Spiral Hosting are committed to providing the latest software on our web servers for optimum performance and security. Part of this job is our technicians maintaining the many different PHP versions on offer, with every version having its own launch date, updates and patches throughout its lifespan, and finally decommissioning.
From time to time we set a new native PHP across our servers. The native PHP is the default version, which will be used if you / your web developer has not already selected a specific version. In your cPanel hosting control panel you can choose these PHP versions: 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3
Today we are announcing a date/time when the native PHP will switch to 7.3 and we’re also announcing PHP 7.4 beta for developers who are keen to get their teeth into the latest release!
If you are a website owner, please inform your IT person / web developer of this information.
The upgrade has been scheduled over two dates:
Shared/Reseller Hosting – THURSDAY 19 DECEMBER 2019 @ 6am (06:00)
Enterprise Hosting – WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER 2019 @ 6pm (18:00)
Hold on, what’s PHP again?
PHP is a server-side scripting language designed for web development but also used as a general-purpose programming language. PHP is used by the vast majority of web sites hosted by Spiral Hosting.
If your website uses old software (more than a year or two since the last update), it may not be compatible with PHP 7.3. You should always use the latest up-to-date website software for performance and security.
What you should do:
Before the scheduled upgrade, ask your web developer / IT person to make sure the website software is up to date and check if it’s compatible with PHP 7.3
If a specific PHP version is required, select it now in your cPanel hosting control panel.
If you’re unsure how to set the PHP version, please follow our guide here:
https://secure.spiralhosting.com/knowledgebase.php?action=displayarticle&id=158
After the scheduled upgrade (any time after 6am/6pm local server time), you should take time to thoroughly check your website(s) and make sure everything is working normally.
If you encounter a problem, please follow our troubleshooting steps here:
https://secure.spiralhosting.com/knowledgebase.php?action=displayarticle&id=187
Extra technicians will be on shift throughout the upgrade period to assist with any issues. Our phone lines will be closed on Thursday 19 Dec 2019 to allow our team to prioritise fixing any issues reported by support ticket and live chat as fast as possible.
This is part of our on-going update schedule where we maintain multiple different PHP versions throughout their lifespan. More information on PHP version lifespan can be found here: https://secure.spiralhosting.com/knowledgebase.php?action=displayarticle&id=186
Please note two very old versions of PHP will be removed next year. PHP 5.3 and 5.4 have decommissioning dates set in Apr 2020 and Sep 2020.
As always, any questions, get in touch!
