Get your WordPress on PHP 7.0 now!

We have just released a new version of our WordPress plugin 3.2.1 the SiteGround Optimizer, which allows you to move to PHP 7.0 with a click.  We encourage all SiteGround customers to utilize this great option and make their WordPress installation run on PHP 7.0 now. PHP 7.0 has been available on our servers for over a year and it is high time that all of our customers take full advantage of the considerable performance boost it provides.

How does it work?

First, you need to install SiteGround Optimizer 3.2.1 or higher version to your WordPress, or simply update it, if you already have an older version of the plugin. Then go to the PHP Config section and see which PHP version are you currently using. If it is below PHP 7.0 you will have an option to start an automated check, which will scan all your active themes and plugins and verify if they are PHP 7.0 compatible.

If everything is compatible you will be able to update your PHP version with a click.

If there are themes and plugins that might not be compatible with PHP 7, you will see them listed on the screen. We recommend that you update any such theme or plugin with a newer available version and redo the check again. In case updating is not an option you may consider disabling unused plugins too.

Once your site uses PHP 7.0 or higher, you will be able to manually switch to other PHP versions too. Right now, the recommended version is 7.0 but you can try 7.1 too right away, as it is available on our servers too. We also give you the option to switch back to previous PHP versions in case you notice issues that were not detected by the plugin check.

The SiteGround Optimizer checks whether your site runs on the recommended PHP version. Right now that’s 7.0 but in the future, we will switch to 7.1, 7.2, etc. That would be a constant effort that we’ve committed to do in order to keep SiteGround customers on the latest, safest and fastest PHP version.