WordPress

WordPress Help

Yoast end of support for old PHP versions

Yoast 20.5 has been released and it includes feature updates and security improvements. With this update, Yoast now requires sites to use PHP 7.2.5 or higher and WordPress version 6.0 or higher.

Note: This Yoast update does not affect Managed WordPress, Managed WordPress Ecommerce, and Managed WooCommerce Stores as PHP and WordPress versions are updated automatically.

Select a question to see its answer:

What do you recommend I do?

Check your WordPress plugin list to see if Yoast SEO is installed and active. If the Yoast SEO plugin is active, we recommend checking the current PHP and WordPress version of your website. If your website is not using PHP 7.2.5 or higher and WordPress version 6.0 or higher, then you'll need to update them.

Warning: We highly recommend creating a backup of your WordPress site before updating WordPress, plugins, themes, or PHP.

Back to top

What happens if I do nothing?

Using a plugin with an incompatible PHP version can result in a slower site, the loss of site features, error messages, or even your website going down.

Back to top

How do I know what my current version of PHP is?

Select the option below, according to your hosting platform, to view your current PHP version:

Back to top

How do I know what my current WordPress version is?

After you sign in to WordPress, find the At a Glance section of your dashboard, and there you'll see your site’s Wordpress version.

If you don't see this section, follow these steps.

  1. On the left-site menu, select Tools and then Site Health.
  2. On the top menu, select Info.
  3. Select WordPress.

Back to top

What should I do before I update PHP?

We recommend creating a backup of your site and then updating WordPress, plugins and your active theme to the latest version.

Back to top

What do I need to do to update PHP?

Select the option below, according to your hosting platform, to change your current PHP version:

Back to top

More Info

Share this article

Related articles