Wanting to change the PHP version in WordPress usually comes from one of two prompts: a warning in your dashboard nudging you to update PHP, or advice that a newer version will make your site faster and safer. Both are right. PHP is the programming language WordPress runs on, and the version your site uses has a real effect on its speed, its security, and whether your plugins keep working. This guide explains why the version matters, how to check what you’re on, and how to change it without breaking anything.
First — what is PHP, and why does the version matter?
Every time someone visits your WordPress site, PHP is the code that runs behind the scenes to build the page they see. Like any software, PHP is actively developed: new versions come out, and old ones eventually stop being supported. The version you’re running matters for three concrete reasons:
- Speed. Newer PHP versions are meaningfully faster than older ones. Upgrading is one of the rare free speed wins — the same site, the same plugins, simply running on a newer engine, serves pages quicker. If your site feels sluggish, an old PHP version is one of the common reasons a WordPress site is slow.
- Security. Once a PHP version reaches end of life, it stops receiving security fixes. Running an unsupported version means known holes never get fixed — a quiet risk that grows the longer you stay behind.
- Compatibility. Modern plugins and themes are built for modern PHP. Stay on an old version long enough and updates start refusing to run, which pushes you into the far worse position of an out-of-date and unsupported site.
So keeping PHP reasonably current isn’t optional housekeeping — it’s tied directly to how fast and how safe your site is.
How to check your current PHP version
Before you change anything, find out what you’re on. WordPress makes this easy: go to Tools → Site Health, open the Info tab, and expand the Server section. Your PHP version is listed there. The Site Health screen will also warn you outright if you’re running a version that’s outdated or no longer supported.
Before you change it: check compatibility
Here’s the important part. Changing PHP versions is usually smooth, but a big jump can occasionally trip up an old plugin or theme that was written for an older version and never updated. So a little preparation saves a lot of grief:
- Update everything first. Bring WordPress itself, your plugins, and your theme fully up to date. Current versions are the ones most likely to support modern PHP.
- Take a full backup. Files and database, stored somewhere safe, so you can restore if anything misbehaves.
- Test on staging if you can. A staging site — a private copy of your live site — lets you switch PHP versions and check the result before touching the real thing. This is the safest way by a distance, especially for an older or heavily customized site.
If you’re not sure whether your plugins are ready for a newer version, a “PHP compatibility checker” plugin can scan your site and flag code that might not cope with the jump.
How to actually change the PHP version
Here’s a point that trips people up: there is no PHP-version setting inside WordPress itself. WordPress runs on whatever PHP your hosting server provides, so the switch is made at the hosting level, not in the WordPress dashboard. Where exactly depends on your host, but it’s almost always in your hosting control panel — look for a tool named something like “Select PHP Version,” “PHP Settings,” or “MultiPHP Manager.” Inside it you pick the version you want from a list and apply the change; it usually takes effect within a minute or two.
If you can’t find that option, or your host doesn’t expose one, changing PHP is something your host does for you — which is a hint about how much control your plan actually gives you.
What to do if something breaks
The reassuring part: a PHP change is one of the easiest things to undo. If the new version causes an error or a broken page, go back into the same control-panel tool and switch to the previous version — your site returns to exactly how it was. Then you can work out which plugin or theme wasn’t compatible, update or replace it, and try the newer version again. This is also exactly why you took a backup and, ideally, tested on staging: you always have a clean way back.
The managed way: we keep you on a modern, supported PHP
Choosing a PHP version, checking plugin compatibility, testing on staging, and being ready to roll back is a fair bit of care for a change most business owners would rather not think about at all. On our managed WordPress hosting, we handle it: sites run on a modern, supported PHP version, and when it’s time to move to a newer one, that’s part of the maintenance we do for you — applied carefully, with backups underneath and the site verified to still look and work right afterward. You get the speed and security benefits of current PHP without the compatibility homework or the risk of a change gone wrong. Keeping the underlying software current is part of why WordPress is a genuinely secure platform in the right hands.
The bottom line
Changing your PHP version is one of the highest-value, lowest-effort improvements you can make to a WordPress site — faster pages and current security fixes, from a change made in your hosting control panel rather than in WordPress itself. Just do it safely: update everything, back up, test on staging if you can, and keep the option to roll back. If you’d rather skip the homework and simply run on modern PHP without ever thinking about it, that’s what managed hosting is for. See what’s included on our hosting page, or read how to speed up WordPress for the other free performance wins.