WordPress PHP Version: How to Check and Update It on Any Host

How to check your WordPress PHP version

You don't need a developer for this. Pick whichever of these suits you.

From the WordPress dashboard (easiest). Go to Tools > Site Health, click the Info tab, then open the Server section. The line that says "PHP version" is the one your site really runs. The Status tab on the same screen also warns you when the version is out of date.

From your hosting panel. Every host on the list below shows the current version on the same screen where you change it.

From the command line (advanced). If you use WP-CLI, wp eval 'echo PHP_VERSION;' prints a version. Be careful with it, because it reports the PHP your terminal uses, and on many servers that's a different install from the one serving your site. Site Health reads the version from inside a real web request, so trust it when the two disagree.

Write down the full number, such as 8.3.36, not just 8.3. The last part is the patch level, and it tells you whether your host has applied the latest security fixes.

Which PHP version WordPress needs

WordPress itself recommends PHP 8.3 or newer on its requirements page. It will still install on PHP 7.4, but that minimum exists for old servers that can't move. It isn't a recommendation.

For the full timeline, including PHP 8.6 arriving on November 19, see our guide to the latest PHP version and end-of-life dates.

Key finding

Most hosts let you change the PHP version yourself in under a minute. The safe way is to take a backup, try the new version on staging, then switch the live site and check it.

Before you update PHP

A PHP update rarely breaks WordPress core, which supports PHP 8.1 through 8.5 in its current releases. When something breaks, it's almost always an old plugin or theme. Five minutes of preparation saves a bad afternoon:

1. Take a backup of files and database, or confirm your host's daily backup is recent.
2. Update WordPress, plugins and themes first. Newer releases fix most PHP compatibility problems.
3. Look for abandoned plugins. A plugin with no update in two years is the most likely thing to break. Our guide to abandoned and closed plugins shows how to spot them.
4. Use staging if your host offers it. Switch the staging copy first and click around.
5. Check whether you can go back. Most hosts let you switch back to the old version. Hostinger doesn't let you downgrade outside the same session, and WP Engine removes old versions entirely, so test before you switch there.

How to update PHP on shared hosting and control panels

These steps come from each host's own documentation, linked in every row. Menus change, so if a screen looks different, follow the host's link.

SiteGround deserves a note. Its Managed PHP option, on by default for new accounts, moves your site to a newer PHP once SiteGround considers it mature. If you picked a version by hand, SiteGround leaves it alone, which means nobody moves you off an old version unless you do it.

How to update PHP on managed WordPress hosting

Managed hosts handle the server, but you still choose the version on most of them.

Automatic upgrades sound like the end of the matter, but they cut both ways. A forced jump to a new PHP version can break an old plugin overnight with no warning on your side. Keep an eye on your host's emails, and keep your plugins current so the jump is uneventful.

How to update PHP on your own server (advanced)

On a VPS or dedicated server, the PHP update is yours. Server panels make it a dropdown: SpinupWP has it under the site's Settings, GridPane under the site's PHP tab, and RunCloud in the web application's settings.

Without a panel, on Ubuntu with the widely used ondrej/php repository (Debian uses packages.sury.org):

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
sudo apt update
sudo apt install php8.4-fpm php8.4-mysql php8.4-curl php8.4-gd \
  php8.4-mbstring php8.4-xml php8.4-zip php8.4-intl php8.4-imagick

Before you switch, copy any custom settings such as memory_limit and upload_max_filesize from your old php.ini into /etc/php/8.4/fpm/php.ini. Then point Nginx at the new FPM socket in your site's server block:

fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.4-fpm.sock;

Test the config, reload Nginx, and switch the command-line PHP so WP-CLI and cron jobs run the same version:

sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
sudo update-alternatives --set php /usr/bin/php8.4

On AlmaLinux or Rocky 8 and 9 with the Remi repository:

sudo dnf module reset php
sudo dnf module enable php:remi-8.4
sudo dnf update

On Docker, change the image tag, for example from wordpress:php8.2-fpm to wordpress:php8.4-fpm, and redeploy.

Two things people forget. Restart PHP-FPM after any update, because running workers keep the old code in memory. And turn off expose_php in php.ini, so your server stops telling everyone its exact PHP version in the X-Powered-By header.

After you update: what to check

Spend five minutes on the live site straight after the switch:

1. Load the home page, a post and a page while logged out.
2. Log in and open the dashboard, the editor and your main plugin screens.
3. Test anything that takes input or money: contact forms, checkout, membership sign-up.
4. Open Tools > Site Health and confirm the new version shows.
5. Check the PHP error log for new fatal errors. A burst of deprecation notices is normal and harmless. Fatal errors aren't.

If something breaks, switch back to the previous version from the same screen, then update or replace the plugin that caused it. Developers can scan a codebase ahead of time with PHPCompatibilityWP for PHP_CodeSniffer, which flags code that won't run on a chosen version.

Check your site

Our free scan at wpvanguard.com reports the PHP version your server announces and tells you whether it's missing the latest security fixes. It also checks your plugins against known vulnerabilities and walks through the rest of our WordPress security checklist. If you look after many sites, the weekly patch list keeps the plugin side in view.

References

• WordPress requirements
• PHP compatibility and WordPress versions
• PHP supported versions
• WordPress.org PHP version statistics
• PHP security release, October 21, 2026
• Host documentation is linked in each table row above.