GoDaddy PHP Versions
GoDaddy has had lots of bad press in recent years but is still one of the big players in the hosting market.
However a few clients have come to us recently because GoDaddy is running on old and insecure versions of PHP v5.3 and PHP v5.4
GoDaddy PHP version 7
It’s a serious security risk that large hosting companies like Godaddy are running very insecure and outdated versions of PHP such as version PHP 5.3 and PHP version 5.4. They should be offering all WordPress clients the option to upgrade to PHP Version 7 which is far more secure and also much faster (which can have significant WordPress SEO benefits).
To run WordPress the recommended setup is:
- PHP version 7 or greater
- MySQL version 5.6 or greater OR MariaDB version 10.0 or greater
- HTTPS support
GoDaddy also charges for HTTPS SSL certificates whereas it’s major competitor Bluehost offers them free to clients – a good incentive (not that we would recommend Bluehost)
Godaddy seems to be adopting an underhand sales tactic here by saying to customers that newer versions of PHP aren’t available on Web Hosting yet and if you immediately need newer versions, you have to migrate to their expensive VPS so you can install and manage your desired PHP version. Of course Godaddy does not offer any simple migration path from web hosting to virtual private servers (VPS).
GoDaddy Security Issues
PHP 5.4 stopped receiving security updates from Thursday, 03 September 2015 – almost 2 years ago!
This means Godaddy are deliberately putting customers sites at risk by not providing newer versions of PHP.
For a hosting provider security should be a high priority and website owners are often limited in how they can secure their sites and prevent them from being exploited because of a inept hosting provider not taking security seriously
Using extremely outdated versions of core server applications such as PHP and MySQL needs to be called out by the WordPress and hosting community to prevent WordPress sites from being hacked.
Typically of big hosting providers they have no clear complaints policy and their CEO is not listed and therefore not contactable – adding insult to injury!
