diff --git a/cmd/start.go b/cmd/start.go
index fb64f380e..bebe86b97 100644
--- a/cmd/start.go
+++ b/cmd/start.go
@@ -95,12 +95,12 @@ var startCmd = &cobra.Command{
 
 		if viper.GetString(syncProviderFlagName) != "" {
 			rtLogger.Warn("DEPRECATED: the --sync-provider flag has been deprecated " +
-				"Docs: https://github.com/open-feature/flagd/blob/main/docs/configuration.md")
+				"Docs: https://github.com/open-feature/flagd/blob/main/docs/configuration/configuration.md")
 		}
 
-		if viper.GetString(evaluatorFlagName) != "" {
+		if viper.GetString(evaluatorFlagName) != "json" {
 			rtLogger.Warn("DEPRECATED: the --evaluator flag has been deprecated " +
-				"Docs: https://github.com/open-feature/flagd/blob/main/docs/configuration.md")
+				"Docs: https://github.com/open-feature/flagd/blob/main/docs/configuration/configuration.md")
 		}
 		// Build Runtime -----------------------------------------------------------
 		rt, err := runtime.FromConfig(logger, runtime.Config{
diff --git a/pkg/logger/logger.go b/pkg/logger/logger.go
index ed34ac3f8..7e60ead33 100644
--- a/pkg/logger/logger.go
+++ b/pkg/logger/logger.go
@@ -188,9 +188,6 @@ func NewZapLogger(level zapcore.Level, logFormat string) (*zap.Logger, error) {
 		},
 		DisableCaller: false,
 	}
-	if cfg.Encoding == "" {
-		cfg.Encoding = "console"
-	}
 	return cfg.Build()
 }