Which PHP version should you choose?

The PHP version determines your site's speed and security, and it is the setting most often left untouched for years.

Take a version still supported

Every version receives security fixes for a limited period. An outdated version means known vulnerabilities are no longer patched, however good your own code is.

Not the newest on day one

Wait until your extensions and CMS declare it supported. One version behind the newest gives you the speed without the surprises.

Test before you switch

On a copy, not live. Errors rarely show on the home page and almost always in forms, payments or scheduled tasks.

What you gain

Recent versions are considerably faster and use less memory. It is often the cheapest performance improvement available — without changing a line of code.

After switching

Watch the error log for a few days. Today's silent warnings are tomorrow's outages.