Greetings Slabmedia clients.

Because the web has moved toward https encryption by default, we will be moving all websites hosted with us to https over the next several months.

Please review the following information to prepare for the transition:

• Unless you are a) a business, or b) have special requirements for your SSL certificate, we will move your site to a free, popular, and well-regarded solution called a "Let's Encrypt" (LE) certificate. Technical information about LE certs is available at letsencrypt.org. LE is the de-facto standard for free SSL certificates, and is compatible with all modern mobile and desktop browsers. LE does not support very old browsers, like those on Windows XP or Blackberry Browsers prior to v10, but those platforms are also no longer supported by thier manufacturers and are considered end-of-life. Once the transition is complete, all visitors to your plain http site will be automatically and transparently redirected to the https version of your site.
• If you are a business, have a special need for your site visitors to be able to validate that your organization owns your certificate, or need support for very old broswers not available via the LE certificate, you will need to purchase a certificate. This is typically managed through us, but if you like you can purchase your certificate elsewhere. We will be reaching out to those users who we believe will require purchased certificates over the next several months.

Regardless of whether you purchase a paid certificate or accept a free one, there are several benefits to moving your site to https. Firstly, your users will experience increased privacy as they browse your site, as all thier interactions with your site will be encrypted in transit over the internet. Secondly, as Google is now favoring https sites in thier search results, you will likely see an SEO boost as the result of the changes.  Lastly, popular browsers will soon begin showing a red warning in the address bar if your site is not encrypted.

We believe the move to https for all our sites is in the best interests of all our customers. If for some reason you would like your site to remain unencrypted, please contact us and let us know. Otherwise, enjoy your new SSL cert!

Best regards,

The Slabmedia Team