There’s a new version of PHP in town. Are you ready to upgrade your WordPress website?
PHP 8.2 comes with significant benefits to site performance and health, specifically when it comes to speed and security. These factors directly impact the user experience and SEO, so that’s one great reason for website owners to upgrade.
The other is that support for older versions of PHP has ended – and running a supported version will soon become mandatory for your website’s hosting.
In this article we’ll explain what PHP is (in plain language), how it impacts your website, and why you should get in touch with your WordPress developer ASAP to schedule your upgrade.
What the heck is PHP?
You can find news about the PHP 8.2 release on the PHP site, and plenty of articles that dive into the latest version’s new features and depreciations. But if you’re not a web developer, there’s a good chance it all reads like Klingon.
Here’s what you need to know:
PHP is a programming language in your website’s code, like HTML and CSS
HTML and CSS are client-side languages that, in simple terms, govern how a page looks and acts in the user’s browser
PHP is a server-side language that handles which content is served in response to requests, including interactions and customizations (like form submissions, saved details like location preferences or addresses, and more)
All WordPress websites are built on PHP
When a person clicks a link to your site from anywhere on the internet, the request is sent to your web host via PHP, executed by PHP, and then PHP sends an HTML result back to the user’s browser
Your site’s version of PHP needs to be able to talk to your web host’s version of PHP, or things will go wrong – and all major web hosts are upgrading to PHP 8.2 this year or have already done so
What will PHP 8.2 do for my site?
Everything on your website needs to be updated regularly to keep running smoothly. You can have the most amazing, high-quality website built by brilliant web developers (like us!), and you still have to keep it updated so it can remain amazing and high-quality.
Sometimes upgrades give you new features and capabilities, other times they address bugs or even security vulnerabilities. The urgency of an upgrade is usually dictated by performance problems, security threats, or support expiring.
The PHP upgrade is about all three: there are new features, older versions are now vulnerable to bugs and threats, and support for older versions no longer exists.
- PHP 8.2 reduces overall code, making your pages load faster (happy users!)
- It’s built to be completely compatible with the newest versions of WordPress
- It has enhanced security around known threats
- It’s the oldest version that PHP’s team will continue to update and improve
- Sites using depreciated features from old versions can serve broken pages to users (or the entire site can be broken)
