PHP is an open source programming language and is the most commonly used language in the popular CMS systems used on the web.
For example, WordPress/Woocommerce, Joomla, Drupal and Opencart.
The PHP programming language is constantly evolving and every year a new version is released which then has a life cycle of about 3 years.
During the first two years, the version is actively updated before the last year after that only receives updates for critical security flaws.
After this life cycle of 3-4 years, there will be no more security updates and it is then a security risk to continue using that PHP version (as no critical security flaws are updated anymore).
You can read about the different versions and when their support ends on the PHP website.
Do I need to update my PHP version?
The answer is Yes, your website must use a current PHP version and in connection with the older PHP version stopping receiving security updates, it can be removed from our range and pages using this PHP version are automatically moved up to the next PHP version if you as a customer do not do it yourself. In some cases, the move can be made to an even higher PHP version if the difference between versions is deemed to be small.
We always inform about the upcoming change a few months in advance, but as a customer it is always good to continuously maintain your site during the year and update its components. For example, in WordPress, always make sure that you have the latest version of WordPress, theme and extensions.
The advantages of having the latest PHP are
- Faster website. Later PHP versions mean more optimized code and with that comes faster code execution times.
- Security. Your web is significantly more secure if it is hosted on an actively updated PHP version. You don’t risk being exposed to breaches due to security holes in unmaintained PHP versions and you don’t have to rely on third-party providers to plug these security holes.
- New PHP functions. The new PHP version also means new and improved features. Something that the developers of your CMS also take advantage of when they release new features. You need this new PHP version to take advantage of the new features.
Are there any disadvantages?
A disadvantage of changing the PHP version is that you may have to replace a theme or extension on your website.
Far from all themes and extensions in WordPress, for example, receive continuous updates from their developers and many are abandoned completely.
At https://wordpress.org/plugins/ and https://wordpress.org/themes/ you can search the tens of thousands of free extensions/themes available for WordPress and see when it was last updated. If an extension is causing your site to crash in a newer version of PHP and it’s been 12+ months since the last update, it can only be a good indication that you should replace that extension.
How do I change the PHP version at Websupport?
In your Websupport customer portal, you can quickly switch between the current PHP versions offered.
First, you should ensure that your website is ready:
- Make sure you have updated your website to the latest version of your CMS.
- Remove plugins, themes or other old installations you no longer use.
- Change the PHP version via the Websupport customer panel to check that everything is working properly.
- Fix any problems that have occurred, either by solving them yourself or by asking a developer for help.
You can enable error messages that show which extension module in different ways.
In WordPress, activate debug in the wp-config.php file and in other PHP sites and CMS such as Joomla or Opencart, you can add the following three lines to the page .htaccess file to bring up any errors:
php_flag display_errors on
php_flag display_startup_errors on
php_value error_reporting 2047 - . Then go back to the older PHP version and update or disable/replace the extension(s)/theme(s) that are causing the page to crash.
To change the version, click on the domain you want to change and then select PHP version. The change then takes a few minutes and you can switch back at any time. During the changeover, you will see a small spin when you visit your website that it is being reconfigured. Then you just have to wait and see. Remember to turn off any caching functions on the page during the switch, so that you can see if the switch has made any changes and not be fooled by the server loading a cached page after the switch.
See this guide for a detailed description on how to change your PHP version at Websupport.
