Overview
This article provides information on how to prepare your WordPress site for a new PHP version.
FAQs
Why should I upgrade the PHP version?
PHP is the programming language that powers your WordPress site. DreamHost highly recommends using the latest version of PHP on your WordPress site to ensure optimal performance and security. Additional benefits of staying up-to-date include:
- Access to new features
- Improved error handling
- Enhanced database support
- Compatibility with the latest WordPress versions, themes, and plugins.
What are the benefits of PHP 8?
Please note that not all third-party themes and plugins have been updated to be compatible wit…
Overview
This article provides information on how to prepare your WordPress site for a new PHP version.
FAQs
Why should I upgrade the PHP version?
PHP is the programming language that powers your WordPress site. DreamHost highly recommends using the latest version of PHP on your WordPress site to ensure optimal performance and security. Additional benefits of staying up-to-date include:
- Access to new features
- Improved error handling
- Enhanced database support
- Compatibility with the latest WordPress versions, themes, and plugins.
What are the benefits of PHP 8?
Please note that not all third-party themes and plugins have been updated to be compatible with PHP 8. If your site relies on a specific plugin or theme, make sure you verify that it is PHP 8 compatible before upgrading. You can confirm by checking the official theme or plugin page.
How do I know if I need to upgrade?
It’s important to consider the following factors when determining if your WordPress site requires a PHP version update:
- View the official theme and plugin page as well as support forums to check which versions of PHP they are compatible with.
- Continually check your website’s error logs, the WordPress Debug log, PHP error log, and general warnings, as these could indicate the need for a PHP update.
Also, make sure to regularly check the official WordPress.org website and community forums for any announcements or guidelines related to PHP versions, as they may provide valuable insights on when to update.
Which version should I upgrade to?
DreamHost recommends at least PHP 8.4 since PHP 8.1 has already been deprecated by php.net, and support for it will end soon.
Keep in mind that the latest version is the one that will be supported the longest and has the most current updates to improve performance. If you encounter an issue with the latest version, you can try the next most recent version without much difference in performance or support.
Upgrading PHP
The following steps walk you through preparing and testing your WordPress site before finally upgrading the PHP version.
Prepare your site
Reviewing each of the following is highly recommended for maintaining the security and smooth functioning of your site.
- Apply any pending updates in your WordPress dashboard.
- Review your theme and plugin pages to see if the developer has updated them within the past year. If not, consider finding suitable alternatives or contacting the developer for updates.
- Verify if you have any paid themes or plugins with expired licensing for updates. Renew the licenses or explore alternative options.
- If you have customizations written in PHP, it is recommended to have a developer review them for compatibility with the new PHP version.
- If a staging website is already in use, ensure that you have published any changes you wish to keep first before working on the staging site.
Test the upgrade using a staging site
A safe way to test the new PHP version is to create a staging website. This staging site will duplicate your existing live website, allowing you to run tests to see how it reacts to the new PHP version.
If no errors occur, you can proceed with upgrading your live website.
Upgrade PHP
See this article for instructions on changing the PHP version of your site.