How to Change Your PHP Version with MultiPHP Manager
Unisolva hosting supports PHP 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3, with PHP 8.4 coming soon. Each version offers different performance characteristics and compatibility with themes and plugins. You can switch PHP versions at any time from cPanel using MultiPHP Manager — no downtime required.
Which PHP Version Should You Use?
- PHP 8.2 — recommended for most WordPress sites. Wide compatibility with modern themes and plugins, strong performance improvements over 8.1.
- PHP 8.3 — latest stable version. Best performance. Recommended for sites using up-to-date themes and plugins. Some older plugins may not yet be fully compatible — test on staging first.
- PHP 8.1 — use only if a specific plugin or theme requires it and is not compatible with 8.2 or 8.3.
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???? Tip Always test a PHP version change on a staging site first before applying it to your live site. A PHP version mismatch can cause plugin errors or a white screen. See: How to Use WordPress Toolkit (WordPress category) for how to set up a staging environment. |
Checking Your Current PHP Version
- Log in to cPanel at yourdomain.com/cpanel
- Scroll to the Software section and click MultiPHP Manager
- Your domains are listed with their current PHP version shown in the PHP Version column
Changing the PHP Version
- In cPanel, go to Software > MultiPHP Manager
- Tick the checkbox next to the domain you want to update
- In the PHP Version dropdown at the top, select the version you want (e.g. PHP 8.3)
- Click Apply — the change takes effect immediately
- Visit your site to confirm it loads correctly
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???? Note If you have multiple domains on your account, you can set a different PHP version for each domain independently. Select multiple checkboxes before applying to update several domains at once. |
Adjusting PHP Settings (MultiPHP INI Editor)
For advanced PHP configuration (e.g. memory limits, upload sizes, execution time), use the MultiPHP INI Editor:
- In cPanel, go to Software > MultiPHP INI Editor
- Select the domain (or PHP Home for server-wide defaults)
- Use Basic Mode for common settings or Editor Mode for direct php.ini editing
Common settings to adjust
- memory_limit — maximum memory a PHP script can use. Default: 256M. If WordPress shows "allowed memory exhausted" errors, increase to 512M.
- upload_max_filesize — maximum size for a single file upload. Default varies. Increase if you need to upload large theme or plugin zip files.
- post_max_size — must be larger than upload_max_filesize. Usually set to the same value or slightly higher.
- max_execution_time — maximum time (seconds) a script can run before timing out. Default: 30. Increase to 120–300 for sites with long-running operations (imports, backups).
- max_input_vars — maximum number of input variables. Increase to 3000–5000 if you use complex page builders or large menus.
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???? Tip WordPress itself often requires higher memory than the default PHP settings allow. If you see memory errors in the WordPress dashboard or during plugin activation, increase memory_limit to 512M in MultiPHP INI Editor. |
Verify It Worked
- After changing PHP version, visit your WordPress dashboard
- Go to Tools > Site Health and click the Info tab
- Expand Server > PHP version to confirm the new version is active
- Verify your site and dashboard function normally — check for any new error notices
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⚠️ Warning If your site shows a white screen or error after changing PHP version, go back to MultiPHP Manager and switch to the previous version to restore the site. Then open a support ticket at my.unisolva.com to get help identifying the compatibility issue. |
Related Articles
- How to Access and Navigate cPanel
- How to Use WordPress Toolkit — Staging, Cloning & Auto-Updates (WordPress category)
- Common WordPress Errors and How to Fix Them (WordPress category)
