PHP 7.4 End of Life
The official support for PHP 7.4 has ended, as the version reached end of life in November 2022. This means it won’t receive new updates, such as fixes for bugs or vulnerabilities. It is highly recommended to update the PHP version of a WordPress site to at least 8.0. However, PHP 8.0 will also reach its end of life later this year, on November 26th, 2023. If possible, site developers should aim to update to 8.1. The PHP version 8.1 will continue being actively supported until November 25th, 2024.
PHP 8.2 Soon Available at Seravo
When updating the PHP version of your WordPress website, it’s crucial to ensure that all installed plugins and themes are compatible with the new version. For us at Seravo, your site’s security and its functionality is of utmost importance to us. This is why we won’t force updates on your WordPress site to a newer PHP version. All sites in our WordPress-optimized hosting and upkeep are monitored and kept secure 24/7.
PHP 8.2 will also be soon available at Seravo. We do not recommend changing the PHP version on your site to 8.2 just yet, as many of the WordPress plugins and themes are not yet compatible with it. (Beta support for PHP 8.2 was added to WordPress core in version 6.1.) Thus 8.2 is intended only for web developer tests and tinkering.
Say Goodbye to Old PHP Versions
In theory, nothing prevents the use of an outdated PHP version on a website. In order to keep your site secure, it is recommended to keep the PHP updated to the latest version still receiving security updates, as this will protect your WordPress from potential vulnerabilities.
Outdated PHP versions are not available at Seravo’s hosting and upkeep: old and insecure versions are removed from WordPress service. Seravo will drop the support for PHP versions 7.0 and 5.6 on July 1st, 2023. Save the date and make sure your WordPress isn’t using these PHP versions!
Old PHP versions 7.0 and 5.6 will be removed from Seravo's hosting and upkeep for WordPress, and will be unavailable starting from July 1st, 2023. The official support for these PHP versions has already ended, during 2018 and 2019.
All currently supported PHP versions at Seravo as well as their important dates can be found on Seravo’s Knowledge Bank.
PHP 8.0 and XML-RPC
In PHP 8.0 the xmlrpc extension won’t be available by default, as it has been moved to PECL (PHP Extension Community Library). In other words, PHP 8.0 alone doesn’t support XML-RPC, and any features using the xmlrpc extension won’t function in 8.0 – unless an additional module is installed. It is worth noting that in PECL the extension has been tagged as abandoned.
As XML-RPC may be used in attacking and hijacking a site, it poses an obvious threat to WordPress security. At Seravo, since 2019, customers have had the option to disable xmlrpc.php altogether directly in WordPress dashboard (see Seravo Plugin, Tools > Security).
For integrations and remote use it is recommended to utilize the WordPress REST API. If continuing the use of XML-RPC on a WordPress site is a must, an additional, alternative library must be installed to enable xmlrpc again. Read the description and documentation on php.watch.
How to Update PHP Version of a WordPress Site?
Seravo offers a command line tool for testing PHP compatibility of your WordPress site (command wp-check-php-compatibility). The PHP itself can also be updated via SSH, or on your site’s WordPress dashboard with a little help from Seravo Plugin (see Tools > Upkeep). See our Knowledge Bank for PHP update instructions.
The file where the PHP version can be changed is found in/data/wordpress/nginx/php.conf. Simply edit this file – don’t forget to restart Nginx with wp-restart-nginx.
Help for Updating PHP
If your site resides in Seravo’s premium hosting and upkeep for WordPress, you don’t have to worry about being left alone with PHP updates. You can either update your site’s PHP version yourself with the help of our instructions, or contact us and let Seravo’s WordPress experts take care of the updating for you!