tl;dr: Use of the “beta A pre-release of software that is given out to a large group of users to trial under real conditions. Beta versions have gone through alpha testing in-house and are generally fairly close in look, feel and function to the final product; however, design changes often occur as part of the process.” label for PHP The web scripting language in which WordPress is primarily architected. WordPress requires PHP 7.4 or higher support has been retired and has been retroactively removed from all versions.
- WordPress 6.9 and 7.0 are now documented as fully supporting PHP 8.5
- WordPress 6.8 and later are now documented as fully supporting PHP 8.4
- WordPress 6.4 and later are now documented as fully supporting PHP 8.3
Due to the acknowledgement that WordPress is rarely used in isolation (without any theme or plugins), support for each version of PHP 8 has up until now been labelled as “beta” until its usage surpasses 10% on any given version of WordPress.
Since version 8.0, the PHP team has regularly shipped stable updates in the 8.x series. This means the work required to make plugins and themes compatible with the newer versions is much lower, and as such use of the “beta” label has been retired. The label has been removed retroactively from all versions. This will provide clarity and confidence to users, and encourages web hosts, developers, and users to continue updating to the latest versions of PHP.
Refer to the handbook page for documentation on PHP compatibility and WordPress versions.
What prompted this change?
The criteria for removing the “beta support” label from any given version of WordPress were adopted in 2023 after remaining PHP compatibility issues were resolved. Use of the “compatible with exceptions” label was retired in April last year and the number and significance of reported compatibility exceptions remains extremely low.
Additionally it’s become apparent that the “beta” label has made some end users and web hosts reluctant to update to newer versions of PHP, and caused some developers of plugins and themes to delay testing and supporting newer versions of PHP.
This label has served its purpose over the years, but can now be retired in order to continue increasing the adoption of newer versions of PHP throughout the ecosystem.
What’s the minimum supported PHP version?
The minimum recommended PHP version remains at 8.3. The minimum supported PHP version is 7.4 since WordPress 7.0. See the Requirements page for all the info.
How and why should I update PHP?
Keeping PHP up to date on your web server ensures your websites remain as performant and secure as possible. Read the guide to updating PHP.
Props to @garyj @westonruter and @jorbin for pre-publishing feedback.
#php, #php-8-0, #php-compatibility
