PHP7 End of Life Means Update Now

PHP7 is no longer receiving security updates, which means it's no longer a reliable choice for web development.

As of November 28, 2022, the PHP7 lifecycle has ended. This date marks the last day for security updates, leaving your site vulnerable to potential security breaches.

PHP7 was released in 2015 and was a major improvement over its predecessor, PHP5. However, with the release of PHP8 in 2020, it's clear that PHP7 is no longer the best choice for modern web development.

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If you're still using PHP 7.4 or older, you're using a version that has already reached its end-of-life and is no longer supported by the PHP project.

You might still be able to get some maintenance from the vendor of your operating system, but it's usually limited to critical security fixes and doesn't include regular bug fixes.

Using an outdated version of PHP means you'll miss out on a lot of improvements that have been implemented in PHP.

The PHP project will continue to fix critical security issues for PHP 8.0 until November 26, 2023, but bugs that are not security-relevant will no longer be fixed for this version.

Elementor's plan is to maintain the minimum required PHP version at 7.0 or higher, while upgrading the recommended version to PHP 7.3.

By the end of the 3rd quarter, Elementor will raise the minimum required version to PHP 7.3, along with upgrading the recommended version to PHP 7.4.

By the end of the year, Elementor will increase the minimum required version to PHP 7.4, while upgrading the recommended version to PHP 8.0-8.3, depending on the usage data at the time of decision-making.

In 2024, Elementor will cease support for PHP 7.x versions entirely, elevating the minimum required version to PHP 8.0-8.3, based on the available usage data.

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You need to update your local environment to PHP version 8.1 or above, and the way to do it depends on your local server. This is because PHP 7.0 – 7.4 have reached their end-of-life, and PHP 8.0 will reach its end-of-life by the end of 2023.

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Elementor has devised a gradual upgrade process that distinguishes between the minimum required PHP version and the recommended PHP version. The minimum required version will be raised to PHP 7.3 by the end of the 3rd quarter, and then to PHP 7.4 by the end of the year.

You should upgrade your PHP version to ensure compatibility with the newest versions, as a significant portion of WordPress websites continue to rely on unsupported PHP 7.x versions. In fact, 3 of every 4 WordPress websites continue using unsupported PHP versions.

Upgrading PHP versions is crucial to ensure compatibility with the newest versions and prevent security risks and vulnerabilities. You'll need to update your local environment to PHP version 8.1 or above, depending on your local server.

To update your local hosting server, you'll need to change your PHP version in the required section of your composer.json file. Then, run composer update --with-all-dependencies. This will help you avoid security risks and vulnerabilities.

Staying in PHP versions that have reached their end of life could introduce security risks and vulnerabilities. PHP 7.0 – 7.4 have reached their end-of-life, and PHP 8.0 will reach its end-of-life by the end of 2023.

Elementor has devised a gradual upgrade process that distinguishes between the minimum required PHP version and the recommended PHP version. Initially, the minimum required PHP version will be maintained at 7.0 or higher, while upgrading the recommended version to PHP 7.3.

By the end of the 3rd quarter, Elementor will raise the minimum required version to PHP 7.3, along with upgrading the recommended version to PHP 7.4. This modification ensures that websites using versions prior to PHP 7.3 won’t be able to upgrade to the new Elementor versions unless they upgrade their PHP version.

Only 23.7% of WordPress users have migrated to PHP 8.x, leaving a significant portion still operating on older versions.

The majority of WordPress users, 51.5%, are still using PHP 7.4, with the rest using even older versions, including PHP 5.x.

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Upgrading to PHP 8 should be a short-term goal for you, and it's essential to make upgrading the PHP version part of your normal workflow. This will ensure that your software remains secure and runs smoothly.

You should also ensure that you're using supported versions of your framework and the libraries and tools you use. New versions of frameworks, libraries, and tools will eventually stop supporting PHP 7, so it's crucial to stay up-to-date.

Here's a list of popular projects that will no longer support PHP 7:

It's worth noting that PHP 7.0 – 7.4 have reached their end-of-life, and PHP 8.0 will reach its end-of-life by the end of 2023. Three out of four WordPress websites continue to use unsupported PHP 7.x versions.

You need to check the compatibility of your code to detect outdated functions, syntax, or deprecations of PHP 7.

There are modules and commands you can utilize to do this, so take a look and see what you can find.

PHP 7.0 – 7.4 have reached their end-of-life, which means they're no longer supported, and PHP 8.0 will reach its end-of-life by the end of 2023.

You might be surprised to know that 3 out of every 4 WordPress websites, including those using Elementor, continue to rely on unsupported PHP 7.x versions.

To fix any errors you find, simply update your code and recheck compatibility.

By the end of the 3rd quarter, Elementor will raise the minimum required version to PHP 7.3, which means you'll need to upgrade your PHP version if you want to use the new Elementor versions.

This will ensure that websites using versions prior to PHP 7.3 won't be able to upgrade to the new Elementor versions.

You should plan a short-term goal to upgrade your PHP stack to PHP 8, as using outdated technology can lead to security and performance issues.

Upgrading your PHP version should be a regular part of your workflow, not a special project. This will ensure your software remains secure and runs smoothly.

If you don't upgrade, your website will still be functional, but you won't be able to update to newer versions of Elementor and WordPress.

The update mechanism in WordPress takes into account your PHP version, so if a new version requires a higher PHP version, WordPress won't prompt you to update, to prevent potential website breakage.

You can still use your website with older PHP versions, but you'll be missing out on the latest features and security patches.