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How to Check PHP Version in WordPress in a Few Easy Steps
We all know WordPress is powerful, flexible, and highly customizable. At the same time, it’s also a full-blown application and, therefore, has a complex installation. The complexity of WordPress is reflected in its code, but it’s not always obvious how to WordPress check the PHP version (and your version of PHP, which is often different from WordPress’) without doing a Google search or opening a bunch of log files. But now, you’ll never have to wonder! In this post, we will look into how to do the WordPress PHP version check easily and fast.
How to Check PHP Version in WordPress?
- PHP Version (Why Important) and Why Should It Be Checked?
- How to Check PHP Version – 3 Methods to Choose From
- Updating the Version of PHP
- What are the benefits of updating PHP?
- What is the Latest Version of WP PHP?
- Conclusion
PHP Version (Why Important) and Why Should It Be Checked?
It is extremely important to check your WordPress PHP version on a regular basis. By far, one of the biggest causes of issues for WordPress developers and designers is the combination of old and new versions of PHP. If your theme uses one thing that is available in the latest version of PHP programming language, it probably won’t work well. You might think that your old themes are fine and don’t have WordPress PHP compatibility problems with new versions of PHP, but this can be a costly mistake. By far, the most common PHP compatibility issues are with WordPress plugins, particularly when WordPress was made to function with both versions.
Apart from that, the version of PHP is critical to the safety and security of your WordPress website. If your PHP is not up-to-date, there are potential vulnerabilities waiting to be exploited, and attackers may not have to do much to get control of your WordPress website.
To help you keep up with the latest PHP changes, your goal is to provide updates for all the latest WordPress features, security patches, and updates, including core, themes, plugins, and more. That’s why you should always know the version and update it if necessary. According to a survey, nearly 20% of the users in the world are running outdated versions. If you are one of these users, then you need to fix this as soon as possible.
How to Check PHP Version – 3 Methods to Choose From
Since it is critical to use the latest version of PHP to date for the overall speed and performance of your WordPress website, it’s smart to run a WP PHP version check on a regular basis. This will let you see which version your host is currently running and understand whether it may be time to update to a newer version. Fortunately, there are a handful of solutions for you. Let’s take a look at the 3 ways to check your PHP version in WordPress, namely:
- Using the WordPress site health tool from your project dashboard;
- Checking your hosting control panel specs;
- Creating and uploading a PHP file to your WP directory.
Method 1 – Using the WP Site Health Tool from Your Project Dashboard
It is the quickest way to check your current PHP version in WordPress. You can find the Site Health area under the “Tools” section in your WP admin panel. Once you log into your WordPress admin, go to Tools, navigate to the “Site Health” section, click on “Info”, and tap on “Server.” There, you’ll find the version that your WordPress site is currently running on.
Method 2 – Checking Your Hosting Control Panel Specs
Using your hosting account control panel is a simple, safe, and quick method to check the PHP version of the website. It doesn’t require you to touch any of your site’s files. Every good hosting provider will show your version somewhere in the control panel of your project. It’s not always clearly labelled, so you may need to dive deep into the specific documentation of your web host.
Method 3 – Creating and Uploading a PHP File to Your WP Directory
If you don’t have to explore the cPanel or retrieve the version info from the hosting dashboard of your project, another good option is to use a PHP file. Although this option is a bit more technical than the previous one, it still provides you with fairly quick and easy access to the target information. Here is how it works.
First of all, you need to open a text editor (such as Notepad, Sublime Text, etc.) on your pc, create a new file, and name it phpversion.php. Place the following string in that file:
<?php phpinfo(); ?>Once you save the file, connect to your server using File Transfer Protocol through an FTP client. As an alternative solution, you can also use File Manager on your host. In the root directory of your WP site (/public_html), upload the file that you have just created. Once it is complete, you can view it in your web browser. To do that, type in yourwebsitedomain.com/phpversion.php in the address bar. Make sure that you replace ‘yourwebsitedomain.com’ with the real URL of your WordPress site.
As a result, a window with detailed information about your version will open. For security purposes, we strongly recommend that you delete the phpversion.php file from your directory once you are done with everything.
Updating the Version of PHP
There are many reasons why you need to check the PHP version in WordPress and update it. Here are some of them:
- When you install a new WordPress version, you need to upgrade the version to use some features in the new WordPress version;
- When you have a new theme or plugin, the theme or plugin may be incompatible with your WordPress version. In that case, you can update your WordPress version so that the theme or plugin will work fine with your updated WordPress version.
All in all, by using the latest version, you can add more features and security to your WordPress website. Before you proceed to update your WordPress website with your new version of PHP, you need to enable it. This is because when you update your version in WordPress, your WordPress website will be inaccessible until you turn off the new version. You will be asked to turn off the old version before you turn on the new version.
To update your version, you need to log in to your WordPress dashboard, go to the Plugins section and select the plugins you want to update. When you find the plugin that you want to update, click on “Update Plugin,” then select the desired version, and click on “Install now.” As soon as you update the plugin to the new version, the plugin will automatically be upgraded. Let’s dive deeper into the process.
Step 1 – Go to Your Site’s Dashboard
On your WordPress site, go to Dashboard > Site > Dashboard to find the PHP version.
Step 2 – Update Your WordPress Core Files
On your WordPress site, go to WordPress > Dashboard. The next screen will appear, where you will need to select the “Version Number” option, and the WordPress version will be shown on the next screen. On this screen, click on “Settings” on the left side and select “Updates.”
Step 3 – Install the PHP Update
Click on “Updates” on the left side. On this screen, scroll down to the next section and check the option “Allowed PHP Version.”
Step 4 – Check the WordPress Version
On this screen, scroll down to the next section and check the version number of your WordPress version. If the version number of your WordPress version is the same as the current version in your web server, no action is required. If the version number of your WordPress is different from the current version in your web server, click on “Update WordPress.”
Step 5 – Activate the New Version
On this screen, scroll down to the next section and select the desired version. Then, click on “Install,” and the new version will be activated on your WordPress site and comply with WordPress PHP requirements.
What are the benefits of updating PHP?
- You get better security of your site – The most obvious reason to update PHP is security. Newer versions are more effective at countering hackers because the outdated code is no longer supported;
- You make your websites faster – Newer PHP versions load significantly faster. PHP 8.0 is significantly faster than the previous versions of PHP. It allows for faster execution times and uses less memory;
- You get access to new features and site improvements – As with all updates, a newer version of PHP includes new features and bug fixes, for example, preloading.
What is the Latest Version of WP PHP?
Are you looking for the latest version of WordPress PHP installation? Well, it can be tricky to find the newest version. If you’re going to build a website using WordPress, you should be aware that the PHP that is included with the version of WordPress that you’re using is a version that’s more than a decade old. The latest version of PHP is 8.0. The PHP that is used in the default WordPress installation pack is 5.x, which is a version of the language that was introduced in 2002.
PHP 8.0 is vastly different from PHP 5.x. The former has been around for a number of years, but it has only recently started to be widely used for websites. Many people are now using PHP 8.0 because it’s more modern. On the contrary, PHP 5.x is becoming less and less common because it’s being phased out of use. Many developers are working with PHP 8.0 because they believe it to be better for website building and will continue to do so for many years to come.
The newest version of WordPress is also not going to be updated any time soon. There are some big bugs on WordPress that are currently being worked on. These bugs affect core WordPress functionality, so they are generally not going to be fixed in the near future.
Which PHP version is best for WordPress? It’s generally best to use the latest version of PHP. If you’re using an old version of WordPress, you might not get all the latest versions of plug-ins and themes, and there may be many issues related to the safety of your web project.
Conclusion
If you are stuck with finding the current version of your WP PHP or have problems with your site look, load speed, etc., then you need to make sure that your versions of WP and PHP are compatible with each other. This is where our post will come to the rescue. In this publication, we have explained the importance of having PHP and WordPress that match, talked about the reasons for installing the recent version to run your WordPress site, and outlined how to check WordPress PHP version and update it. So you should not be faced with any issues in this regard.
And by the way, if you need permanent assistance on your WordPress and website, subscribing to one of the WordPress maintenance plans would be a great idea.
