Previously, PHP 7’s speed optimization update helped a lot with gaining higher rankings on the SERPs. Carrying the legacy forward, PHP surprised its enthusiasts with a release of PHP 8.0 back in November 2020, which brought a list of new features that revolutionized the way programmers worked.
PHP 8 lets you write concise code and build more exemplary applications with exciting changes and improvements to the earlier RFCs. Considering the new improvements, it would be a crime not to upgrade your current PHP version to PHP 8.0 on your WordPress site.
PHP (an acronym for Hypertext Preprocessor) is a popular open-source scripting language used by coders worldwide for web and application development. This high-level programming language is easy to learn, hence preferred by starters and novice coders. Still, it is also complex enough to cater to the needs of a professional programmer.
PHP 8.0 is the latest update of PHP and has come up with new features, functions, and methods to facilitate the developers and provide the best user experience.
Previously, PHP had released 7.4 in November 2019, ending the support of PHP 7.1. The later version, 7.2, was also discontinued with the release of 8.0. Currently, PHP supports only 7.3, 7.4, and 8.0 versions.
PHP 8 Compatibility With WordPress
With every update come compatibility issues. If you want to have a hassle-free PHP 8.0 experience, we recommend opting for the latest WordPress version or going with at least 5.6 or any later versions.
Are you running your website on an older WordPress version but are skeptical about upgrading in fear of getting errors? Don’t worry; you can test your website via a staging environment and proceed with upgrading your live website safely to a newer WordPress version.
If you get any errors in the staging environment, then we’d recommend getting the help of a professional WordPress developer to diagnose and debug the errors before you move ahead with the update.
PHP 8 – Themes & Plugins Compatibility
Discomforts accompany every change; similar is the case with PHP 8. While PHP 8 offers extensive features to support its users and provide them with an ideal user experience, it brings the themes and plugins incompatibility issues.
PHP isn’t the player to be blamed here, as the themes and plugins should be updated to work with the latest software versions. If your favorite and irreplaceable plugin or theme is making problems with PHP 8, then try out the following solutions.
Rollback to the previous PHP version. (A boring option)
Contact the theme or plugin’s support team and inform them about the compatibility issues to boost the optimal user experience with the latest versions of both.