How to update your WordPress PHP to the latest version?
As a website owner, you must update your WordPress PHP version to keep your website secure and fast-loading and fix many issues. PHP is a server-side open-source programming language that renders code and data to the front end, displaying the website you see.
WordPress is primarily built on PHP. When you add posts or create pages, PHP renders the text and images from the database to the browsers along with its HTML and CSS design. It doesn’t just end there—every functionality that WordPress offers as a CMS is made possible through PHP, making it the backbone of WordPress.
Why update PHP in WordPress?
Since everything on a WordPress website functions through PHP—whether it’s the admin backend or the frontend design—using an older version of PHP can lead to many issues.
New PHP versions include important bug fixes, performance increases, and security patches, which can help your WordPress site load faster, run smoother, and stay more secure.
Additionally, PHP is a common target for hackers, so an outdated version can make your website more vulnerable to hacker attacks.
Not updating your PHP version can leave your site exposed to hacking and threats. It can also cause performance issues and compatibility problems, which may limit your ability to update WordPress, cause issues when updating your plugins, or problems with your current plugins.
How to check your current WordPress PHP version
One of the easiest ways to check your PHP version is by navigating to Tools > Site Health in your WordPress dashboard.
Click on the Info tab and expand the Server section to view your current PHP version.
What to do before you update your WordPress PHP version?
Must take a backup
Even though updating your PHP version is necessary for theme and plugin compatibility, some themes or plugins might not work with the latest version, which could break your site or cause issues like critical errors that can make it almost impossible to revert your website back if it causes a serious conflict.
That’s why you must completely back up your website so that if any problems occur, you can easily revert to your previous website version. You can use free plugins like All-in-One WP Migration and Backup or others to take a full backup of your WordPress website.
Update your WordPress theme and files
Update your theme, plugins, and WordPress version before updating PHP to reduce the risk of conflicts or issues after the update.
Use a staging website to update your PHP
This is very important. You don’t want your live site to be affected in any way and give you loss A staging website is a duplicate of your live site used for testing changes before they go live. This helps protect your live website from any potential issues. If you have a staging version of your site, update the PHP version there first to check for compatibility issues or any errors before you update your live website.
Use a localhost website to test the latest PHP
If you don’t have a staging website, you can use software like WampServer to set up a local duplicate of your WordPress site on your computer. This will allow you to test the latest PHP version and check for any known issues without any damage to your live website.
How to update your PHP version in WordPress?
You can update your PHP version through your hosting provider’s control panel.
Go to the PHP Manager, PHP Configuration, or PHP Version tab—depending on your hosting provider’s interface.
Select the latest PHP version.
Click on Update.
Click on Confirm.
What if your theme or plugins don’t support the latest PHP version?
Compatibility issues and errors stem from deprecated code in your current WordPress theme or if any plugin on your site won’t work with your latest PHP version. In such cases, you can wait for an update from your theme provider, ask for support to fix the compatibility issues, or hire an expert to replace the deprecated code and make your theme compatible.
Additionally, you can consider changing your theme if possible. For plugin compatibility issues, either remove them or look for better alternatives that support the latest PHP version.
