Overview
When upgrading the PHP version of your website in the panel, you may see an Unsuccessful message. This article offers you a few troubleshooting tools to help determine where the error is coming from.
WordPress sites
wp-cli is a command line tool that allows you to run WordPress commands from your server. The following command will test all installed WordPress items with PHP 8.0 and above to see if they are compatible.
- Log into your server via SSH.
- Make sure you're in your website directory.
- Run the following command.
[server]$ wp php-compat --php_version=8.0
This command may take a few minutes to finish.
Replace 8.0 with a different PHP version you'd like to test.
All other PHP-based sites
If there is an index.php file in the domain directory, run the following command to test the site on PHP 8.0:
- Log into your server via SSH.
- Make sure you're in your website directory.
- Run the following command.
[server]$ /dh/cgi-system/php80.cgi index.php
Replace 8.0 with a different PHP version you'd like to test.
You can also test other .php files using this same command. Most often, this will output errors pointing to the exact file with outdated code.
Check PHP and error log
PHP log
You can manually enable PHP error logging on your PHP website to catch any errors that may not be recorded by default.
Error log
You should also check your website's general error log for additional errors.
Check if your software is compatible with PHP 8
If your website is using CMS software, check its version to see if it is compatible with PHP 8. If not, it may need to be manually upgraded.
Concrete CMS - (formerly Concrete5)
Version 9 is compatible with PHP 8
Joomla
Version 4+ is compatible with PHP 8
- How to check the Joomla version
- Joomla Technical Requirements
- Joomla version history
- Upgrade instructions from 1.5 to 3.x
- Upgrade instructions from 2.5 to 3.x
- Upgrade instructions from 3.4.x to 3.5
MediaWiki
Versions 1.39 is compatible with PHP 8
phpBB
Versions 3.3.10 is compatible with PHP 8
You can locate the version in your admin area. It is also located in a file located at:
- example.com/phpbb/docs/CHANGELOG.html
ZenCart
Version 1.5.7 compatible with PHP 8
Contact Professional Services for help
If your website is using old software, or if it was built a long time ago, this may be a great time to update and redesign the entire site or even create a new one. DreamHost's Professional Services may also be able to help with this.
