All You Need To Know About The Ending Of PHP5 & Updating To PHP7
PHP is one of the most widely used server-side scripting languages for web development. It is a general-purpose language that helps with designing dynamic pages and applications. The chief focus of PHP is towards server-side scripting tasks. Some of the significant functions of PHP are collecting data, generating page content, and much more. Due to its versatility, PHP majorly finds use in custom web application development services.
Every version of PHP receives complete support for two years. The period starts with the release of an initial stable version. During this period, fixes for security issues and bugs are released at regular intervals. Once this period is over, additional one-year support is there for crucial security issues only. During this period, releases are made on a required basis. Depending on the number of reports, there might be multiple releases, or there might be none.
After completion of three years, all support services come to an end. That particular branch reaches its end of life. PHP 5.6 was released in August 2014 and will reach its end of life on 31st December 2018. Though PHP 7.1 was released in 2015 itself, many sites are still upgrading. It is going to become a severe issue after 31st December 2018. It is thus advisable to enlist a custom web application development company to handle this shift.
About PHP 5 and its impending End
It’s more than four years since the initial release of PHP 5.6. Discontinuation of active support for PHP 5.6 was done in January 2017. It is now in the critical support phase, which has ceased on 31st December 2018. This implies there will not be any more updates or upgrades for this version. Only those security loopholes which are extremely serious. That too only if a proper report goes to the PHP Development Community.
It is, therefore, necessary to update to PHP 7 immediately as this will ensure continuous support and active development. The support for PHP 5.6 is on the verge of ending. It will be a smart decision to make the shift before the support ends. Services of custom website development companies are available to help with this move.
Upgrading to PHP 7
In a report published in 2017, it was revealed that more than 80% of active websites are running on PHP. But out of them only 5% run on PHP 7. Even for the effective campaign runs in digital marketing services, it is important to adapt to the newer version to rank higher among the peers. Despite being available since December 2015, PHP 7 adoption rate is quite slow. The reasons for such a slow adoption rate are: -
- Lack of awareness regarding available updates and their benefits.
- Lack of willingness in hosting companies due to potential incompatibility hassles.
- Most website owners are not developers, so they do not know how to do this.
Why upgrade to PHP 7
As the support for PHP 5.6 is ending, the best decision for users is to switch to PHP 7 as soon as possible. After more than eleven years of any significant upgrades, December 2015 saw the debut of PHP 7. There are many new features and updates in PHP 7 as compared to PHP 5.6. As a result, the process of shifting might become intimidating for users.
Several factors make this move necessary, such as: -
- Many themes and plugins in Wordpress might become incompatible with the older version of PHP.
- Lack of security support will make the website susceptible to hacking attempts.
The new version of PHP has superior features making it beneficial to make a move. You can enlist expert web development services for making the task easier and boost your sales using custom web development.
New features in PHP 7
PHP 7 incorporates many new and modern elements adding several new capabilities, such as: -
- With the same memory, a site running PHP 7 can handle twice the visitors when compared to PHP 5.6
- PHP 7 is faster, secure, and resource efficient.
- It has new capabilities such as throwable errors and anonymous classes.
How to upgrade from PHP 5.6 to PHP 7
The easiest and preferable way of upgrading to PHP 7 is through a hosting company. But for this, the hosting company must support PHP 7. If it does support PHP 7, it can easily upgrade your account and end all the hassles for you. You can also enlist custom web application development services to handle the process for you. This will keep you in sync with the latest custom web development trends.
Implications of PHP Upgrade
The significant impact of doing a PHP upgrade are: -
- It might break the system. Existing themes, modules or plugins might face compatibility issues.
- It is advisable to run a test of PHP update on a copy of the site. This helps identify problems that need resolution.
- Major hosting platforms will automatically update applications. This is a good measure but might still break the systems.
- Budget hosting platform might continue running old versions. This will leave the site vulnerable.
No matter how intimidating the process of shifting to PHP 7.1 might seem, it must continue for implementation. There are so many advantages to offer that they justify the decision. If you are not comfortable doing it yourself, you require a web development company to handle it.
The best custom web application development services are here for you!
This is where Signity Solutions comes into the picture. We are a leading custom web and mobile app development company in India and have many years of experience in custom web development. Our team consists of industry experts with amazing skills. We are handling the move from PHP 5.6 to PHP 7 for many of our clients. We can manage the entire process of shifting from PHP 5.6 to PHP 7 for your organization. Reach out to us if you are looking for PHP outsourcing companies and let us take care of this critical task. Contact us now.
