PHP 8.2 is now supported on WPhost!

At WPhost, we work hard to ensure our customers have access to the latest versions of PHP, and we typically make those versions available as soon as we’ve completed the necessary testing.

That’s why we’re excited to announce that all new sites created are running on PHP 8.2 and we’ve now made the latest major release available for all WPhost customers who want to update.

Customers using PHP 7.4 can continue using it on existing sites until it’s end of life when security support ends in November 2022. All new sites will be provisioned running PHP 8.2 as the default.

How to update to PHP 8.2

The great news is that the latest WordPress 6.0 version has the most compatibility with the latest PHP version. Making the switch to PHP 8.2 is easy — submit a ticket from your Client Area. Just let us know that you’d like to update to 8.2, and we’ll be happy to help!

We recommend that your active theme and all plugins have been updated before switching. WordPress developers have been hard at work to ensure compatibility with the latest version of PHP and the best experience will happen on the latest version of their work.

What happens when PHP 7.4 reaches end of life?

If you haven’t switched by end of life, your sites will be automatically upgraded to 8.2. We highly recommend that you ensure your sites are 8.2 compatible by this time, as it may cause downtime while you correct any compatibility issues. It is always good practice to double check your code, themes and plugins are compatible with new PHP and WordPress versions. It is your responsibility if you find your WordPress theme is not 8.2 compatible come end of life.

How do I check my site’s PHP version?

Since the release of WordPress 5.2, a new tool called “Site Health” is built into WordPress. Using Site Health, you can check the version of PHP your WordPress site is running.

• How do I check my site’s PHP version?

WPhost offers extended support for PHP 7.4

While we prefer that all of our customers upgrade to the latest versions of WordPress and PHP, we also understand that doing so right now could lead to critical errors on their websites. That’s the last thing we want, but at the same time, WPhost has always worked hard to prevent our customers from using unsupported versions of PHP as it can open up their sites, and our platform, to security risks.

With that in mind, WPhost has invested in ongoing security support for PHP 7.4. This will allow all of our customers to stay on PHP 7.4 through 2024, while still keeping their sites and our platform secure.

While we haven’t determined a deadline for customers to stop using PHP 7.4, we believe additional time will afford them, the wider WordPress community, and individual plugin and theme developers with the time they need to resolve open incompatibilities.

Timeline

20 July 2022: All new sites provisioned are running on PHP 8.1

4 August 2022: Existing customers invited to jump the queue and upgrade to PHP 8.1

15 August 2022: Newsletter inviting all customers to upgrade to PHP 8.1

30 September 2022: Launch of WordPress Staging Sites and invitation for all customers to run PHP 8.1 on a staging copy for testing before upgrading live site

19 October 2022: 4th reminder email sent to all customers detailing action required

20 October 2022: WPhost offers extended support for PHP 7.4

28 November 2022: End of life. Security support ends for PHP 7.4

6 June 2023: 5th reminder newsletter sent detailing action required

11 July 2023: All new sites provisioned are running on PHP 8.2

17 July 2023: Newsletter inviting all customers to upgrade to PHP 8.2