Five things to check on your website before the end of the year
On 31 December 2026, PHP 8.2 will reach end of life. After this, no security patches will be available for that version. Most websites, including WordPress sites, run on PHP – so it’s essential that you check yours and act if necessary. Here are five things you need to check if your site runs on PHP.
1. Which version of PHP you’re running
This is the time-sensitive one. PHP 8.2 is the next version to reach end of life, on 31 December 2026. If you are on an older version of PHP, an update is already overdue – PHP 8.1 has had no fixes available since December 2025. A sensible target for a production upgrade is PHP 8.5, which will be supported until the end of 2029. If 8.5 isn’t supported by your hosting yet, PHP 8.4 is a good option, receiving bug fixes until the end of 2026 and security updates until the end of 2028.
2. Your framework version
This is the same principle but on a different timescale. If you are on Laravel, security fixes for Laravel 11 ended on 12 March 2026, while Laravel 12 stopped getting bug fixes on 13 August 2026 – although security cover for Laravel 12 continues until February 2027. Find out which version you are on, and when it next needs an update.
3. Your packages
Sites are built on packages maintained by other people. Packages require updates and security patches, and sometimes they get abandoned by their creators. If they are left alone for too long they stop upgrading cleanly and start blocking each other, taking far longer to sort out than regular updates would.
4. Your backups
Most people have backups for their sites, but not many regularly test that those backups can be successfully restored. Checking how easily you can get your site up and running from a backup is a good idea prior to any large updates.
5. Whether testing is planned for afterwards
Updates often go to plan with no breakages, but they can change behaviour on your site in ways that are hard to predict. It’s crucial that there is a plan in place to thoroughly test and deal with any bugs introduced by updates before they affect your customers.
How we handle updates
We put all our clients on a quarterly update schedule, consisting of PHP, Laravel and package updates plus thorough testing, four times each year. That stops things falling far behind and reduces the risk of breakages.
If your website isn’t on any sort of schedule, get in touch and we’ll see what it needs.