Summary
Hercules.app integrated the name.com API in 3 days to offer in-product domain purchase and DNS configuration to its users. Before integrating, customers had to leave the platform to buy and configure domains through third-party registrars — a process that caused drop-off and generated heavy support volume. By feeding the name.com OpenAPI spec directly to an AI coding agent, Hercules' team shipped the integration in a single sprint. Since launch, domain-related support volume has dropped by 80%, and users who connect custom domains correlate with higher lifetime value.
At a glance
| Company | Hercules.app |
|---|---|
| Industry | AI App Builder |
| Use case | In-product domain purchase and management for end users |
| name.com API integration | Shipped in 3 days. Core API functionality built with one-shot AI prompt from OpenAPI spec. |
| Business impact | 80% reduction in domain-related support volume; strong LTV signal from users with connected domains |
About Hercules
Hercules makes it easy to build stunning apps and websites by chatting with AI. Hercules has hundreds of thousands of users, from solopreneurs and hobbyists to marketing teams, agencies, and operators building internal tools.
The problem: The average user is intimidated by domains
Before integrating the name.com API, Hercules customers who were ready to publish to a custom domain had to navigate a fragmented, frustrating process: purchase a domain on a third-party registrar, manually copy DNS records, update nameservers, and wait. The drop-off had a real business impact, and customers who did manage to connect domains often generated a flood of support tickets.
Domains are a s*** show for non-technical people. They have no idea what a domain is, what DNS is, what name servers are, what hosting is. It's the most common support question we get. People have absolutely no idea.
Why name.com: REST API built to OpenAPI spec
As Hercules evaluated the domain infrastructure market, other options either relied on XML-based APIs incompatible with modern AI-assisted development workflows, or lacked a ready-to-use domain purchase API altogether. name.com offered a clean REST API built to OpenAPI specification — self-serve, well-documented, and immediately testable.
"The way developers like to purchase things is to never talk to anyone, ever," Falk said. "It was really just a matter of, 'Is there a REST API with an OpenAPI spec?' And name.com was the only one."
The build: 3 days, AI-driven, one shot
With the decision made, Hercules' engineering team began the integration. The approach was representative of how modern development teams work: feed the API spec into an AI coding agent, write product requirements, and let the agent handle the implementation. The name.com OpenAPI spec made this straightforward — no translation layers, no reverse-engineering of undocumented behavior, no tribal knowledge required.
"AI does all the heavy lifting these days," Falk said. "So as long as your documentation is correct, it's a matter of us defining product requirements, not engineering requirements. We were pretty much able to one-shot it."
Total time from kickoff to production: 3 days. The primary time investment wasn't in the API integration itself. It was in designing the in-product experience: how to surface domain search, present checkout, and display connected domains inside the Hercules UI in a way that felt native to the platform.
The power of in-product domains
Bringing domain purchase inside Hercules didn't just reduce support tickets. It changed the fundamental relationship between users and their product. The Hercules team sees this in their data: there's a strong correlation between users who connect custom domains and drive impactful lifetime value.
Domains are a very core bit of infrastructure for everything that we do. People just love branding, and they are willing to pay so much money for branding because it's a strong differentiator.
An unexpected advantage: Human support when it counts
Hercules chose name.com initially for the self-serve API. What they didn't expect was how valuable direct access to a knowledgeable, collaborative team would be — not for hand-holding, but for the kind of nuanced, contextual questions that documentation can't always answer.
"It was really an unexpected and pleasant surprise to have the (name.com) team be so eager and so helpful," Falk said.
This support dynamic reflects name.com's broader approach to partnerships: self-serve where developers want speed and independence, human-accessible where questions require real expertise.
Results
| Integration speed | 3 days from API key to production. Engineering driven by AI coding agents working from the OpenAPI spec. |
| Developer experience | One-shot integration. No XML, no undocumented quirks. AI agents handled the implementation; humans handled the product decisions. |
| User impact | Custom domain purchase moved entirely in-product. Users no longer need to navigate third-party registrars or manually configure DNS. |
| Business signal | Strong correlation between domain connection and high-value user tiers. Domain access is being expanded to free and trial plans. |
| Support reduction | Anecdotal reduction in domain-related support volume since integration. No more tickets about nameservers and DNS records from users without technical context. |
What it means for builders
Domain infrastructure doesn't have to be a complex, months-long build. With the right API — one that's AI-ready, self-serve, and backed by a team that knows the product — it's a few days of work that closes the gap between "I built something" and "I own something."
This is especially true for the new generation of AI app builders, where deployment is part of the product promise. When users generate an app, they expect to ship it. The question isn't whether your users care about custom domains, it’s whether they can get one without leaving your product.
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