- WordPress Minimum PHP Version
- History
- Historical Data
- WordPress PHP Versions: Best PHP for WordPress in 2023
- 1. Overview
- 2. Supported PHP Versions
- 3. WordPress Current PHP Versions
- 4. WordPress PHP Requirements
- How to Check PHP Version in WordPress Without Plugin?
- 9. Conclusion
- PHP Version Switching
- How to Switch PHP Versions
- Frequently Asked Questions about PHP Version Switching
WordPress Minimum PHP Version
The raw data for this chart is based on the official “Requirements” page in WordPress.org.
In addition, since WordPress 2.9 the required PHP version for each WordPress version is defined in version.php file.
History
WordPress 2.0 was the first version to set a minimum required PHP version – it was decided to use PHP 4.2.
Two years later, on March 2008, WordPress 2.5 was released with upgraded minimum required version – adopting PHP 4.3 [ Source ].
Another two years have passed and on July 2011 WordPress 3.2 bumped the the minimum required version to PHP 5.2.4 [ Source ]. A part of larger process to end the support for PHP 4 and MySQL 4 as of WordPress 3.2 [ Source ].
Nine years later, on May 2019, WordPress 5.2 bumped the minimum required version to PHP 5.6.20 [ Source ].
A year later, on June 2020, the minimum required PHP version was bumped to PHP 7.2 [ Source ]. A decision that will end the support of PHP 5. This should apply only on future WordPress releases.
Historical Data
| 6.2 | PHP version 5.6.20 or greater. | — |
|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | PHP version 5.6.20 or greater. | — |
| 6.0 | PHP version 5.6.20 or greater. | — |
| 5.9 | PHP version 5.6.20 or greater. | — |
| 5.8 | PHP version 5.6.20 or greater. | — |
| 5.7 | PHP version 5.6.20 or greater. | — |
| 5.6 | PHP version 5.6.20 or greater. | — |
| 5.5 | PHP version 5.6.20 or greater. | — |
| 5.4 | PHP version 5.6.20 or greater. | — |
| 5.3 | PHP version 5.6.20 or greater. | — |
| 5.2 | PHP version 5.6.20 or greater. | ▲ |
| 5.1 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 5.0 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 4.9 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 4.8 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 4.7 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 4.6 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 4.5 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 4.4 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 4.3 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 4.2 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 4.1 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 4.0 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 3.9 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 3.8 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 3.7 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 3.6 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 3.5 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 3.4 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 3.3 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | — |
| 3.2 | PHP version 5.2.4 or greater. | ▲ |
| 3.1 | PHP version 4.3 or greater. | — |
| 3.0 | PHP version 4.3 or greater. | — |
| 2.9 | PHP version 4.3 or greater. | — |
| 2.8 | PHP version 4.3 or greater. | — |
| 2.7 | PHP version 4.3 or greater. | — |
| 2.6 | PHP version 4.3 or greater. | — |
| 2.5 | PHP version 4.3 or greater. | ▲ |
| 2.3 | PHP version 4.2 or greater. | — |
| 2.2 | PHP version 4.2 or greater. | — |
| 2.1 | PHP version 4.2 or greater. | — |
| 2.0 | PHP version 4.2 or greater. | ▲ |
| 1.5 | No minimum PHP requirements. | — |
| 1.2 | No minimum PHP requirements. | — |
| 1.0 | No minimum PHP requirements. | — |
| 0.7 | No minimum PHP requirements. | — |
All rights reserved © Extreme Ventures LTD.
WordPress PHP Versions: Best PHP for WordPress in 2023
Different WordPress versions can work with multiple PHP versions. Yet, the platform recommends specific PHP requirements for each WP version. Choosing the best WordPress PHP version is crucial to make sure that the website is secure and free of bugs.
This article discusses the compatibility between PHP and WordPress in terms of the recommended, minimum, and latest PHP versions for WordPress.
IMPORTANT: This article is being checked and updated regularly by our team to reflect the most accurate and up-to-date information. In case you found anything incorrect or inaccurate please don’t hesitate to contact us.
LAST UPDATED: May 04, 2023
In this article:
1. Overview
WordPress substantially relies on PHP to work and operate. Updates for both platforms are being published regularly to fix security loopholes and bring enhancements in usability and performance. Thus, WordPress users have to continuously update their software and confirm its compatibility with supported PHP versions.
WordPress PHP versions depend on the compatibility between WordPress and PHP. As each version of WP requires specific minimum PHP requirements. In this context, this article aims to explore the compatibility of the multiple versions of WordPress with PHP, in light of continuous updates being published on a regular basis for both platforms.
2. Supported PHP Versions
Updates of PHP programming language are being published regularly. The updates usually include bug fixes and security improvements besides other functional and performance enhancements.
When published, each PHP version remains supported for a period of 3 years from its initial stable release , the support period runs over two main successive phases:
- 2-Years Active Support: the support includes fixing BOTH BUGS and SECURITY ISSUES.
- 1-Year Security Support: the support includes fixing ONLY CRITICAL SECURITY ISSUES.
Once the support period is completed (after 3 years), the version reaches its end of life (EOL) and becomes no longer supported. It’s strongly not recommended to use an unsupported version of PHP as it might expose the application using it to security vulnerabilities and bugs.
3. WordPress Current PHP Versions
The official PHP website maintains a specific webpage to check the status of supported versions. Accordingly, the currently supported PHP versions that can be safely used for WordPress are:
PHP Version 7.4– No Longer Supported- PHP Version 8.0(Security Support, ends on 26/11/2023)
- PHP Version 8.1(Active Support, ends on 25/11/2023)
- PHP Version 8.2(Active Support, ends on 08/12/2024)
When an older PHP version runs out of support, it is removed from the list and, usually, a new version with full support is added.
4. WordPress PHP Requirements
In general, WordPress requires specific server requirements, which cover PHP requirements, hosting details, and other software dependencies.
Technically speaking, each version of WordPress has specific PHP versions that it is compatible with. That being said, although the software might work on legacy PHP versions that reached their End Of Life, the platform recommends using only supported PHP versions.
Important: a compatible PHP version is a version that WordPress requires to work properly, regardless of whether it is still supported or not.
Here is a list of the compatible PHP versions for each version of WordPress, knowing that we only consider WP versions that can work with the currently supported PHP versions:
To read our easy guide with pictures to finding PHP version in WordPress without a plugin please refer to this article. In case you are unable to access the admin control panel, you can find the PHP version by accessing your hosting cPanel or consulting your hosting service provider.
How to Check PHP Version in WordPress Without Plugin?
There are many ways to check the PHP version being used by a WordPress installation, usually using third-party plugins. In this article, we will find step-by-step how to check PHP version in WordPress without any plugin.
9. Conclusion
To avoid vulnerabilities and obtain the best performance for your website, WordPress and PHP versions should be always compatible with each other.
In this article, we discussed the PHP requirements of WordPress platform in terms of compatibility and possibly usable PHP versions.
- PHP Supported Versions: https://www.php.net/supported-versions.php
- WordPress Requirements: https://wordpress.org/about/requirements/
- WordPress Server Environment: https://make.wordpress.org/hosting/handbook/server-environment/
- PHP Compatibility and WP Versions: https://make.wordpress.org/core/handbook/references/php-compatibility-and-wordpress-versions/
PHP Version Switching
WordPress.com strives to ensure sites have access to the latest compatible versions of PHP.
Plugin-enabled sites can switch PHP versions when multiple supported versions are available. You can learn what versions we currently support by visiting the PHP environment guide.
How to Switch PHP Versions
- Visit the Settings → Hosting Configuration section of your site’s dashboard.
- In the Web Server Settings section, you can see the version of PHP your site is currently running.
- Click the drop-down to change the version your site runs.
- An Update PHP Version button will appear. Click the button to confirm your changes.
Frequently Asked Questions about PHP Version Switching
What is PHP?
PHP is the programming language that primarily powers WordPress.
What PHP versions do you support?
The versions we currently support can be found by visiting the PHP environment support page at https://wordpress.com/support/php-environment/.
Do I need to switch my PHP version?
No, you don’t need to switch your PHP version. In the event an update to your site’s PHP version is required, this will happen automatically.
Why would I need to change my PHP version?
It’s like updating a plugin, or WordPress, where newer versions will always be helpful. Newer versions of PHP often come with performance improvements that make your site more speedy. Older versions of PHP stop receiving security updates.
The plugins and themes you like to use might require newer versions of PHP.
Are there risks to changing my PHP version?
While we always recommend using the latest stable version of PHP, there can be times when older, more obscure, or poorly created plugins and themes may not yet be compatible with the latest version and may stop working as expected or cause errors. If you change your PHP version and find that it causes issues, you can return to the previous version while we still support it. Still, we recommend contacting the plugin or theme developer to ensure they will update it in the future, as it may become fully incompatible otherwise.
I’m getting an error when I upgrade my site. What can I do?
There may be issues if some of your plugins or theme aren’t updated to work with PHP 8.0. In this case, we recommend you downgrade your PHP version to the previous version, resolving the immediate issue. Then, reach out to the developer of the plugin or theme that isn’t working to let them know they need to update their plugin/theme for PHP version 8.0 so you can upgrade to the recommended version as soon as possible.
Was this guide helpful for you?