Move to PHP 8 without breaking your site
PHP Version Upgrade and Compatibility Fix
Plan, test, and roll out the PHP upgrade on staging first. Plugins, themes, and deprecated code fixed before we touch production.
Service Overview
WordPress and PHP site owners get a clean PHP version upgrade on hosting, with plugin and theme compatibility testing, deprecated code fixes, and performance verification on the new runtime. Quote confirmed within one business day of scope sign-off.
Why a controlled PHP upgrade matters
Hosting providers retire old PHP versions on a fixed calendar. When PHP 7.4 or PHP 8.0 hits end-of-life, security patches stop, plugin authors drop support, and your hosting control panel starts nagging you to move. The temptation is to flip the switch in cPanel and hope, but a single deprecated function in an old plugin or a paid theme can take the site down at the worst possible time. This service is the safe path: a planned, staged, and verified PHP version upgrade for WordPress, WooCommerce, and standalone PHP applications.
What we actually do
Every engagement begins with a discovery pass on a clone of your site. We inventory the current PHP version, the hosting stack, every active plugin and theme, and any custom code in the codebase. We then run the target PHP version on the clone and capture every error, warning, and deprecation notice. You receive a written compatibility log naming every plugin and theme as pass, fail, or paid-upgrade-required, so there are no surprises when we touch production.
The fix phase covers deprecated functions, removed APIs, and any PHP 8 breaking changes (curly-brace string access, removed mbstring aliases, stricter type coercion) in custom code. Plugins with vendor-supplied updates are upgraded under your existing licences. Plugins without a compatible release are flagged for replacement or, where scope allows, custom patching under a follow-up quote. WooCommerce stores get extra attention on payment gateways, shipping integrations, and the checkout flow, which is where PHP version mismatches usually hide.
Production cutover is scheduled in an off-hours window agreed with you. We take a full file and database backup, switch the PHP version on hosting, verify the site responds, and run a smoke test of key user journeys. If anything fails, the rollback is tested and ready inside the same window. After the upgrade, we capture page-level timing benchmarks so you can see the speed improvement on the new runtime.
Who this is for
This add-on suits site owners running WordPress, WooCommerce, Laravel, CodeIgniter, or a custom PHP application on shared, VPS, or cloud hosting. It is most relevant when your hosting provider has scheduled a forced PHP upgrade, when a security audit has flagged an unsupported PHP version, or when the site has been pinned to an old PHP version for so long that plugin updates have started to fail. Request a quote and we will confirm scope, cutover window, and cost within one business day.
Staging First, Always
We rehearse the upgrade on a staging clone, so production never sees a broken plugin or a fatal error.
WordPress and PHP Sites
Whether you run WordPress, WooCommerce, Laravel, CodeIgniter, or a custom PHP stack, the upgrade path and the safety net are the same.
7 Day Safety Net
A full week of post-upgrade monitoring with fix-on-first-error commitment for anything the new PHP version surfaces.
What is Included
Checklist
How It Works
Pre-upgrade audit
We inventory PHP version, hosting stack, plugins, themes, and known deprecation warnings on a clone of your site.
Compatibility testing
Plugins, themes, and custom code tested against the target PHP version on staging, with a written compatibility log.
Code remediation
Deprecated functions, removed APIs, and breaking changes patched in place, with backwards-safe alternatives where available.
Production cutover
PHP upgraded on production in an off-hours window, with a tested rollback available throughout the change.
Verification
Performance benchmarks, error logs, and key user journeys checked for seven days after the upgrade.
- Scope confirmation: Work begins only after you sign off on the written scope, target PHP version, and cutover window confirmed in your quote.
- Access: You are responsible for granting hosting, control panel, FTP or SSH, and CMS admin credentials needed to perform the upgrade. Delays in access pause the engagement clock.
- Backup ownership: We take a full file and database backup before the cutover and retain it for fourteen days. Long-term backups are your responsibility under your normal backup policy.
- Paid plugin licences: Plugin updates are applied under licences you already hold. New or replacement licences are billed separately at cost or quoted as a follow-up.
- Compatibility outcomes: Where a plugin or theme has no PHP-compatible release and the vendor has not committed to one, we will propose a replacement or a custom patch under a separate quote. Choice of path rests with you.
- Post-upgrade window: For seven calendar days after cutover, any defect caused directly by the PHP version change is fixed under the original engagement at no extra cost. Defects unrelated to the upgrade fall outside this window.
- Rollback policy: A tested rollback is available throughout the cutover window. Once the seven-day post-upgrade window closes, rollbacks become a fresh engagement.
- Confidentiality: All credentials, code, and configuration we touch are confidential and used only for delivering this engagement.
- Refunds: As this is a quote-based, fixed-scope engagement, refunds are not issued once cutover begins. Pre-cutover cancellations are pro-rated against work completed.
- Liability: Liability is limited to the engagement fee, as defined in the master service agreement.
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