Change your PHP version and PHP settings

Before you start

• An active hosting service (not Basic Email)
• The PHP versions your application, theme and plugins support
• A recent backup (how)

Applies to: Cloud Hosting, WordPress Cloud, Managed WordPress.

Steps

1. Check compatibility

   Look up which PHP versions your application supports. For WordPress, check your theme and each active plugin. Managed WordPress customers should ask in a ticket rather than changing PHP themselves.

2. Take a backup

   Create an on-demand backup so you can go back if something breaks.

3. Change the version

   Open the control panel, select Change PHP Version, pick the version and save. It normally applies straight away and within about 60 seconds at most.

4. Test the site

   Load the home page and several inner pages, sign in to the site’s dashboard, and submit a form if you have one. If anything fails, switch back to the previous version.

5. Adjust PHP settings if needed

   Select PHP Configuration to change values such as upload_max_filesize (for large uploads) or memory_limit (for memory errors). Raise them in modest steps rather than to the maximum.

6. Schedule tasks

   If your application needs a regular job, select Scheduled Tasks, enter the command, choose how often it runs and, optionally, an email address for its output.

Troubleshooting and common mistakes

The site shows a critical error or blank page after the change.

Switch back to the previous PHP version, then look for the incompatible theme, plugin or code before trying again. See Fix common WordPress errors.

Uploads still fail with a size error.

Raise upload_max_filesize and, if your application uses it, post_max_size in PHP Configuration, then try again after a minute.

A scheduled task does not run.

Check the command path and that the script runs when started by hand. Enable the output email to see errors.

Related guides

• Fix common WordPress errorsMost WordPress errors come from a plugin, the theme, a low PHP memory limit or wrong database details in wp-config.php. Check the error log in the control panel, deactivate the most recently changed plugin or theme from the WordPress tools, and compare the database settings with MySQL Databases. Take a backup before editing files.
• Fix a website that is not loadingCheck in this order: the service status page, your service’s status in your account, the domain’s DNS, then the error logs in the control panel. Most outages that affect one site are caused by a PHP or plugin error, an expired domain, an unpaid service or a DNS change. The error message and the log usually point to the cause.
• Create an on-demand backup of your websiteOpen Backup/Restore in your control panel, tick Files and Databases, and choose Create Backup. When it finishes, download the ZIP straight away: completed backups stay available in the control panel for 12 hours only. Keep the file somewhere safe outside FoxFolio Cloud, because this included tool makes a copy when you ask and does not keep a recurring off-site history.