We all want our website to be the fastest, the best, so as always, we bring you tips to optimize your pages to the fullest.
PHP is the programming language on which WordPress is based and almost all CMS. In order to install WordPress, the server on which your page is located must be able to read that code. In any case, almost all the hostings include PHP and it is constantly updated and improved.
So, why worrying about it? The detail is that many hostings don’t have the most updated version of PHP, so we must be aware since it directly affects WordPress and we want our pages to be bulletproof.
Why should we use the latest PHP version?
The more updated the PHP version is, the faster your WordPress website can be. Having this update also generates more stability on the web, speed improvements, solutions to program problems and more protection as vulnerabilities. This last one is important since the previous versions continue receiving support as for security during a time, but little by little they stop receiving the patches and could have problems.
How to change the PHP version?
The route for this does not start with WordPress but on the server. We must make the changes in the hosting administrator, if you need support you can go to them.
This change may take a few minutes (approximately 20) and there is the possibility of returning to the previous version.
Let’s go!
- Go to the administrator panel of your hosting (Cpanel)
- Find a section where it says “PHP version manager, PHP versions or something similar within the cpanel.
- Click on the WordPress installation folder. Remember that in the same hosting you can have several pages working with different versions of PHP. Select the one you want to change.
- You will find beta or trial versions, but you must choose the latest version that is stable.
What happens if I don’t have access to the hosting?
The easiest way is to do it with a WordPress plugin like Display PHP Version. This plugin will show you the PHP version of the page in the Dashboard or Desktop of your WordPress. Another plugin like WordFence that shows the state of the system also shows you this data.
Beware, this measure of optimization is just one of the many that you can implement to make small improvements to your website, the speed you can have varies greatly depending on each website, especially in those with interfaces with many details, such as the Divi theme.
