Website Down After a PHP Update: What to Check First
Your website went down after a PHPPHP is a programming language that builds your web pages on the computer that hosts your site, just before they reach the visitor. WordPress runs on it. update, so visitors and customers cannot reach it.
Which PHP version does your site report?
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More about this
This is a common and fixable situation, and an update itself normally does not delete your content, although you should make a backupA backup is a separate copy of your website's files and database, so you can bring the site back after a mistake, a hack or a failed update. before you change anything.
The cause is nearly always one old pluginA WordPress plugin is an add-on you install in WordPress to give your site extra features, such as contact forms, SEO tools or a webshop., themeA WordPress theme is a ready-made package that decides how your WordPress site looks and how its pages are laid out. Change the theme and the design changes. or script that does not fit the new PHP versionA PHP version is a numbered edition of PHP, like 8.3. Each edition is looked after for a limited time, then gets security fixes only, then nothing., and the steps below help you find it.
When a website goes down after a PHP update, the cause is usually code that does not work with the new PHP version, most often an older plugin, theme or custom script. The server itself normally keeps running, but the site shows a blank page, a critical error or an HTTP 500An HTTP status code is a three-digit number a website sends back with every page request to say how it went, such as 200 for OK or 500 for an error. error.
What has probably happened
Each PHP version changes some behaviour and removes some old features. Code written years ago may call functions that no longer exist, or may rely on looser rules that newer versions enforce. When the update lands, the first request that touches such code ends in a fatal error.
That is why a site can work fine one minute and fail the next, even though you changed nothing in the site itself.
Common causes
The usual suspects are outdated plugins and themes, abandoned extensions, and custom code that was never tested on the new version. A PHP extensionA PHP extension adds functions to PHP that a website or application may need. that the old setup had, and the new one lacks, can also break things. Sometimes the host changed the version for you, so check whether your provider announced a change.
Memory settings and other configuration values may also differ after a switch, because some hosts keep separate settings per PHP version.
How to check it safely
Start with a backup of the files and the database, even if the site is down. Then find out which PHP version the site runs now and which one it ran before. Your hostingWeb hosting is the service that keeps your website's files on a computer that is always online, so visitors can open your site at any time. panel normally shows both settings and the error logAn error log is a file where your website's software writes down what went wrong, with the time and place. It is the first thing to check when a site breaks..
Read the newest log lines and write down the error type, the file and the line number. Do not switch on visible errors on a live site, because they can expose server paths. If you have a stagingA staging environment is a private copy of your website where you try updates first, so any mistakes happen there and not on the live site. copy, test there first.
What you can try yourself
Work in this order.
First, switch the PHP version back to the previous one in your hosting panel, if it offers that. This often brings the site back right away and gives you time. Second, with the site up again, update plugins, themes and the application to releases that list support for the newer version.
Third, replace or remove anything that is abandoned. Fourth, try the newer PHP version again on a staging copy before touching the live site. If the log names one plugin, deactivate only that one.
Never hand out passwords to people who contact you unasked.
When the PHP version is the cause
A rollbackA rollback means going back to the last version of your website that worked, after an update has gone wrong. is a bridge, not a plan. Older PHP versions stop receiving security fixes from the PHP project at some point, so staying on one leaves the site exposed in the long run. Only switch back to a PHP version that still receives security fixes, keep it as short as possible, and check with your host that it includes the latest security release.
The supported versions page on this site explains which versions the PHP project still maintains. Planning the move to one of them, with tested plugins, is the lasting fix.
When to get help
If the rollback is not possible, if the log points at custom code, or if you lose orders while the site is down, ask for help. At Website Without PHP a human replies within 1 working day. A rush repair starts from £315, excluding VAT.