PHP is an open-source scripting language and it is the backbone of all WordPress websites, themes, and plugins. PHP is a powerful tool for making dynamic and interactive Web pages. It is widely used, free, and an efficient alternative to other scripting competitors. In today’s post, I’m giving four reasons you should update the PHP version on your website.
W3Techs reports that, as of January 2022, “PHP is used by 78.1% of all websites whose server-side programming language we know.” PHP version 8.0 is now the latest version and at the time of this writing version, 8.1 has already been released. PHP 8 was released on November 26, 2020. PHP 8 is a major version and has breaking changes from previous versions.
Update Your PHP Version to Benefit From:
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Better Performance
PHP 8.0 is 18.47% faster than PHP 7.4 in tests with WordPress and came first in WooCommerce tests. There are more than 70% of WordPress users are still on PHP 7.3 or lower. Update to version 8.0 to gain a dramatic edge in speed over your competitors.
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Enhanced Security
Websites using an unsupported PHP version are left vulnerable to unpatched exploits. Update to a newer version of PHP to decrease the chance of a security breach.
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Better Compatibility
The WordPress ecosystem is continually evolving. Employ the latest version of PHP, WordPress, themes, and plugins to improve your website’s compatibility. Before any update, backup up your site and test it for compatibility using a local development tool like a staging environment.
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New Features
PHP 8.0 saw the introduction of the just-in-time (JIT) compiler and improvements to the Constructor Property Promotion, among others. Take advantage of the development and performance opportunities that come with new features.
Does Your Hosting Provider Support the Latest Version of PHP?
If you are using an outdated version of PHP, your website and apps might be hacked. Upgrade today to get the latest security updates. Get a reliable hosting provider that supports the latest version of PHP.
