PHP 7.4 will officially reach end of life on the 28th of November 2022. This means that it will no longer receive security patches and may leave your website exposed to security vulnerabilities. If your website’s hosting server uses PHP 7.4 it is important to update to a more recent version as soon as possible.
The PHP Support Lifecycle
Every major release of PHP has a community support lifecycle of three years. Support has a phase of active support and a phase of security support.
Active Support for PHP
During this phase of support, patches are released to address any security issues and fix bugs. Active support lasts for two years from the date of the initial release.
Security Support for PHP
At the end of the active support phase, there is an additional year of security support. During this phase patches are only released for critical security issues.
PHP End of Life
When the security support phase ends for a particular PHP version, it will ll no longer receive any updates. This includes security patches, bug fixes or any other updates.
Source: php.net
How Does the PHP Version Affect WordPress?
PHP is one of the programming languages that WordPress is built on and the core, themes and plugins use it extensively. Making sure that your web server uses a supported version of PHP is therefore important for both the speed and security of your website.
Some web hosts have already announced that they will be removing PHP 7.4 from their servers. This means that your server may be changed to the latest PHP version (currently 8.1). It’s important to ensure that your WordPress site is compatible with the latest version before this happens. You shouldn’t have any compatibility problems if you’ve kept the WordPress version, themes and plugins updated. You should always check with your hosting provider on the PHP versions they support.
How to Check Your PHP Version in WordPress
You can easily check the PHP version your website uses in the WordPress admin area by navigating to Tools > Site Health. This will bring up the Site Health screen where you’ll need to select the Info tab. Scroll down and expand the server section where you’ll see details about your hosting server and PHP version.
It is not possible to upgrade the PHP version in the WordPress Admin Dashboard as it is set at server level. Please see my article Updating the PHP Version for Your WordPress Website for information on how to update your PHP version.
Remember to do a complete backup of your website before updating your PHP version. Make sure to include all your WordPress installation files, themes, plugins and WordPress database. It is also advisable to test your website’s compatibility with the newer version of PHP in a staging or local environment.
Need Help with PHP and WordPress Updates?
Please feel free to contact us if you experience any problems and need help updating PHP or your WordPress website. Visit our home and services pages for more about us and what we do.
Cimeron Collins
Cimeron is an artist and designer who lives in Edenvale, South Africa. He has more than 30 years experience in the printing and publishing industries.
He is an avid WordPress enthusiast and passionate about learning and experimenting with new developments and technology in website design and development.
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