Hosts increasingly push sites toward newer PHP versions, sometimes with a firm deadline, and a plugin last updated years ago may never have been tested against that newer version at all — discovering an incompatibility during the actual upgrade, with the site already switched over and potentially broken, is a considerably worse time to find out than checking beforehand. This isn’t a hypothetical risk either — hosts have increasingly firm timelines for these upgrades, often tied to their own infrastructure decisions rather than anything specific to your site, which means the deadline arrives regardless of whether you’ve actually verified your plugins are ready for it.
Note your current PHP version and target
Check your current PHP version under Tools → Site Health → Info, and separately confirm what version your host is pushing you toward or requiring by a specific date.
Having both numbers ready, along with your plugin list, means we can start the actual compatibility check immediately rather than spending time gathering basic information first.
It’s also worth listing any plugin you consider genuinely critical to the site’s operation, since those deserve the most thorough individual testing even if the overall list looks broadly compatible. A short list is genuinely more useful here than a vague sense that everything matters equally. It also helps us allocate testing time where it actually matters most for your specific site. Nothing about the check itself changes, just its emphasis. We still review everything active regardless of what you flag. Nothing gets skipped.
Plugin compatibility check before PHP upgrade
Before upgrading PHP, we check every active plugin against the new version so nothing breaks unexpectedly once the upgrade actually happens.
- Full backup taken before we start
- If we can’t fix it, you get your money back
- We never ask for your own password
What we need from you
- Your current PHP version and the specific version you’re upgrading to
- Any deadline your host has given you for the upgrade
- Access to a staging copy of the site, if one exists, for safe testing
This or something else?
| You want your plugins checked for compatibility before a planned PHP upgrade | This fix covers it |
| You’ve already upgraded and something is now broken | A more urgent, targeted diagnosis rather than this preventative check |
| You want a specific abandoned plugin replaced, not just flagged as risky | Abandoned plugin replacement & data migration, a different service |
| The concern is a theme’s compatibility, not plugins | Often addressed alongside this check; mention it and we’ll include it |
| You haven’t been given a specific deadline and are just being proactive | This fix covers it; proactive is exactly the right time to check |
What we do
- Catalogue every active plugin and its last known update date
- Check each against known compatibility issues with your target PHP version
- Test genuinely uncertain plugins directly on a staging copy where one exists
- Identify which plugins are safe, which need updating first, and which are genuinely at risk
- Recommend a safe upgrade sequence based on what’s found
- Deliver a written report you can act on before committing to the live upgrade
What is included
- A full compatibility check of active plugins against your target PHP version
- Direct testing on staging where available
- Clear identification of what’s safe, what needs updating, and what’s at risk
- A written report with a recommended upgrade sequence
Not included
- Performing the actual PHP upgrade itself, which your host typically handles
- Updating or replacing flagged plugins, which is scoped separately based on findings
- Fixing an upgrade that’s already happened and caused a problem
- Re-checking compatibility for a second PHP upgrade later — this check is scoped to the one upgrade you’re planning now
Questions about this fix
Will you actually perform the PHP upgrade for me?
That's usually your host's responsibility to execute, since they control the server environment; this check tells you what to expect and prepare for beforehand.
What happens to plugins flagged as genuinely at risk?
We tell you plainly, and discuss whether updating, replacing, or temporarily deactivating each one makes the most sense before the upgrade proceeds.
Do I need a staging site for this to work?
It's genuinely helpful for testing uncertain cases directly, but we can still do a meaningful check based on known compatibility information without one.
How far in advance of the upgrade should I do this?
As soon as you know an upgrade is coming, ideally with enough time to update or replace anything flagged before your host's deadline arrives.
Will this catch every possible issue?
We catch what's realistically checkable — known compatibility problems and direct staging tests — though a truly obscure, undocumented edge case can occasionally still surface only during the live upgrade itself.
Related fixes
If this is the second time this year
A bad update breaking the site is a symptom of updates not being tested first. Care plans run every update on a staging clone before it reaches your live site, which is the actual fix for this happening again.
Your access, your rules
Create a separate admin account for us and delete it when we are done. For anything else, we get in touch and agree a method — never a form field on this site, never by reply to an email.
We back up first, always
Before anything is touched we take a full backup and keep it for 30 days. If a fix goes wrong, we put the site back exactly as it was.
If it is not what you bought
If the problem turns out smaller than what you ordered, we refund the difference. If it is bigger, we stop and send a quote before doing any extra work.
If we cannot fix it
You get back what we received. Diagnosis is on us — you only pay when the problem is actually solved. The payment processor takes its fee before the money reaches us, so we never hold it and it is not ours to return. That is true here as everywhere else.
If it comes back
Reply within seven days of delivery and we put it back on the bench at no cost. The fix is not finished until it holds.
What we are responsible for
If something goes wrong with a fix, our responsibility is limited to what you paid for it. We take a full backup first so mistakes can be undone, and we tell you before doing anything outside what you bought.