CompatNav

Your host is forcing a PHP upgrade: a calm step-by-step plan

By CompatNav · Published · Last reviewed · 4 min read

Short answer

Don’t wait for the date. Ask your host which PHP version your site will move to, when, and whether you can test first and switch back. Then check your plugins and theme for that version, fix what will break, switch yourself a few days early at a quiet time, and watch the site for a week. WordPress’s “PHP Update Required” box means your site runs a PHP version older than 8.0.

What the email or the WordPress box means

An email from your host means that from a given date, your site runs on a newer PHP version. One reason can be that the old version stops getting security fixes; PHP 8.2, for example, gets them until 31 December 2026 (php.net). PHP 8.2 reaches end of life on 31 December 2026 explains what that means.

A box on your WordPress dashboard comes from WordPress itself. It has one of two titles (WordPress 7.1.2 source):

  • PHP Update Required: your site runs a PHP version older than 8.0. The box then says, among other things: “Ensure that PHP is updated on your server as soon as possible. Otherwise you will not be able to upgrade WordPress.”
  • PHP Update Recommended: wordpress.org’s check marked your version as not acceptable. WordPress asks wordpress.org about your version and keeps the answer for a week (WordPress 7.1.2 source). When we asked it on 28 September 2026, the answer was “not acceptable” for PHP 8.0 and older, and the recommended version was 8.3.

Both boxes link to a page about updating PHP: WordPress’s own Get a faster, more secure website: update PHP today, unless your host has set its own page (WordPress 7.1.2 source).

Five questions to ask your host

  1. Which PHP version will my site move to, and on which date?
  2. Can I choose the version (for example 8.3, 8.4 or 8.5) and switch earlier myself, at a time that suits me?
  3. Do you offer a staging copy of my site, to try the new version first?
  4. Can I switch back if something breaks, and until when will the old version be available?
  5. Will the PHP extensions my site uses stay available? PHP 8.4, for example, no longer includes IMAP, which some email plugins use (php.net).
Message to your host (copy and adapt)
Hello,

You told us that our site [your site address] will move to a newer PHP version on [date]. Before then, could you tell us:

1. Which PHP version will the site run, and from which date exactly?
2. Can we choose the version (8.3, 8.4 or 8.5) and switch earlier ourselves, from the hosting panel?
3. Can you create a staging copy of the site so we can test the new version first?
4. If something breaks, can we switch back, and until when will the current version stay available?
5. Will the PHP extensions the site uses today stay available on the new version?

Thank you.

The plan, from now to the week after

Now, as soon as you know the date

  1. Send the five questions to your host.
  2. Note your current PHP version: Tools → Site Health → Info → Server in your WordPress admin.
  3. Check your plugins and theme for the new version. CompatNav, for example, reads the code of every plugin and theme on your site and lists what will break and what only shows notices on the version you choose. What it can’t see are problems that depend on values while the code runs; the last week of the plan takes care of those.

Until the week before

  1. Update WordPress, your plugins and your theme, then check again.
  2. Still something that will break? Ask the plugin’s developer, replace the plugin, or give the findings to whoever maintains your custom code. Not ready yet: what to do explains each option.
  3. Deprecation notices don’t stop your site; they can wait for the plugins’ next updates.

The day you switch, a few days before the host’s date

  1. Make a backup of files and database.
  2. Switch in your hosting control panel (often called “PHP version”, “PHP Selector” or “MultiPHP Manager”) at a quiet time of day.
  3. Click through your site: home page, a post, contact form, checkout if you have a shop, and the admin area.

Switching yourself a few days early means you choose the moment, and if something goes wrong you still have time before the host’s date.

The week after

  1. Look at your error log every day (hosting panel, or ask your host).
  2. Something broken? Switch back first, then find the cause: “There has been a critical error” after a PHP update shows how.

Doing this without a host deadline? The same steps work as a checklist at your own pace.

Key takeaways

  • WordPress shows “PHP Update Required” on the dashboard when your site runs PHP older than 8.0, and “PHP Update Recommended” when wordpress.org marks your version as not acceptable.
  • Five questions for your host: which version and when, can you choose and switch earlier, is there a staging copy, can you switch back, and do the extensions your site uses stay available.
  • Check your plugins and theme for the new version as soon as you know the date; fix what will break before it.
  • Switch yourself a few days before the host’s date, at a quiet time, with a backup and a way back.
  • If something breaks after the switch, switch back first, then find the cause.

Frequently asked questions

Can I refuse the upgrade?

That’s between you and your host: ask whether it offers a way to stay on the old version for longer, and on what terms. The PHP project stops fixing a version at its end of life, so staying only buys time.

Will my site go down?

Not if your plugins and theme are ready for the new version. If one isn’t, the pages that load it can stop with a critical error. Checking before the date tells you which ones, while there is still time.

Do I need a developer?

Only if the check finds code that will break and no update fixes it: code written for your site, or a plugin that is no longer maintained. Updating and replacing plugins you can do yourself.

Can I switch back afterwards?

Usually, in the hosting panel, for as long as your host still offers the old version. Ask before the date (question 4 below).

Check your own site before you upgrade

CompatNav is a free WordPress plugin. It reads the code of your plugins and themes on your own server and tells you, in plain words, what will break and what will only show notices on the PHP version you choose. It never changes your code. It can’t see problems that only appear while code runs with real data, so a quick check of your site after the upgrade still matters.

Get CompatNav on wordpress.org How it works

Sources

About the code examples: each output is the real output of the code shown, run with the official PHP builds, without a php.ini, with all errors reported and displayed. Only the file path was replaced by a neutral server path.