A PHP compatibility report your clients understand, with your logo on it
Short answer
Clients don’t want a list of file paths. They want a verdict (ready or not), what needs doing and by whom, and when. The free CompatNav plugin gives you a downloadable HTML report with a plain-words verdict. CompatNav Pro, launching on 31 October 2026, turns it into a white-label client report: one HTML file with your name, logo and colours, a plain-words summary, an action plan, and an optional appendix for developers. It prints to PDF from any browser.
What a client needs to read
When you tell a client their site needs work before a PHP upgrade, the report decides whether they say yes. It needs three things, in this order:
- A verdict in one line: ready, or not ready yet.
- An action plan: what needs doing, who does it (you, the plugin developer, the client), and roughly when.
- Details for developers, kept apart, so they don’t scare the client.
Telling a client their site needs a PHP upgrade has email templates to send with it.
With the free plugin today
The free CompatNav plugin gives a downloadable report: a self-contained HTML file that opens in any browser and can be printed to PDF, plus a CSV. It starts with the verdict and a short “What to do first” list, then each plugin and theme with its issues in plain words.
With CompatNav Pro: your name on it
CompatNav Pro, launching on 31 October 2026, makes it a client report:
- Your name, logo and colours, and CompatNav’s name can be hidden.
- A plain-words summary and an action plan: verdict, what to do, and who does what.
- An optional appendix for developers with files and lines.
- One HTML file that loads nothing from elsewhere and prints to PDF from any browser.
Two ways to deliver it, both opt-in:
- A share link: a private, read-only summary page for your client, with no file paths or versions, valid for 1 to 90 days and revocable at once.
- A scheduled email: the client report, weekly or monthly, sent by the client’s own site.
Fit it into the monthly report
The PHP line belongs in your regular maintenance report: the version the site runs, its end date, and whether the plugins are ready for the next one. What to put in a maintenance report shows the structure; the compatibility report is the attachment that backs it up.
Key takeaways
- A client report needs a verdict, an action plan (what, who, when), and details only for developers.
- The free plugin gives a self-contained HTML report and a CSV, with a plain-words verdict.
- CompatNav Pro (from 31 October 2026) adds your name, logo and colours, an action plan, and a share link.
- The report loads nothing from elsewhere and prints to PDF from any browser.
- Reports can go out by email, weekly or monthly, from the client’s own site.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put my agency’s logo on the report?
With CompatNav Pro: the client report uses your name, logo and colours, and CompatNav’s own name can be hidden.
Can the client see the report without logging in to WordPress?
With Pro’s share link (opt-in): a private, read-only summary page, without file paths or versions, valid for 1 to 90 days and revocable at once.
What does the free plugin’s report include?
The verdict, what to do first, every plugin and theme with its issues in plain words, and details for developers. It opens in any browser and prints to PDF; a CSV is also available.
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.
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.