If you run a SaaS you probably know this feeling. You open your inbox or Slack and see the message you dread most.
Site is down again
It hits you in the stomach. Users cannot log in. Payments fail. Support is full of complaints. Investors start asking questions. Every minute offline feels like losing trust you worked so hard to build.
The Pain We Lived Through
One startup we worked with had grown fast. From a few dozen users to a few thousand in months. But the way they deployed was still the same as in the early days. Manual scripts on EC2 servers. Secrets in .env files. No health checks. No plan if something broke.
It worked when they were small. At 5000 users every release felt like rolling the dice. Slack was full of angry client messages.
Login is broken
Checkout failed again
Is your app always this unstable
Founders were exhausted. Instead of building features they spent nights firefighting. They started searching for how to stop SaaS downtime and how to deploy on AWS without fear.
The Turning Point
Finally they said enough. They wanted boring infrastructure. Deploys that just work. Clients that stop complaining. That is when they came to us at Start Matter.
The Fix AWS EKS Kubernetes and ArgoCD
We rebuilt everything with one goal. No more downtime messages from clients.
- AWS EKS cluster across zones so if one zone fails the app stays online
- ArgoCD GitOps so every change lives in Git and deploys happen automatically
- Rolling updates so new code goes live with zero downtime
- Health probes so bad pods never see traffic
- AWS Auto Scaling so traffic spikes do not wake founders at night
- AWS Secrets Manager so no more risky .env files
- Automatic rollbacks so if something fails the system heals itself
Case Study Xperiencify Cost Down Stability Up
Xperiencify asked for help when they were growing fast. Coaches and course creators logged in daily. Launch days and webinars created traffic spikes. Costs were rising and deploys were risky.
What we changed.
- Migrated to AWS EKS with ArgoCD GitOps
- Enabled autoscaling so the cluster grows at peak and shrinks at night
- Added readiness and liveness probes plus rolling updates for zero downtime
- Moved credentials to AWS Secrets Manager via External Secrets Operator
The outcome.
- 30 percent lower monthly AWS cost by removing idle capacity
- 99.99 percent uptime during launches and webinars
- No late night firefighting because the system heals itself
- Developers deploy many times per day without fear
Before every big launch we were stressed. Now it just works and we spend less on AWS
Murray Gray, CEO Xperiencify
How GitOps Works for SaaS on AWS
- Developer pushes code. CI builds a container and pushes it to Amazon ECR
- Git repo updates the image tag in Kubernetes manifests
- ArgoCD detects the commit and syncs the EKS cluster
- Rolling update starts. New pods pass readiness before they receive traffic
- If metrics degrade ArgoCD triggers an automatic rollback
Step by Step SaaS Deployment Workflow on AWS
- Build and push image to ECR
- ArgoCD watches the Git repo
- Rolling update with maxUnavailable 0 and maxSurge 1
- Readiness and liveness probes protect users from bad pods
- HPA scales pods and Cluster Autoscaler scales nodes
- Secrets delivered via AWS Secrets Manager and External Secrets Operator
The Result Peace of Mind
- Uptime at 99.99 percent
- Growth from 500 to 20000 users with no outages
- Black Friday traffic ran smoothly with no night calls
- Developers ship 10 plus times a day without fear
Most important. Clients stopped sending site is down again. One investor who once said the product felt like a toy later called it enterprise grade.
Why This Matters for SaaS Founders
If clients keep complaining about downtime it is not just tech. It is a business risk. Downtime kills trust growth and even funding. You do not need a big DevOps team to fix it. You need the right setup. Kubernetes and ArgoCD on AWS.
FAQ Stop SaaS Client Complaints About Downtime
How do I stop clients from saying site is down again
Use Kubernetes on AWS EKS with ArgoCD GitOps rolling updates and health probes for zero downtime.
Why do founders choose ArgoCD for SaaS
It makes deploys safe auditable and automated so founders stop firefighting and focus on product.
How can SaaS founders reduce stress during deploys
Use HPA and Cluster Autoscaler with AWS Auto Scaling so the system grows and shrinks without manual work.
How to secure SaaS secrets on AWS
Use AWS Secrets Manager or External Secrets Operator. Do not use .env files in production.
Next Step Stop Client Downtime Complaints
At Start Matter we help SaaS teams move from fragile deploys to reliable boring infrastructure. Founders get peace of mind. Clients stop sending angry messages.
