You keep WordPress up to date.<\/p>\n\n
Plugins are up to date.<\/p>\n\n
The theme is up to date.<\/p>\n\n
So the website must be technically up to date too, right?<\/p>\n\n
Not necessarily.<\/p>\n\n
But underneath WordPress there\u2019s another layer that most business owners rarely see:<\/p>\n\n
PHP.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n PHP is part of the server environment that WordPress runs on. And just like WordPress and plugins, PHP is continuously updated with bug fixes, improvements, and security patches. <\/p>\n\n That\u2019s why it\u2019s worth knowing which PHP version your website uses\u2014even if you never work directly with PHP yourself.<\/p>\n\n PHP is the programming language that a large part of WordPress is built with.<\/p>\n\n When a visitor opens a WordPress page, PHP helps fetch information from the database, process it, and build the page that\u2019s sent to the browser.<\/p>\n\n You don\u2019t need to know how to code in PHP to have a WordPress website.<\/p>\n\n But WordPress depends on PHP working correctly on the server.<\/p>\n\n Put simply:<\/p>\n\n WordPress is the website you work in. PHP is continuously developed.<\/p>\n\n Newer versions can include, among other things:<\/p>\n\n Old PHP versions eventually stop being maintained.<\/p>\n\n When a version reaches end of life<\/em>, the PHP project no longer releases security patches for it.<\/p>\n\n That doesn\u2019t mean the website stops working from one day to the next.<\/p>\n\n But it will keep running on software where new security issues are no longer fixed.<\/p>\n\n In October 2026, the PHP project released an extraordinary security update after two critical vulnerabilities were found.<\/p>\n\n In certain server configurations, they could allow an attacker to run code without first being logged in.<\/p>\n\n Fixed versions of PHP 8.2, 8.3, 8.4, and 8.5 were therefore released, and the PHP project recommended that affected installations be updated immediately<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n What was interesting for WordPress site owners was that the issue wasn\u2019t in WordPress<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n So there wasn\u2019t a WordPress update that could fix it either.<\/p>\n\n It was PHP on the server that needed to be updated.<\/p>\n\n It\u2019s a good example of why it\u2019s not enough to only keep an eye on the WordPress dashboard.<\/p>\n\n Yes.<\/p>\n\n You can easily have:<\/p>\n\n and still be running an old PHP version on the server.<\/p>\n\n PHP is usually managed through your hosting environment\u2014not through the regular WordPress updates screen.<\/p>\n\n That\u2019s why it\u2019s often the hosting provider or the person managing the website who keeps an eye on that part.<\/p>\n\n See also: Should You Update WordPress? Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Ignore Updates <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n You can actually see it directly in WordPress.<\/p>\n\n Go to:<\/p>\n\n Tools \u2192 Site Health \u2192 Info \u2192 Server<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n Here you can, among other things, see which PHP version the website is running.<\/p>\n\n You can usually also find the information in your hosting provider\u2019s control panel.<\/p>\n\n The most important thing isn\u2019t necessarily that you can assess all the version numbers yourself.<\/p>\n\n But if the website is running a very old version, it\u2019s worth looking into why.<\/p>\n\n Not necessarily.<\/p>\n\n It\u2019s much the same principle as with WordPress updates.<\/p>\n\n Newer is good\u2014but changes should still be made in a controlled way.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n An old plugin, a theme, or custom code may depend on functions that have changed in a newer PHP version.<\/p>\n\n If you just switch PHP versions without checking compatibility, the result can be errors\u2014or, in the worst case, a website that no longer works properly.<\/p>\n\n That\u2019s why I would usually:<\/p>\n\n On a webshop or other more complex solution, the testing should of course be more thorough.<\/p>\n\n Sometimes the PHP version isn\u2019t old because someone forgot about it.<\/p>\n\n It\u2019s old because the website can\u2019t be updated without issues<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n An old plugin or theme may not run on a newer PHP version.<\/p>\n\n Then you get the classic situation:<\/p>\n\n PHP should be updated.<\/p>\n\n But something on the website breaks if you do.<\/p>\n\n That\u2019s not a good argument for staying on old PHP forever.<\/p>\n\n It\u2019s more a sign that the part of the website blocking the update should be investigated.<\/p>\n\n PHP versions have a limited support period.<\/p>\n\n At the time of this article, PHP 8.2 only receives security patches and reaches end of life on 31 December 2026<\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n\n PHP 8.3, 8.4, and 8.5 have longer support remaining.<\/p>\n\n That doesn\u2019t mean all websites necessarily need to jump straight to the highest version on the same day.<\/p>\n\n But it does mean that websites on PHP 8.2 should have a plan to move on to a supported version.<\/p>\n\n PHP is one of the reasons hosting isn\u2019t just about disk space.<\/p>\n\n Among other things, the hosting environment needs to keep the server software up to date and make it possible to use supported PHP versions.<\/p>\n\n In the case of critical security issues, the hosting provider may also be the party that needs to respond first.<\/p>\n\n That\u2019s why it\u2019s worth knowing:<\/p>\n\nWhat is PHP?<\/h2>\n\n
Why does the PHP version matter?<\/h2>\n\n
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October 2026 made it very clear why this matters<\/h2>\n\n
An up-to-date WordPress site can still be using old PHP<\/h2>\n\n
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How do you see which PHP version WordPress is using?<\/h2>\n\n
So should you just choose the latest PHP version?<\/h2>\n\n
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Old plugins can also hold PHP back<\/h2>\n\n
What does PHP 8.2 mean right now?<\/h2>\n\n
Hosting plays an important role<\/h2>\n\n