If you manage fundraising pages in Blackbaud Luminate Online®, there is an important change coming that you need to know about as Blackbaud Luminate Online® moves to full HTTPS. This is happening because, starting in October 2026, major browsers will display security warnings on pages still using HTTP instead of HTTPS. Outdated links could stop donors before they ever reach your donation form. In this post, we cover what is changing, the steps you should take now to prepare, what Blackbaud has coming to help with the transition, and our recommendations for making the process as smooth as possible.

What’s Changing, and Why It Matters for Your Fundraising Pages

In October 2026, Chrome 154 will default to “Always Use Secure Connections,” warning users before they visit any non-secure site. A security warning between a donor and your donation page creates friction, and friction costs conversions. Transitioning your links to HTTPS removes that barrier entirely.

What You Need to Do Now

The shift to HTTPS does not have to be overwhelming. Breaking it into focused steps makes it very manageable.

Step 1: Find Out Your Secure Domain

Before updating anything, confirm with Blackbaud what your domain is. In some cases, the secure and non-secure domains are identical — the only difference being https:// versus http://. If that is true for your organization, you can start testing your secure URLs right now by simply swapping http to https in any link. If the pages load correctly, you likely will not need to update links that are already coded into your pages (but will still need to update emails – more below…).

Step 2: Audit Your Links with Link Manager
OR
have Doing Good Digital do an audit of your site.

Blackbaud released Link Manager as part of Luminate Online release 26.1. This tool allows you to locate HTTP links across your system, see exactly where they live, and prioritize which ones need attention first. Start with your highest-traffic pages — active donation forms, campaign landing pages, and any links driving current email traffic.

If you need help running this audit, we can definitely do this for you!

Step 3: Update Email Stationeries and Email Templates

Links embedded in your email stationeries and email templates may not be captured in a broader overhaul, so it is worth reviewing and updating these manually. Ensuring your email templates reference the secure HTTPS links will protect the donor experience across every channel. Keep a particular eye out for the following links:

• email preferences
• view in browser
• unsubscribe

Step 4: Confirm LO Secure is Enabled Before the Full HTTPS Transition

When you reach out to Blackbaud to initiate the Full HTTPS transition, confirm with them that LO Secure is already set up for your account. This is a prerequisite step on Blackbaud’s end, and if it has not been completed yet, it will need to be done first.

Plan for a few additional days in your timeline if LO Secure still needs to be set up. Blackbaud will notify you once it is complete and the full transition can proceed.

What’s Coming from Blackbaud

For organizations with a large volume of links, Blackbaud is releasing a bulk update feature in Luminate Online release 26.2. This will allow you to transition multiple links at once rather than updating them one by one. Once your groundwork is done, you can also contact Blackbaud directly to request the bulk overhaul — they can perform it at any point upon request.

Our Recommendations

As Doing Good Digital continues to follow these requirements closely, here are our recommendations to help you prepare ahead of October 2026 and ensure a smooth bulk overhaul when Blackbaud pushes it out.

• Start working through these steps sooner rather than later, before the bulk overhaul occurs.
• Follow the readiness steps that Blackbaud has provided to ensure you are fully prepared ahead of the transition.
• Once your links are in good shape, reach out to Blackbaud to initiate the bulk transition — they can perform it at any point upon request.
• Build in time after the transition to review your pages and confirm everything carried over correctly.
• Going forward, default to relative links rather than absolute links when adding items like images. This will reduce your exposure to issues like this in future transitions.

We are here to help!

If you are navigating this process and want a second set of eyes or hands-on support, we would love to help. Book a call with the Doing Good Digital team and let’s make sure your fundraising pages are secure, trusted, and ready for your donors.