PHP 7.4 reached end-of-life November 2022 – 3+ years without security patches. 35.68% of sites still run it. PHP 8.3 and 8.4 are faster, secure, actively supported. Learn real security risks of EOL PHP, performance gains, and upgrade paths.
Your php hosting provider just sent an automated email: “PHP 7.4 is still supported on your shared hosting account!” Sounds reassuring until you realize PHP 7.4 reached end-of-life on November 28, 2022. That’s over three years without a single security patch. Every vulnerability discovered since then remains unpatched, unfixed, exploitable.
If you’re running PHP 7.4 in 2026, you’re not being cautious or waiting for stability – you’re operating a ticking time bomb. The PHP development team stopped caring about your security 1,176 days ago. Attackers know this. They specifically target EOL PHP versions because exploitation is guaranteed with zero risk of patches arriving.
The hosting industry has normalized this insanity through
two mechanisms: providers defaulting to ancient PHP versions on shared hosting while advertising “full PHP support,” and third-party companies selling “extended support” for dead PHP versions at premium prices, teaching customers that running obsolete software is acceptable if you pay enough.
This article explains exactly which PHP versions are dead, what security risks you’re accepting by staying on them, why hosting providers enable this dysfunction, and how to upgrade without breaking your site. No vendor pitches for “extended support” services – just technical reality about why running EOL PHP is indefensible in 2026.
PHP versions follow a predictable lifecycle: two years of active support receiving bug fixes and new features, followed by two additional years of security-only support. After four years total, the version reaches end-of-life and receives absolutely nothing – no patches, no fixes, no support. The PHP development team moves on. You’re alone.
Here’s the current EOL status as of February 2026. PHP 7.4 died on November 28, 2022 after four years of total support. Security patches stopped flowing 1,176 days ago. PHP 8.0 followed on November 26, 2023, making it 825 days without security updates. PHP 8.1 just reached EOL on December 31, 2025, meaning it’s now in the “recently dead” category with security support officially terminated.
Currently supported versions include PHP 8.2 with security support until December 31, 2026 but active support already ended. PHP 8.3 maintains active support until November 23, 2026 and security patches through November 23, 2027. PHP 8.4, released November 21, 2024, enjoys active support until December 31, 2026 with security updates extending to December 31, 2028. PHP 8.5 shipped in early 2026 and represents the current development branch.
Despite this clear timeline published openly on PHP.net, approximately 35.68% of PHP installations globally still run PHP 7.4 according to the 2025 PHP Landscape Report. That’s over one-third of PHP sites operating on software that stopped receiving security patches three years ago. Another 10% use PHP 7.3 or earlier, which have been EOL even longer. Combined, nearly half of PHP websites run unpatched, unsupported code.
The math is straightforward. If you’re on PHP 7.4, you’ve been vulnerable to every PHP security issue discovered since November 2022 with zero possibility of fixes. If you’re on PHP 8.0, same situation since November 2023. PHP 8.1 just joined the dead pile on December 31, 2025. The window for “we’ll upgrade soon” has closed. You’re now operating fundamentally insecure infrastructure.
Running EOL PHP isn’t a theoretical risk – it’s accepting known, documented, exploitable vulnerabilities with guaranteed no fixes coming. Security researchers don’t stop finding bugs in old PHP versions just because official support ended. They keep discovering issues, but now those issues remain permanently exploitable.
When PHP 7.4 was under active support, security vulnerabilities received patches within days or weeks of discovery. Critical issues got emergency fixes. The PHP security team actively monitored bug reports and coordinated fixes. After November 28, 2022, that stopped completely. New vulnerabilities discovered in PHP 7.4 code get documented, assigned CVE numbers, and… nothing. No patches. No fixes. Just public documentation that attackers read.
Recent PHP security issues demonstrate the ongoing threat. The React2Shell vulnerability (CVE-2025-55182) affected React Server Components frameworks. Livewire RCE (CVE-2025-54068) scored 9.2 on CVSS v4.0, allowing remote code execution in Laravel applications. These aren’t theoretical exploits – they’re actively targeted in the wild. If your PHP version doesn’t receive patches for these issues, you’re exposed indefinitely.
The attack surface expands over time. Three years of unpatched PHP means three years of accumulated vulnerabilities. Buffer overflows, type confusion bugs, deserialization issues, path traversal exploits – all the classic PHP attack vectors get discovered regularly. Supported PHP versions get patched. Your EOL installation stays vulnerable. Attackers maintain databases of known PHP vulnerabilities mapped to specific versions, automating exploitation against hosts running outdated PHP.
Compliance frameworks recognize this reality. PCI-DSS requires systems handling payment data to run supported software with active security patches. GDPR’s security requirements become harder to defend when you’re operating EOL PHP. If a breach occurs and investigators discover you were running PHP 7.4 in 2026, that’s negligence, not bad luck. You consciously chose to operate known-vulnerable infrastructure.
WordPress sites on old PHP face additional risks because plugin and theme vulnerabilities compound with PHP vulnerabilities. A plugin might have its own security issue that’s only exploitable on specific PHP versions. You’re not just vulnerable to PHP bugs – you’re vulnerable to combinations of PHP bugs and application bugs that create attack chains. Defenders need everything patched. Attackers need one vulnerability.
The “but nothing’s happened yet” fallacy is security theater. Attackers don’t announce intrusions. They deploy webshells quietly, inject SEO spam links, steal database credentials, install cryptocurrency miners, and establish persistent backdoors for later use. Your site might be compromised right now and you wouldn’t know until Google flags it for malware or your hosting provider suspends you for sending spam. Running EOL PHP means you have no meaningful security posture – you’re just hoping attackers haven’t noticed you yet.
Security aside, running old PHP means accepting substantial performance degradation. PHP 8.x isn’t incrementally faster than PHP 7.4 – it’s dramatically faster through architectural improvements like JIT (Just-In-Time) compilation, optimized memory handling, and more efficient opcode execution.
Kinsta’s 2025 benchmarks measured WordPress 6.8 performance across PHP versions under identical conditions. PHP 7.4 processed approximately 139 requests per second. PHP 8.5 handled 148 requests per second, representing a 6.6% improvement for the same WordPress installation with zero code changes. That’s pure runtime efficiency gains.
The improvement compounds for complex applications. CodeIgniter 4.6.3 benchmarks showed PHP 8.2 through 8.4 delivering around 1,200 requests per second. PHP 8.5 jumped to 1,874 requests per second – a 54% increase over PHP 8.4 and likely over 60% faster than PHP 7.4. For high-traffic applications processing millions of requests daily, this translates to handling the same load with fewer servers or serving more users with existing infrastructure.
WooCommerce stores benefit significantly from PHP upgrades because checkout processes, product searches, and inventory queries are computationally expensive. E-commerce sites on PHP 7.4 waste CPU cycles on inefficient code execution while competitors on PHP 8.x serve pages faster, reducing cart abandonment and improving conversion rates. The performance difference isn’t academic – it’s measurable revenue impact.
JIT compilation in PHP 8.x delivers its biggest advantages for CPU-intensive operations like complex calculations, encryption, image processing, and PDF generation. WordPress media handling, WooCommerce tax calculations, and membership site permission checks all execute faster on modern PHP. The cumulative effect across thousands of daily requests creates noticeable user experience improvements.
Memory efficiency improved substantially in PHP 8.x through better garbage collection and reduced overhead. PHP 8.3 and newer versions consume 20-40% less memory for identical workloads compared to PHP 7.4. For shared hosting accounts with strict RAM limits, this means handling more concurrent users before hitting memory caps. For VPS deployments, it means running more PHP-FPM workers with the same allocated RAM, increasing throughput without infrastructure costs.
Page speed impacts SEO directly. Google’s Core Web Vitals prioritize fast-loading pages in search rankings. If your competitor runs PHP 8.4 and serves pages 30-50% faster than your PHP 7.4 site, that’s algorithmic advantage. Speed improvements from PHP upgrades don’t require code optimization or expensive CDN services – just running supported software delivers measurable performance gains.
The irony is that hosting providers often sell “performance plans” with more CPU cores and RAM while keeping customers on PHP 7.4. Upgrading to PHP 8.3 delivers better performance than doubling your server resources while staying on ancient PHP. You’re paying for hardware to compensate for software obsolescence that could be fixed with a configuration change.
If PHP 7.4 is demonstrably insecure and slower, why do 35.68% of sites still run it? The answer combines legitimate technical concerns with hosting provider dysfunction and widespread misinformation about upgrade risks.
Legacy code creates real compatibility challenges. Applications built for PHP 5.x or early PHP 7.x may use deprecated functions, rely on removed features, or make assumptions about language behavior that changed in PHP 8.x. Custom code written a decade ago might break on modern PHP without refactoring. For businesses with limited budgets and no dedicated development team, the prospect of debugging compatibility issues feels riskier than accepting security vulnerabilities.
The “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality pervades small business hosting decisions. Sites running for years on PHP 7.4 without obvious problems create false confidence. Owners assume that because nothing visibly broke, the setup must be fine. This ignores invisible security compromises, gradual performance degradation, and accumulating technical debt that eventually forces expensive emergency fixes.
Plugin and theme ecosystems complicate upgrades for WordPress sites. Older plugins designed for PHP 7.x might not be compatible with PHP 8.x, especially if developers abandoned maintenance. Checking compatibility for dozens of plugins creates legitimate work. Some site owners encounter warnings about deprecated PHP functions and assume this means upgrading will break everything, when in reality PHP 8.x includes compatibility layers that allow most code to run with warnings rather than fatal errors.
Hosting providers actively discourage upgrades through terrible UX. Many shared hosting cPanels default to PHP 7.4 with small, easily-missed dropdowns for version selection buried in settings. Some hosts require opening support tickets to enable PHP 8.x. Others automatically “upgrade” accounts to PHP 7.4 from even older versions and present this as modernization. When the default action is doing nothing and changing PHP versions involves confusing control panels or contacting support, inertia wins.
Third-party “extended support” vendors like Zend and TuxCare sell backported security patches for EOL PHP versions, charging $25-30 monthly per site. This teaches customers that running dead PHP is acceptable if you pay extra for private patches. It normalizes security as a premium feature rather than baseline expectation. The message becomes “pay us or stay vulnerable” instead of “upgrade to supported software.” For enterprise sites with complex legacy code, extended support might be legitimate stopgap. For standard WordPress sites, it’s expensive rationalization for avoiding necessary upgrades.
Fear of downtime drives conservative decisions. Site owners worry that upgrading PHP will break something during business hours, causing revenue loss or customer complaints. This fear is understandable but leads to irrational outcomes – accepting permanent vulnerability to avoid temporary risk. The solution is staging environments and testing, not indefinite stagnation on EOL PHP.
Developer shortage creates real bottlenecks. Small businesses often lack in-house technical talent and can’t afford agencies for PHP migration work. If your developer left two years ago and nobody on staff knows PHP, the path to upgrading seems unclear. This is a real problem, but the solution isn’t staying vulnerable forever – it’s finding transitional support through hosting providers, freelance developers, or automated compatibility tools.
The fundamental issue is treating PHP upgrades as optional rather than mandatory maintenance. You wouldn’t run Windows XP in 2026 because “it still works.” You wouldn’t keep using TLS 1.0 because “nothing broke yet.” PHP deserves the same maintenance discipline as operating systems and security protocols. EOL means end-of-life, not “end of convenience.”
Shared hosting providers bear significant responsibility for the PHP 7.4 epidemic through terrible defaults, confusing upgrade paths, and deliberate technical limitations that trap customers on obsolete software.
Many providers default new shared hosting accounts to PHP 7.4 in 2026 despite PHP 8.3 and 8.4 being stable, production-ready, and actively supported. New customers who never touch PHP settings inherit three-year-old EOL software automatically. This isn’t accidental – providers choose conservative defaults to avoid compatibility complaints from the small percentage of customers running ancient applications, sacrificing security for the majority to accommodate the legacy minority.
Control panel UX makes PHP selection unnecessarily difficult. cPanel implementations often bury PHP version selection under “Software” > “Select PHP Version” or “MultiPHP Manager” with no clear indication of which versions are EOL. Users see a dropdown with options like “7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 8.3” without context about support status. Some providers mark recommended versions, but many don’t. The interface treats PHP 7.4 and PHP 8.3 as equally valid choices when one is a security liability and the other isn’t.
Version restrictions on shared hosting tiers create artificial technical limitations. Some budget providers only allow PHP 8.x on higher-tier plans, forcing customers to upgrade hosting plans to access supported PHP. This is pure profit optimization – PHP 8.x doesn’t require more server resources, it’s more efficient than PHP 7.4. Restricting modern PHP to expensive tiers isn’t technical necessity, it’s manufactured scarcity to drive upsells.
Automatic version management policies vary wildly between providers. Some managed WordPress hosts like WP Engine and Kinsta proactively upgrade accounts to supported PHP with advance notice and testing periods. Others like traditional shared hosts leave PHP management entirely to customers, assuming technical competence that most small business owners lack. Still others force upgrades with minimal notice, breaking sites that needed gradual migration.
Extended support offerings from providers like IONOS charge additional monthly fees to maintain EOL PHP with backported security patches. This creates perverse incentives – why invest in smooth PHP 8.x migration workflows when you can charge customers extra to stay on PHP 7.4? Extended support makes sense for massive enterprise applications with years of migration planning. For standard WordPress sites, it’s extracting premium prices for maintaining obsolescence.
The transparency problem compounds everything. Most shared hosting customers don’t know which PHP version they’re running without specifically checking. Providers rarely send proactive notifications when accounts run EOL PHP. The first indication something’s wrong often comes when plugins break due to deprecated functions or security issues surface. By then, the upgrade becomes emergency response rather than planned maintenance.
Hosting providers could solve this through better defaults, clear communication, and automated compatibility detection. Set new accounts to PHP 8.3 or newer by default. Send email notifications when accounts run EOL PHP with links to upgrade documentation. Build staging tools into cPanel for testing PHP changes. Mark EOL versions with clear warnings in version selection dropdowns. Provide automated compatibility scanners that check WordPress sites for known PHP 8.x issues before upgrade.
The reality is that hosting providers profit from customer inertia and technical confusion. Accounts that never upgrade PHP cost nothing in support time. Customers who struggle with PHP management might upgrade to expensive managed hosting plans. Extended support fees generate recurring revenue. There’s no business incentive to make PHP upgrades effortless, so dysfunction persists.
WordPress, the platform powering 48% of websites globally, is forcing PHP upgrade decisions through minimum version requirements that drop support for older PHP. WordPress 7.0, scheduled for release in April 2026 with beta arriving February 19, raises the minimum supported PHP version to 7.4.0 while maintaining a recommended minimum of PHP 8.3.
This might sound contradictory – why raise the minimum to PHP 7.4 when it’s been EOL since 2022? The answer reflects WordPress’s massive installed base and conservative upgrade policies. According to WordPress usage statistics, less than 4% of installations now run PHP 7.2 or 7.3 combined, falling below the project’s historical 5% threshold for dropping support. However, a significant portion still runs PHP 7.4, making immediate deprecation too disruptive.
The practical message is clear: WordPress 7.0 drops PHP 7.2 and 7.3 entirely, meaning sites on those versions won’t receive core updates at all. Sites on PHP 7.4 will technically function but won’t access new features, security improvements, or modern WordPress APIs. The path forward requires PHP 8.3 or newer to benefit from WordPress’s evolution toward AI-driven features, enhanced performance, and improved security architecture.
Other major CMSs are more aggressive. Drupal 10, released December 2022, requires PHP 8.1 minimum. Drupal 11 bumps this to PHP 8.3+. Joomla similarly requires PHP 8.1+ for recent versions. The broader PHP application ecosystem is abandoning PHP 7.x aggressively, creating pressure across platforms.
Framework requirements follow the same trajectory. Laravel 11, released 2024, requires PHP 8.2 minimum. Symfony 7.4 LTS and 8.0, both released in 2026, require PHP 8.2+ and PHP 8.4+ respectively. CodeIgniter 4, CakePHP 5, and other popular frameworks similarly require PHP 8.x. If you’re building new applications or upgrading existing frameworks, PHP 7.4 isn’t an option anymore.
Plugin and theme developers face difficult decisions. Supporting multiple PHP versions creates testing overhead and limits use of modern PHP features. Many developers now target PHP 8.1+ exclusively for new code, accepting that older PHP installations can’t use their products. This creates growing incompatibility where sites on PHP 7.4 find fewer plugins compatible with their setup, further incentivizing upgrades.
WooCommerce, WordPress’s dominant e-commerce plugin with over 8% of internet e-commerce sites, officially recommends PHP 7.4 minimum but suggests PHP 8.x for performance. As WooCommerce adds features and improves performance, PHP 8.x will likely become a hard requirement in upcoming versions. E-commerce sites selling on PHP 7.4 face growing risk of compatibility issues with payment gateways, shipping integrations, and analytics tools that assume modern PHP.
The WordPress ecosystem’s shift toward PHP 8.x creates a compounding effect. Even if WordPress core technically supports PHP 7.4, the practical experience degrades as plugins, themes, and hosting optimizations target newer PHP. Sites staying on PHP 7.4 might technically run WordPress 7.0 but miss performance improvements, security hardening, and feature availability that developers assume PHP 8.x provides.
Testing and staging environments become mandatory for PHP upgrades on production WordPress sites. Most WordPress hosts now offer one-click staging where you can clone your live site, upgrade PHP to 8.3 or 8.4, test all functionality, check for errors, and verify compatibility before applying changes to production. This eliminates the fear of breaking live sites and provides safe upgrade paths.
The bottom line for WordPress users: plan your PHP 8.3 upgrade now, test in staging, and migrate before critical plugins drop PHP 7.4 support entirely. WordPress 7.0’s April 2026 release is a clear signal that the ecosystem is moving on from PHP 7.x. Staying behind means increasing isolation from modern web development.
Beyond security patches and preventing breaches, PHP 8.x delivers tangible improvements in performance, developer experience, and language capabilities that make it objectively superior to PHP 7.4 regardless of security considerations.
Performance improvements start with the JIT (Just-In-Time) compiler introduced in PHP 8.0 and refined in subsequent versions. JIT compiles frequently-executed PHP code to machine code at runtime, eliminating interpretation overhead for CPU-intensive operations. Real-world benefits appear in mathematical calculations, string manipulations, image processing, and encryption tasks. WordPress media uploads, WooCommerce price calculations, and membership site permission checks all execute faster.
Memory efficiency gains in PHP 8.x reduce server RAM consumption by 20-40% for identical workloads compared to PHP 7.4. Better garbage collection, optimized internal structures, and reduced overhead mean PHP-FPM workers handle more concurrent requests with the same memory allocation. For shared hosting with strict RAM limits, this directly translates to supporting more traffic before hitting resource caps.
Type system improvements make PHP code more reliable and easier to maintain. Union types let developers specify that function parameters accept multiple types cleanly. Intersection types enforce that values must satisfy multiple type constraints simultaneously. Named arguments improve code readability by allowing functions to be called with explicit parameter names rather than positional arguments. These aren’t esoteric features – they reduce bugs and improve code clarity in everyday development.
Match expressions introduced in PHP 8.0 provide cleaner syntax than traditional switch statements, returning values directly and using strict comparison by default. Nullsafe operator (?->) simplifies checking nested properties without verbose null checks. Constructor property promotion reduces boilerplate in class definitions. These syntax improvements don’t change what PHP can do, but they make code shorter, clearer, and less error-prone.
String functions gained modern implementations. str_contains(), str_starts_with(), and str_ends_with() provide intuitive APIs for common operations that previously required awkward functions or regular expressions. Array improvements like array_is_list(), array_first(), and array_last() simplify working with data structures. These feel minor until you write code daily and appreciate reduced mental overhead.
Fibers, introduced in PHP 8.1, enable cooperative multitasking for asynchronous programming without callback hell. While most WordPress sites don’t directly use Fibers, frameworks and libraries increasingly adopt them for better concurrency, indirectly improving application responsiveness. The foundational async capabilities position PHP for modern web development patterns.
Error handling became more granular with specific exception types for DateTime operations, JSON encoding/decoding, and other previously error-prone functions. Catching specific exceptions rather than generic errors improves debugging and enables more precise error recovery. Sensitive parameter redaction prevents passwords and tokens from appearing in stack traces, improving security.
Property hooks in PHP 8.4 allow custom getters/setters directly on properties without verbose magic methods. Asymmetric visibility lets properties have different read/write access levels. These features enable cleaner object-oriented code with less boilerplate. Lazy objects support deferred initialization for performance-critical applications. HTML5 DOM API support modernizes XML/HTML manipulation.
Readonly classes introduced in PHP 8.2 ensure immutability for value objects and DTOs, preventing accidental mutation bugs. DNF (Disjunctive Normal Form) types combine union and intersection types for complex type constraints. Random number generation got a dedicated extension with cryptographically secure defaults. These improvements accumulate into better applications.
The cumulative effect of PHP 8.x improvements isn’t revolutionary in any single feature, but transformative in aggregate. Code runs faster, uses less memory, contains fewer bugs, and expresses intent more clearly. The security argument alone justifies upgrading, but the practical benefits make staying on PHP 7.4 indefensible even ignoring security.
PHP upgrades don’t have to break sites if approached systematically with testing and gradual rollout. The fear of downtime is legitimate, but the solution is discipline, not avoidance.
Start by identifying your current PHP version through your hosting control panel, phpinfo(), or WordPress Site Health. Know exactly where you are before planning migration. Check PHP usage statistics for your site to understand which PHP functions and features your code actually uses.
Review WordPress plugin and theme compatibility before touching PHP settings. Most plugin developers list minimum PHP requirements on WordPress.org plugin pages. Premium plugins should document PHP compatibility in their changelogs. If critical plugins don’t support PHP 8.x yet, contact developers for roadmaps or find alternative plugins that do. Delaying upgrade for a single outdated plugin is usually less risky than staying on EOL PHP.
Create a staging environment that mirrors your production site. Most hosting providers offer one-click staging for WordPress. Clone your live site including database, files, and configurations to staging. This gives you a safe test environment where breaking changes don’t affect visitors.
Upgrade staging to PHP 8.3 or 8.4 and thoroughly test all site functionality. Load every page type – homepage, blog posts, product pages, checkout, contact forms, member areas. Log in as different user roles. Test AJAX features, search functions, and dynamic content. Check error logs for deprecated function warnings or fatal errors. PHP 8.x often runs code designed for 7.4 with warnings rather than immediate breakage, giving you specific issues to fix.
Address compatibility issues one at a time. Deprecated function warnings point to code that needs updating. Many WordPress compatibility plugins exist to shim deprecated functionality temporarily while you plan proper fixes. Update themes and plugins to their latest versions – most maintainers have already fixed PHP 8.x compatibility.
For custom code incompatibilities, the most common issues involve removed functions, changed function signatures, strict type handling, and updated error reporting. Most can be fixed with targeted code changes rather than complete rewrites. If you lack development resources, hire freelance PHP developers through Upwork or Toptal for specific compatibility fixes.
Test checkout and payment processing extensively if running e-commerce. Payment gateway integrations, shipping calculations, tax computations, and order processing must work flawlessly. Place test orders through the full transaction flow. Verify email notifications send correctly. Check webhook integrations with external services.
Monitor error logs continuously during testing. PHP’s error_log captures warnings, deprecated notices, and errors that might not surface visibly but indicate underlying issues. Address all logged errors before going live – warnings today become fatal errors in future PHP versions.
Plan staged rollout for production upgrade. If possible, upgrade during low-traffic hours. Have rollback procedures ready – most cPanels allow instant PHP version changes. Monitor site immediately after upgrade for errors, checking logs and testing critical paths. Keep the old PHP version as fallback option if serious issues emerge.
For sites with heavy customization or complex integrations, consider incremental upgrades. Go from PHP 7.4 to 8.0, test thoroughly, then to 8.1, test again, then to 8.3 or 8.4. Each step introduces breaking changes that are easier to diagnose separately than jumping directly from 7.4 to 8.4 and facing accumulated compatibility issues.
Document your upgrade process and issues encountered. This helps future upgrades and creates institutional knowledge. Track which plugins required updates, which custom code needed fixes, and which third-party services caused integration problems. Next time PHP upgrades are due, you’ll have a template.
Budget for professional help if needed. Most WordPress agencies offer PHP upgrade services. Costs vary but typically range from a few hundred dollars for straightforward sites to thousands for complex custom applications. This is cheaper than emergency recovery from security breaches or extended support subscriptions that just delay the inevitable.
The fundamental principle is testing before production. Never upgrade PHP on live sites without verifying everything works in staging first. Fear of breaking things is rational. Breaking things in staging and fixing them before production is professional. Breaking things in production is avoidable negligence.
At WebHostMost, we believe modern PHP shouldn’t be a premium feature – it’s baseline responsible hosting. Our shared hosting plans default to PHP 8.3 for new accounts, with PHP 8.4 available in MultiPHP Manager for customers who want bleeding-edge. We don’t charge extra for accessing supported PHP versions. We don’t sell extended support for dead PHP. We make running modern software the path of least resistance.
Our DirectAdmin control panel provides clear PHP version selection without buried settings or confusing terminology. The PHP Version dropdown shows current version, support status, and EOL dates clearly. If you’re running EOL PHP, DirectAdmin displays warnings recommending upgrade to supported versions. No obfuscation, no technical jargon – just honest communication about which PHP versions receive security patches.
We maintain staging tools built into DirectAdmin for testing PHP changes safely. Create staging copy of your live site, switch staging to PHP 8.4, test thoroughly, then apply changes to production with one click. The workflow eliminates fear of breaking live sites while upgrading PHP.
Proactive notifications keep customers informed about PHP status. If your account runs PHP approaching EOL, we send email alerts 90 days before support ends with upgrade instructions and compatibility resources. We don’t wait until after EOL to notify you – that’s too late. Advance warning enables planned upgrades instead of emergency fixes.
Migration assistance helps customers stuck on old PHP due to compatibility issues. Our support team can review WordPress installations for PHP 8.x compatibility, identify problematic plugins, and suggest alternatives. We don’t upsell to managed services or force expensive consulting – we help customers upgrade within their existing hosting plans.
We refuse to profit from customer security negligence. Some providers charge premium fees for keeping customers on EOL PHP through extended support contracts. We view this as extracting money from vulnerable customers who don’t understand security implications. Our position: if you need PHP 7.4 for legitimate legacy reasons, run it, but understand the security tradeoffs without paying extra for false reassurance.
Documentation transparency explains PHP security without FUD. Our knowledge base articles detail exactly which PHP versions are EOL, what security risks exist, and how to upgrade safely. We don’t exaggerate threats to drive sales, but we don’t minimize them either. Honest technical information helps customers make informed decisions.
We acknowledge that some sites genuinely need legacy PHP temporarily for complex migrations. We don’t force upgrades with zero notice that break production sites. But we also don’t enable indefinite stagnation on EOL PHP. Our policy: you can run PHP 7.4 if necessary, but we’ll notify you monthly about security status and recommend upgrade paths. Responsibility includes clear communication about risks customers accept.
The hosting industry has normalized dysfunction around PHP versions through terrible defaults, confusing UX, and extended support cash grabs. We reject this approach. Running supported software with active security patches isn’t a premium feature – it’s the baseline expectation for professional hosting. WebHostMost provides the tools, documentation, and support to make PHP upgrades straightforward, not terrifying.
Running PHP 7.4 in 2026 is security suicide. Not hyperbole, not fearmongering – accurate technical description. The PHP development team stopped providing security patches on November 28, 2022. Every vulnerability discovered since then remains unpatched forever on PHP 7.4. Attackers actively exploit EOL PHP because they know fixes aren’t coming.
The excuses don’t hold up under scrutiny. “It still works” ignores invisible security compromises. “We’ll upgrade eventually” becomes permanent procrastination. “Extended support keeps us safe” means paying premium prices to avoid necessary upgrades. “Our developer said wait” requires questioning whether your developer understands security.
PHP 8.3 and 8.4 are stable, production-ready, and significantly faster than PHP 7.4. WordPress 7.0 recommends PHP 8.3 minimum. Major plugins and themes require PHP 8.x. The ecosystem has moved on. Staying behind means accepting security vulnerabilities, performance degradation, and growing compatibility problems.
Migration doesn’t require breaking production sites. Staging environments, testing workflows, and gradual rollouts make PHP upgrades manageable. Most WordPress sites upgrade without issues. Sites with complex custom code might need developer assistance, but that’s cheaper than breach recovery or extended support subscriptions.
Hosting providers defaulting to PHP 7.4 in 2026 are failing their security responsibility. Customers who don’t understand PHP versions deserve hosts that protect them through secure defaults, not exploit their ignorance through extended support fees.
At WebHostMost, we default to PHP 8.3, provide clear upgrade paths, and refuse to profit from customer security negligence. Running supported software isn’t a premium feature – it’s basic responsible hosting.
Stop running PHP 7.4. Stop making excuses. Upgrade to PHP 8.3 or 8.4 now, test thoroughly, and stop accepting preventable security vulnerabilities. The window for “we’ll do it later” closed years ago.
Running EOL PHP on your hosting account? Check WebHostMost’s plans with PHP 8.3 default and clear upgrade paths.
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