PHP is one of the most popular scripting languages on the web today. According to W3Techs, PHP is used by over 82% of all websites that use a server-side programming language. This means that 8 out of 10 sites use PHP in one form or another. Being a scripting language, it is essential to update PHP to the latest version available, unless you have special needs.
Today we try to understand the importance of updating to the latest PHP versions, not only for security reasons, but also to improve performance and support. The precise procedure will also be shown via a simple how-to.
When to update PHP?
As with any software, PHP has a lifecycle that it must adhere to in order to continue making improvements and moving forward in development. Each major PHP release is generally fully supported for two years. During this time, bugs and security issues are regularly fixed and fixed. a third year of support is guaranteed, only for what concerns language security and not performance.
PHP versions supported
As of today (summer 2020), anyone running a version of PHP 7.1 or lower no longer benefits from security support and is exposed to vulnerabilities that will not be fixed. According to the official WordPress Stats page, at the time of writing this article, over 41% of WordPress users are still using PHP 7.1 or lower.
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