Its finally caught up with me. No more excuses. The dread of the PHP 7 upgrade. I’ve been dodging the bullet for over a year now.  I’ve read enough. I know why I should upgrade/migrate. I sort of get and don’t get what I should do to make the upgrade possible. My head is blurry. My fear is real. Especially about the calamities that might befall my blogsite if I do and/or if I don’t.

On September 29, I got that ‘dreaded’ email from Bluehost, the company that houses my blog. It excitedly informed me that it ‘will be upgrading all its servers to newer versions of PHP.’ The speed and performance of my blogsite will be boosted. I will gain increased security. The newer versions of PHP have more frequent security updates to help protect my site against unwanted hacks or malware.

Despite my dread, I too was excited because it would be nicer to have enhanced speed, performance and better security. What is PHP? It is a language used for web-development. A language that I’m terribly unfamiliar with. I wonder aloud if I am the only person who doesn’t get this gobbledygook. Alas.

The email also had 3 sub-headings. When it will happen. What I need to do on my end. What I can do if a newer version of PHP doesn’t work on my site.

I am ok with when. The upgrade is next week – between October 19 to Oct 23. During that time my account will be updated. Older versions of PHP will no longer be supported. Mine is PHP 5.6. My blogsite may experience a brief disruption in service. Unexplainably, it has already undergone some unwelcome changes that I’m trying to fix. Not successfully. Bluehost said it will work to upgrade my site quickly with the most updated version of PHP software my blogsite will support.  Despite my omnipresent dread, I am comforted that Bluehost will have my back during this transitory period. I believe I am in expert hands.

I am not so ok with what I need to do on my end. I am not performing a ‘tai chi,’ and extricating myself from work and responsibilities. Honestly, I am not. I simply don’t understand what I am supposed to do. This section of the email recommends that I upgrade all of my web installations to the newest PHP software available; before Bluehost moves my account; to avoid a negative impact to my site.

Apparently, newer versions of PHP are already available on my current server. I can set my blogsite to use those versions with its helpful guide. I should also backup all of my website files. I read the email carefully and did as instructed. I clicked on Bluehost’s helpful guide. What stood out to me was this: It is important to check first the compatibility of your site against new versions of PHP before upgrading. Sites built with WordPress (mine is) can use the PHP Compatibility Checker plugin [1]. Naturally, I clicked on that first

During my many aborted attempts at an upgrade, I read about the PHP Compatibility Checker plugin. I did download this plugin sometime ago. And, this is why I’ve held off.  Unmissable and right at the top of the page is this notice:

This plugin hasn’t been tested with the latest 3 major releases of WordPress. It may no longer be maintained or supported and may have compatibility issues when used with more recent versions of WordPress[2]. This plugin does not execute your theme and plugin code, as such this plugin cannot detect runtime compatibility issues. Please note that linting code is not perfect... We are continuously working to ensure the checker provides the most accurate results possible. This plugin relies on WP-Cron to scan files in the background. The scan will get stuck if the site’s WP-Cron isn’t running correctly. 

Obviously, I decided to leave well enough alone. Until now.

I am also not ok with the options available to me if the newer version of the PHP doesn’t work on my site. Why? Because, first I need to test and identify that my blogsite is not working with a newer version of PHP. After which, I have a few options available to me.

One, I can update my blogsite from my WordPress admin dashboard after making a backup, just in case (yes, that caveat). Two, I can get help from a web developer or from the one who originally built the site. The latter being ‘moi’ is a non-starter. Three, design a new site. Seriously? Four, migrate to a platform that still allows outdated PHPs or get my own dedicated server. Hmmm…

The deadline is looming. Fingers crossed the transition will not be overly disruptive, and my Golly Molly Aiyoh will survive the upgrade.