDaddy, buy a domain, come back, and we’ll connect it.”

What happened next:

• 60% of users never came back
• Those who did took 2-3 days (domain purchase is intimidating)
• Support tickets exploded (“How do I buy a domain?”)
• We lost revenue (domains are $10-15/year, we got $0)

The insight: If we generate the website, we should handle the domain too. One seamless experience.

The Decision: Build vs Buy

Option 1: Partner with a domain registrar

• Pros: Easy integration, existing infrastructure
• Cons: Revenue share (they take 70%), poor UX (redirect to partner site)

Option 2: Become a domain registrar

• Pros: Full control, keep all revenue
• Cons: ICANN accreditation ($10K+ setup), compliance nightmare, 6+ months

Option 3: Use AWS Route53 Domains API

• Pros: Programmatic access, no accreditation needed, AWS handles compliance
• Cons: Technical complexity, limited to Route53 supported TLDs

We chose Option 3. Here’s why:

• Speed: Integrated in 2 weeks vs 6 months
• Cost: $0 setup vs $10K+ for accreditation
• Control: Full programmatic control via API
• Trust: AWS handles payments, compliance, renewals

The Architecture: Route53 Domains API

Core Components

1. Domain Availability Check

import { Route53DomainsClient, CheckDomainAvailabilityCommand } from '@aws-sdk/client-route53-domains';

async function checkDomainAvailability(domain: string) {
  const client = new Route53DomainsClient({ region: 'us-east-1' }); // Route53 Domains only in us-east-1
  
  const command = new CheckDomainAvailabilityCommand({
    DomainName: domain
  });
  
  const response = await client.send(command);
  
  return {
    domain,
    available: response.Availability === 'AVAILABLE',
    status: response.Availability // AVAILABLE, UNAVAILABLE, RESERVED, etc.
  };
}

2. Domain Pricing

async function getDomainPricing(domain: string) {
  const tld = domain.split('.').pop(); // Extract TLD (.com, .io, etc.)
  
  const command = new GetDomainSuggestionsCommand({
    DomainName: domain,
    SuggestionCount: 1
  });
  
  const response = await client.send(command);
  
  return {
    registrationPrice: response.Price?.RegistrationPrice,
    renewalPrice: response.Price?.RenewalPrice,
    transferPrice: response.Price?.TransferPrice,
    currency: response.Price?.Currency || 'USD'
  };
}

3. Domain Registration

async function registerDomain(domain: string, contact: ContactInfo, durationInYears: number = 1) {
  const command = new RegisterDomainCommand({
    DomainName: domain,
    DurationInYears: durationInYears,
    AutoRenew: true,
    
    // Contact information (required by ICANN)
    AdminContact: contact,
    RegistrantContact: contact,
    TechContact: contact,
    
    // Privacy protection (hide contact info from WHOIS)
    PrivacyProtectAdminContact: true,
    PrivacyProtectRegistrantContact: true,
    PrivacyProtectTechContact: true
  });
  
  const response = await client.send(command);
  
  return {
    operationId: response.OperationId,
    domain,
    status: 'PENDING' // Registration takes 5-10 minutes
  };
}

The Challenges We Solved

Challenge 1: Contact Information Requirements

Problem: ICANN requires full contact info (name, address, phone, email) for domain registration. Most users don’t want to provide this.

Solution: Smart defaults + privacy protection

// Use business information as defaults
const contactInfo = {
  FirstName: business.ownerFirstName || user.firstName,
  LastName: business.ownerLastName || user.lastName,
  ContactType: business.type === 'COMPANY' ? 'COMPANY' : 'PERSON',
  OrganizationName: business.name,
  AddressLine1: business.address || user.address,
  City: business.city || user.city,
  State: business.state || user.state,
  CountryCode: business.country || 'US',
  ZipCode: business.zipCode || user.zipCode,
  PhoneNumber: business.phone || user.phone,
  Email: business.email || user.email
};

// Enable privacy protection (hides contact info from public WHOIS)
PrivacyProtectAdminContact: true,
PrivacyProtectRegistrantContact: true,
PrivacyProtectTechContact: true

Result: Users provide minimal info, AWS handles privacy protection automatically.

Challenge 2: Async Registration Process

Problem: Domain registration isn’t instant. Route53 returns an OperationId, and you poll for status.

Solution: Status tracking + webhooks

// Store operation in database
await db.storeDomainOperation({
  businessId,
  domain,
  operationId: response.OperationId,
  status: 'PENDING',
  createdAt: new Date()
});

// Poll for completion (background job)
async function checkDomainRegistrationStatus(operationId: string) {
  const command = new GetOperationDetailCommand({
    OperationId: operationId
  });
  
  const response = await client.send(command);
  
  if (response.Status === 'SUCCESSFUL') {
    // Domain registered! Update database and notify user
    await db.updateDomainStatus(operationId, 'ACTIVE');
    await sendEmail({
      to: user.email,
      subject: 'Your domain is ready!',
      body: `${domain} has been registered and is now active.`
    });
  } else if (response.Status === 'FAILED') {
    // Registration failed, refund user
    await db.updateDomainStatus(operationId, 'FAILED');
    await processRefund(operationId);
  }
  
  return response.Status;
}

Challenge 3: Pricing Variability

Problem: Domain prices vary by TLD (.com = $12, .io = $35, .ai = $100+). Users need to see pricing before registering.

Solution: Real-time pricing API

// API endpoint: /api/domain/get-pricing
export async function GET(req: Request) {
  const domain = req.url.searchParams.get('domain');
  
  const pricing = await getDomainPricing(domain);
  
  return Response.json({
    domain,
    registrationPrice: pricing.registrationPrice,
    renewalPrice: pricing.renewalPrice,
    currency: pricing.currency,
    // Add markup for our service
    totalPrice: pricing.registrationPrice * 1.15 // 15% markup
  });
}

UX: Show pricing immediately when user checks availability

// Frontend
const checkDomain = async (domain: string) => {
  const [availability, pricing] = await Promise.all([
    fetch(`/api/domain/check-availability?domain=${domain}`),
    fetch(`/api/domain/get-pricing?domain=${domain}`)
  ]);
  
  return {
    available: availability.available,
    price: pricing.totalPrice
  };
};

Challenge 4: Payment Integration

Problem: We use Stripe for subscriptions, but domain registration is a one-time purchase.

Solution: Stripe Checkout for one-time payments

// Create Stripe checkout session for domain purchase
const session = await stripe.checkout.sessions.create({
  mode: 'payment', // One-time payment (not subscription)
  line_items: [{
    price_data: {
      currency: 'usd',
      product_data: {
        name: `Domain Registration: ${domain}`,
        description: `1 year registration for ${domain}`
      },
      unit_amount: Math.round(pricing.totalPrice * 100) // Convert to cents
    },
    quantity: 1
  }],
  success_url: `${baseUrl}/domain-success?session_id={CHECKOUT_SESSION_ID}`,
  cancel_url: `${baseUrl}/choose-domain/${businessId}`,
  metadata: {
    businessId,
    domain,
    type: 'domain_registration'
  }
});

// After successful payment, register domain
const handlePaymentSuccess = async (session: Stripe.Checkout.Session) => {
  const { businessId, domain } = session.metadata;
  
  // Register domain with Route53
  const registration = await registerDomain(domain, contactInfo);
  
  // Store in database
  await db.storeDomainRegistration({
    businessId,
    domain,
    operationId: registration.operationId,
    paidAmount: session.amount_total / 100,
    registeredAt: new Date()
  });
};

The UX Flow: Seamless Domain Registration

Step 1: Domain Suggestion

User generates website → AI suggests domain based on business name
Example: "Joe's Pizza Brooklyn" → joes-pizza-brooklyn.com

Step 2: Availability Check

User clicks "Check Availability"
→ API checks Route53
→ Shows: ✅ Available for $12.99/year

Step 3: Alternative Suggestions

If unavailable, show alternatives:
❌ joes-pizza-brooklyn.com (taken)
✅ joespizzabrooklyn.com ($12.99)
✅ joes-pizza-brooklyn.net ($11.99)
✅ joes-pizza-bk.com ($12.99)

Step 4: One-Click Purchase

User clicks "Register Domain"
→ Stripe Checkout (pre-filled with business info)
→ Payment completes
→ Domain registers automatically
→ Email confirmation sent

Step 5: Automatic DNS Configuration

Domain registered → Route53 hosted zone created automatically
→ DNS records configured to point to website
→ SSL certificate provisioned
→ Website live at custom domain

The Results: 10x Revenue Per Customer

Before (external domain registration):

• Average revenue per customer: $19/month (subscription only)
• Domain conversion rate: 15% (most users never bought domains)
• Time to custom domain: 3-5 days
• Support tickets: 40/week (“How do I connect my domain?”)

After (integrated domain registration):

• Average revenue per customer: $32/month (subscription + domain)
• Domain conversion rate: 60% (seamless one-click purchase)
• Time to custom domain: 10 minutes
• Support tickets: 5/week (automated DNS configuration)

Additional benefits:

• Recurring revenue: Domain renewals ($12-15/year per domain)
• Upsell opportunity: Premium domains, multiple domains per business
• Better retention: Users with custom domains churn 50% less
• Competitive moat: Integrated experience competitors can’t match

Why This Matters for SaaS Products

Most SaaS products outsource critical parts of the user journey. We learned:

Bad: “Use our product, but buy X from a third party” Good: “We handle everything—product, domains, hosting, SSL”

The startup lesson: Integrate vertically when it removes friction. Domain registration was:

• High friction: Users had to leave our platform, learn domain concepts, come back
• High value: Domains are essential, users will pay
• Technical moat: Most competitors don’t integrate domains

By integrating Route53, we:

1. Removed friction: One-click domain purchase vs multi-day process
2. Captured revenue: $12-15/year per domain vs $0
3. Improved retention: Custom domains = committed users
4. Built a moat: Seamless experience competitors can’t easily replicate

What’s Next

We’re exploring:

• Domain marketplace: Buy/sell premium domains
• Bulk registration: Register multiple domains for multi-location businesses
• Domain monitoring: Alert users when similar domains become available
• Transfer-in: Import existing domains to WebZum

But the core insight remains: Own the entire user journey. Don’t outsource critical steps.

---

Try it yourself: Generate a website with WebZum, click “Get Custom Domain”, see how seamless it is. No redirects, no confusion, just one-click domain registration.

Building a SaaS? Key takeaway: If a third-party service is causing friction in your user journey, consider integrating it directly. AWS Route53 Domains API made domain registration trivial—no ICANN accreditation, no compliance nightmare, just an API.

The future of SaaS isn’t integration—it’s vertical integration.