The end of PHP 5 – and what it means for your website…

All web servers around the world run of different software and languages. One of the most common languages is PHP which is supported globally with regular updates and changes when programming languages and issues arise.
Each version of PHP remains supported for a number of years. PHP 5 was released on 13th July 2004 and has been upgraded over the years until PHP 5.6 which was released on 28th August 2014. However all good things come to an end and at the end of this year (December 31st 2018) PHP 5 will be retired from active service.
We have been actively running and building all new websites on the latest most secure version of PHP (PHP 7) for over 2 years now, however older websites built pre 2015 are probably built to work on the PHP 5.6 framework.

The End of PHP 5 – What Happens?

Put simply, not a lot… The framework will continue to work, but the people who are behind PHP will no longer be providing and support, or any updates or bug fixes. If a security vulnerability is found then it will not be fixed.
This means that if a website is running an outdated version of PHP, and a vulnerability is found, then hackers will be able to breach the website and do what they like with the system.
This is the prime reason why we are recommending that every website currently running on PHP 5 is upgraded as soon as possible. It’s also why we need to try to keep all of the websites running on our servers up to date with the latest versions of PHP.

What do I have to do?

If your website was built over 3 years ago we thoroughly recommend talking to your website server team and asking them what version of PHP your website is running on.
If the answer is PHP 5 then we recommend looking at upgrading your website as soon as you can so that it’s compatible with the latest software versions.
Systems like ModX, JShop and Opencart are all prime examples of Content Management Systems which need upgrading in order to function fully on the new PHP 7 framework.
Contact MB Web today to talk about your website and see how our web development team can help upgrade your site to a more secure platform.