How to change your PHP version in cPanel Hosting

If you're running a website, you may encounter situations where you need to change the PHP version. Whether it's for performance optimization or compatibility reasons, cPanel provides a straightforward way to manage PHP versions for your hosting as well as individual domains. In this guide, we'll walk you through the process.

Table of Contents

• Change the PHP Version of Your Entire cPanel Hosting
• Change the PHP Version of One Domain or Subdomain on a Hosting

Change the PHP Version of Your Entire cPanel Hosting

Many third-party applications will require different PHP versions so you may want to switch to another version for a particular project. You can perform this modification in your Hosting Manager control panel.

To change your PHP version, follow the steps below:

1. Log in to your cPanel.
2. Scroll down to Software.
3. Click the Select PHP Version button, which is next to Installatron Applications Installer.
   
4. On the Select PHP Version page, select the PHP Version you want from the drop-down menu. Then, click Apply.
   

Your PHP version will be updated instantly. To check if the changes has taken effect, you can check the Current PHP version at the top of the same page as shown in the screenshot below.

Change the PHP Version of One Domain or Subdomain on a Hosting

Follow the steps below if you only want to change the PHP version of one addon domain or subdomain. This guide applies to cPanel accounts that host multiple websites and domains.

1. DS - CD Log in to cPanel
2. Under Files, click File Manager.
3. Create and view your phpinfo.php page to compare the PHP version before and after completing this guide.
4. Edit the .htacccess file of the website in question. If you can’t see the .htaccess file, show .htaccess (hidden files) within the File Manager.
   TIP:
   If you still can’t see the .htaccess file even after showing the hidden files, create a .htaccess file.
5. Enter the code that corresponds to the PHP version you want to apply based on the table below.

   PHP Version	Code
   5.5	<IfModule mime_module> AddHandler application/x-httpd-ea-php55___lsphp .php .php5 .phtml </IfModule>
   5.6	<IfModule mime_module> AddHandler application/x-httpd-ea-php56___lsphp .php .php5 .phtml </IfModule>
   7.0	<IfModule mime_module> AddHandler application/x-httpd-ea-php70___lsphp .php .php7 .phtml </IfModule>
   7.2	<IfModule mime_module> AddHandler application/x-httpd-ea-php72___lsphp .php .php7 .phtml </IfModule>
   7.4	<IfModule mime_module> AddHandler application/x-httpd-alt-php74___lsphp .php </IfModule>
   8.0	<IfModule mime_module> AddHandler application/x-httpd-alt-php80___lsphp .php </IfModule>
   8.1	<IfModule mime_module> AddHandler application/x-httpd-alt-php81___lsphp .php </IfModule>
   8.2	<IfModule mime_module> AddHandler application/x-httpd-alt-php82___lsphp .php </IfModule>

   Add the code to the topmost part of the page if there are existing codes in the .htaccess file.

6. Click Save Changes on the file editor.

   

7. View the changes in your phpinfo.php file that you created in Step 2 by adding /phpinfo.php after your domain name. It should be similar to this URL: https://yourdomain.com/phpinfo.php when accessing it via your browser.