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IONOS PHP Extended Support

Valid for Web Hosting and Managed Dedicated Server.

In this article, we provide information about our paid premium service, PHP Extended Support.

What is PHP Extended Support?

PHP is a programming language frequently used to create dynamic websites (such as blogs or online shops). It is maintained and continuously developed by a global community of developers – known as the PHP community.

This community regularly releases new, more secure and more efficient versions of PHP. However, after a certain period, older versions are no longer updated by the community (end of life), which can lead to security vulnerabilities. This can leave websites vulnerable to attacks.

To ensure your website remains secure even when using an older version of PHP, IONOS offers PHP Extended Support. Our security experts will take care of patching any potential security vulnerabilities in these older PHP versions. This gives you more time to migrate your website to a newer PHP version at your own pace.

As maintaining older PHP versions involves additional work, we charge a monthly fee for this special service. The specific historical PHP versions we can offer you as part of this service depend on the system architecture of your contract.

PHP versions with PHP Extended Support

Below is an overview of older PHP versions which you can continue to use safely as part of the PHP Extended Support program. The date shown in the END OF LIFE column indicates the date from which the PHP community ceased support for the respective version.

As our system architecture is constantly evolving, the availability of the oldest versions depends on when you ordered your plan.

For all contracts (including those from September 15, 2025 onwards)

For all current hosting plans ordered on or after September 15, 2025, as well as for all older plans, the following versions are available under Extended Support:

Version End of life
PHP 5.6 December 2018
PHP 7.0 January 2019
PHP 7.1 December 2019
PHP 7.2 November 30, 2020
PHP 7.3 December 6, 2021
PHP 7.4 November 28, 2022
PHP 8.0 November 26, 2023
PHP 8.1 December 31, 2025

Additional versions for older contracts (up to and including September 14, 2025)

If you took out your hosting contract on or before September 14, 2025, we also support the following very old versions for compatibility reasons:

Version End of life
PHP 4.0 August 2008
PHP 5.2 January 2011
PHP 5.4 September 2015
PHP 5.5 July 2016

Tip: Not sure which legacy PHP versions are available under your contract? The system will check this for you. View your PHP version in your IONOS account. The drop-down menu will then automatically show you only those versions that are compatible with your current plan.

Why are you charging me for PHP Extended Support?

We do not automatically change your PHP version. If a PHP version is set for at least one domain or subdomain in your IONOS account and support for that version is discontinued, we will inform you that this version will only continue to be provided as part of PHP Extended Support. We will also inform you of the date on which this service will become subject to a charge following a free transition period, should you not upgrade to a version that is still supported or do not cancel PHP Extended Support.

Check and update your PHP version

The following article explains how to find out which version of PHP your domains are using and how to update them: Displaying or changing PHP versions

PHP Extended Support is still appearing on my bill

Have you already upgraded your domain to the latest PHP version in your IONOS account? If so, you may have overlooked the note there stating that you can cancel PHP Extended Support if you no longer require it. To cancel PHP Extended Support, follow the steps described in the following article: Cancelling contract features

PHP Extended Support in Managed Hosting for WordPress contracts

To ensure that Managed Hosting for WordPress websites are always up to date and secure, our experts regularly check and update not only the WordPress installation, but also the PHP version in use. This means you do not need to worry about updating the PHP version, as it is always kept up to date.

However, if we do inform you that you are using an outdated PHP version, or if you are already being charged for PHP Extended Support, please check the following:

  • Have you installed the standard version of WordPress? It may be an additional WordPress installation, or you may have changed a Managed Hosting for WordPress to a standard installation.
  • Have you set up a domain or subdomain that is not linked to a Managed WordPress installation, an IONOS website builder, or an external service?

To find out which PHP version your domains are configured with and how to update the PHP version, please refer to the following article: Displaying or changing PHP versions

When do we inform you about PHP Extended Support?

We will always notify you by email about upcoming PHP Extended Support releases. This notification will be sent to the email address you have provided. Check / update your email address now

Tip: You can also view notifications sent to you by us at any time in your IONOS customer account by clicking on the bell icon in the top right-hand corner. View notifications now

When does PHP Extended Support begin?

PHP Extended Support begins immediately after the PHP community ceases to provide support. Regardless of this, we recommend always using an up-to-date and tried-and-tested version of PHP.

Not sure whether you actually need PHP Extended Support?

To check whether your website remains fully functional with the latest version of PHP, you can use a subdomain. The advantage of this is that your website remains fully accessible via your normal domain – which continues to use the previous version of PHP – while you test the staging site.

To test your website with the latest version of PHP:

  • Create a subdomain for your domain. The following article explains how to do this: Creating a subdomain

  • Link the page content to your new subdomain. The following article explains how to do this: Connecting a domain to a webspace directory

  • Assign a current PHP version to the domain. If you have no reason to use a specific version, use the version displayed as the recommended version in your IONOS account. The procedure for setting the PHP version is described in the following article: Displaying or changing PHP versions

If everything is working as intended, you can cancel PHP Extended Support as described in the following article: Cancelling contract features.

Alternatively, please contact our Customer Service to cancel PHP Extended Support.

Are your scripts no longer working following the changeover?

Please revert to the original PHP version and contact an expert. It appears that your application is not compatible with the current PHP version without making some adjustments to the script.

Would you like to update your scripts to a newer version of PHP, but need a bit more time?

Please check first whether any adjustments to the scripts are necessary at all. If major adjustments are required, please contact our Customer Service.

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