Continuing our theme of Love Your Website month, one of the things that is necessary for love to thrive is security.
We all want our church, ministry or business to be a place that is physically and emotionally safe, so visitors feel comfortable exploring what we have to offer.
The same is true of websites.
When a person visits a website that has a big, glaring “Not Secure” notice at the top, they are not going to want to share any personal information, make a purchase or donation, or invite their friends.
Additionally, if you try to visit a website that doesn’t have an SSL certificate, the Chrome and Firefox web browsers show this scary warning, and require the visitor to go through two additional “Advanced” steps to get to the website. Websites without SSLs are definitely losing a lot of visitors as a result.
But when a person visits a website that has the lock icon indicating the site is secure, they recognize the site is a safe place to share personal information, make a transaction, and recommend the site to others.
Trust creates security and is necessary for building good relationships. -Dan Carroll
For these reasons, we believe an SSL certificate is absolutely essential for every website. Therefore…
Starting April 1, 2022, we will include an SSL certificate and perform the 5 step installation and configuration process for every website/web hosting package we provide. We will also automatically renew the SSL and provide any necessary support for the SSL for the entire time you have your website with us.
To do this, we will be increasing the base price for all web hosting packages by $7/mo ($70/yr for those renewing annually).
For the vast majority of organizations that already have an SSL, your total cost will be lower or the same – your web hosting & SSL will simply be combined into one service. (There are a small number of organizations that got their SSL at a special promotional rate for whom the $70/yr will be a slight increase)
For those organizations that don’t currently have an SSL, the next time after April 1 your website is due for renewal, it will renew at the new price, and we will configure and install your new SSL for you.
One of the trends we’ve observed in web hosting is that many website providers are no longer providing email service, and of those that do many are providing it as an extra service for an additional fee.
This makes a lot of sense because a) some organizations don’t use @YourDomain.com email accounts, and b) providing support for email related issues is the most complicated and time consuming type of support we provide.
Therefore, also starting April 1, email accounts will become an optional add-on.
- 1-3 email accounts: $3/mo, $30/yr or $75 for 3 years
- 4-15 email accounts: $10/mo, $100/yr or $250 for 3 years
- 16-50 email accounts: $25/mo, $250/yr or $625 for 3 years
Email services will include:
- Help with account setup
- Help with sending/receiving email through Gmail or Outlook
- Help with spam/blacklisting issues
Domain Transfers and Registration
For several years we have been getting hit with fee increases from the big domain registrars through whom we register our clients’ domains. Up until now we have resisted increasing our prices to the point where we are actually paying more for some domains than we are charging. So, at this point we have no other option but to increase our domain registration fee to $39.95 for 1 year or $111.95 for 3 years.
Eliminating 2 year options
One final change that will affect only a few of you… we are eliminating the 2 year option for web hosting packages and domain registration. Not many people selected that option, so eliminating it makes things a little bit simpler.
If you previously purchased web hosting or domain registration with a bi-annual plan, for your next renewal, you’ll be invoiced for the annual option.
One of our core values is Outstanding Value. “We believe we are all called to be good stewards of the resources God has given us; therefore we strive to provide quality services that yield benefits that far exceed their cost.”
Thanks for trusting OurChurch.Com with your website and we look forward to partnering with you for many years to come!
Post a Comment & Discuss
- What questions or comments do you have about SSLs and the changes we’re making?
What will be the annual increase for us? We already have the gold hosting with SSL and are using email services. We have already set our church budget for 2022 based on the current prices.
Hi Richard, I’ll look into your account and send you a message with specific details.
Hi Paul, I have been meaning to get a SSL certificate. Is there anyway this can be done before April 1st? Also I think we might have an email with you guys, but it is never used. Will this automatically be dropped? We do not want to renew it. What is the best way to let you guys know that? Thanks, Debra
Hi Debra, yes, you can order an SSL certificate here: https://myocc.ourchurch.com/index.php?rp=/store/hosting-add-ons
Also, you do currently have 1 email account churchoffice@biltmorecog.org (It’s full, by the way). If you don’t want to continue using it, login to MyOCC, click the cPanel button, click the Email Accounts option, check the box next to that email account and then click the Delete button. If there’s anything else we ca do to help, please email our support team at support (at) ourchurch (dot) com, call, or do a live chat.