What is the ‘PHP Extended Support’ product and why do I have to pay for it?
PHP receives, like any other software, regular updates from developers to close security vulnerabilities, integrate new technical developments, etc. At the same time, older versions, which are no longer up to date and contain unsupported functions, are gradually no longer maintained and no longer receive security updates.
Already some years ago, support for most older PHP versions ended. This means that vulnerabilities in older versions are no longer regularly fixed by PHP developers. Our own developers have therefore usually had to resolve critical vulnerabilities in the corresponding versions themselves, which sometimes results in high costs.
We recommend that our customers always use one of the current PHP versions that are still supported by the manufacturer, as older versions may still contain security vulnerabilities that have been overlooked so far. In addition, all Internet technologies evolve so quickly that older PHP versions often do not take advantage of new technical requirements.
Modern PHP-based applications such as WordPress or Joomla should normally be compatible with newer PHP versions through updates. However, if you use very old and obsolete software, this software may not be compatible with newer PHP versions. This should mainly be an incentive for you to consider a fundamental revision of your online presence, so that your website remains accessible and secure in the future.
With each introduction of a new PHP version, we make available to our customers a larger number of possible PHP versions. However, with each version, the workload of our developers to securely maintain older versions in our system also increases.
The older PHP versions still supported in our infrastructure and their official end-of-support date by the manufacturer are as follows:
- PHP 5.3 - 2014
- PHP 5.4 - 2015
- PHP 5.5 - 2016
- PHP 5.6 - 2019
- PHP 7.0 - 2018
- PHP 7.1 - 2019
- PHP 7.2 - 2020
- PHP 7.3 - 2021
- PHP 7.4 - 2022
- PHP 8.0 - 2023
- PHP 8.1 - 2024
Due to the constant increase in effort required to maintain older PHP versions, we have decided to introduce a paid “PHP Extended Support” for customers who absolutely depend on an older version. This allows us to ensure continued support of older PHP versions also on modern operating systems by our developers.
Important questions:
Do I need to book extended support? No, we automatically add PHP Extended Support for all web hosting packages that use an older PHP version.
How can I avoid having extended support booked for me? Make sure each of your domains configured in the web hosting package uses a current PHP version. Currently, these are always the two latest versions. In this case, we charge nothing extra to your existing hosting package.
Do I have to pay separately for each domain? No. PHP Extended Support applies per web hosting package. If you use multiple domains with an older PHP version in the same web hosting package, you will only need PHP Extended Support once.
Can I cancel extended support? Extended support is adjusted to the duration of your web hosting package. Cancellation is therefore possible at any time at the end of the web hosting package’s lifetime. If you can only update your domains to a newer PHP version after automatic addition, please contact hosting.fr support at support@hosting.fr for information on next steps.
I have a managed Cloud Server. Do I need to book extended support per web space? PHP Extended Support applies per web space. For customers with managed Cloud Servers, we offer a generous discount if necessary. In this case, please contact hosting.fr support at support@hosting.fr for information on next steps.
From when will other PHP versions be added to PHP Extended Support? Each year in November, a new PHP version is released, with the oldest still supported version then reaching end of support. We continue to offer the version that falls out of support for free for three months. In January of the following year, we move each oldest version to PHP Extended Support. You can find an overview of versions and planned end-of-support dates here.
Instructions for changing PHP version
After logging into the hosting.fr client interface, you can change the PHP version as follows:
“Products” -> “Web Hosting” -> in the “Domains” section, select “Show details” under the respective domain (it may be necessary to choose “Show all” beforehand if you manage many domains in the same web space)
Navigate to the “PHP Options” section and select “Edit”. Choose the desired PHP option and finalize your changes by clicking “Save”.
Please note that this operation must be performed separately for each managed domain.