From time to time your website may display a warning about the PHP version being out of date. Before we get into changing the PHP version please note that all versions offered at MDDHosting are regularly patched and are safe to use. There can be performance benefits from running the latest version of PHP so let's learn how to change it!
The first step is to access your cPanel account. If you need help with this please see this article.
Click on "Select PHP Version" under "Software" in your cPanel. You can also use the white search box on the top right of the page. You would search for something like 'PHP' to filter the options to PHP related items.
Inside the Select PHP Version application simply choose the new version from the drop-down list, click the blue 'Apply' button to save. This will change the PHP version for all domains within your account using Select PHP Version.
You also have the option of setting the PHP version for a single domain. This can be useful if you run multiple sites with different PHP version requirements. (Please use cPanel > MultiPHP for this feature, currently the Select PHP Version isolation does not work with our configuration.)
- Choose the "Per Domain Settings' tab near the top of the page.
- Click the switch to turn on "ISOLATION" mode for your chosen domain.
- Choose the PHP version you require from the dropdown list.
Once the new version is applied your site is instantly using the new version. Please note your site may not be compatible with the latest version of PHP. If your site is not compatible it likely will stop working and show a white page. You or your webmaster will need to investigate which portion of the site is not compatible and upgrade where needed. (Generally, it is a plugin or theme causing the issue.) We do have an article that can help you isolate the problematic portion of your site. My site is showing a white page or 500 error!
If you do run into a broken site after updating the PHP Version simply revert to the previous version to resolve the issue.
Please do not hesitate to contact our support team if you have questions or run into issues changing your PHP version.
