• Thursday, January 15, 2026

PHP 8.2 is now the default for all new Shared Hosting accounts

Going forward, all newly ordered Shared Hosting accounts will be provisioned with PHP 8.2 as standard (previously PHP 8.1).

We've made this change because PHP 8.1 has reached End-of-Life (EOL) and no longer receives official security updates, meaning it's no longer recommended for production websites going forward.

No changes for existing customers

To avoid unintentionally breaking websites, this update does not affect any existing Shared Hosting accounts.

If you're already hosted with us, your current PHP version will remain exactly as-is unless you decide to change it.

Want to upgrade from PHP 8.1 to PHP 8.2?

You're welcome to upgrade whenever you're ready. Here's our step-by-step guide:

How do I check and change my PHP version?

Tip: Upgrading is reversible — if anything doesn't work as expected, you can switch back to your prior PHP version at any time.

Benefits of upgrading from PHP 8.1 to PHP 8.2

  • Improved security — PHP 8.2 is actively supported and receives ongoing security fixes.
  • Better performance — PHP 8.2 includes performance improvements that can help sites run faster and more efficiently.
  • Stronger compatibility — modern plugins, themes, and frameworks increasingly target newer PHP versions first.
  • Better long-term stability — staying current reduces the risk of future compatibility issues and rushed upgrades later on.

What's new in PHP 8.2?

PHP 8.2 introduces a number of improvements and modern language features, including:

  • Readonly classes — a cleaner way for developers to build more predictable, stable codebases.
  • Support for null, true, and false as standalone types — improves type safety and code clarity.
  • Deprecated dynamic properties — helps surface outdated code patterns earlier (some older plugins/themes may require updates).
  • New Random extension — consolidates and improves random number generation functionality.
  • General performance improvements — ongoing engine optimisations for smoother execution.

If you have any questions about upgrading (or you'd like us to sanity-check compatibility for your website), just reach out and we'll be happy to help.

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