TIP 4 > Use PHP 7.0 and above (Speed Optimisation)

byMarketeer1

5.8K followers

Updated 5 years ago

TIP 4 > Use PHP 7.0 and above

Another majorly overlooked tip...speed is optimised automatically when using the most up to date versions of PHP

What the hell is PHP I hear you saying?

PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor (weird I know, a computer word which isn't an acronym!...hooray!).

Without getting too technical PHP is an open source (software people can modify and share due to its design being publicly accessible), server-side, scripting language used for the development of web applications.

Basically it's a script-based program (made up of lines of code) deployed on a server written specifically for the automation of tasks and WordPress is built on it.

In fact you could say that PHP is the actual building materials from which WordPress is constructed and there have been 32 major version releases of WordPress since the platform’s first inception in 1994!

Believe it or not only 1.5% of all WordPress installations are currently using the latest version of PHP which at the date of this post is PHP 7.3, while a whopping 39.6% of WordPress websites are still using PHP 5.6, which was released way back in August 2014!

Lets put it another way...

Would you give up your latest version iPhone Xr just released to instead go back to using a first generation iPhone from 2007?

Of course not..and why not?

well a part from it not looking at all cool, it's technology and functionality would be so basic and outdated when compared to today's tech, it's security would be flawed and it's response times would be so frustratingly slow, you'd have to wrap it in a football because you would be throwing it around so much!

And that's exactly how your WordPress setup will perform with PHP 5.6 released back in 2014!

So why are so many WordPress websites still using PHP 5.6?

In a word, the blame lays with a failure of our Hosting providers to keep up to date but we as consumers are also to blame for not keeping them in check!

WordPress them selves now recommends that we use PHP 7.2 or greater...and with their latest versions has seen a complete redesign of the engine that drives PHP..it's lighter, more dynamic and has a key emphasis on performance and response times.

So in terms of our WordPress installations what's the solution? Pretty straight forward actually, we simply choose a host which supports PHP 7.3 and is proactive in keeping their technology stack, including WordPress, up to date.

So in summary, when you're new to all this stuff, affiliate marketing, building websites, finding niches, creating and publishing content, indexing, Google ranking etc etc etc...it's not the end of the world if you're not running WordPress on the latest version ....although for security purposes it is always desirable if possible.

To be totally honest, from a speed and response point of view it isn't the end of the world if your WordPress website is loading a little slowly....because right now you are probably at a stage where you are learning the basic tools and skills which will come together like a big jigsaw at some point in the near future.

Its small consistent baby steps which are far more important than the technical stuff right now. But as you develop those skills and become more proficient in this field...your education and attention will turn to these finer aspects....because you'll have arrived at the stage of your business where you want to maximise your advantages over your competitors to service your customer and get that sale!

Patience is the key!

To our success!

Anthony