Sunsetting PHP 5.6 in MODX Cloud

MODX Cloud prides itself on providing the fastest, most secure web hosting experience for our customers. To protect the integrity and security for our customers, on July 1, 2018, we will be removing PHP 5.6.

By Jay Gilmore  |  March 26, 2018  |  2 min read
Sunsetting PHP 5.6 in MODX Cloud

MODX Cloud prides itself on providing the fastest, most secure web hosting experience for our customers. This means staying abreast of innovations, server updates and removing outdated software when the time comes. Therefore, starting July 1, 2018, we will no longer offer PHP 5.6 in MODX Cloud.

PHP 5.6 is at its End of Life

December 31, 2018 marks the official end of security support for PHP 5.6, this means there will be no further updates to the software. PHP 7.0 was released in December 2015 and PHP 7.1 was released December of 2016.

Why We’re Ending PHP 5.6 Support Early

A recent patch release of PHP 5.6 included a change in that is incompatible with our platform environments. This issue reared its head when, a few days after the rollout to our public platforms, the servers began to run out of memory for customer sites. Obviously, that’s not good. The PHP group has no plans on reverting this change. This means we cannot upgrade as new security patches are released. Therefore, to protect the security of our customers, we are discontinuing PHP 5.6 availability on July 1, 2018.

What This Change Means For You

Most customers will have no issues with PHP 7.1 if they run at least MODX 2.5.2, WordPress 4.3.4, or Evo CMS 1.4.0 (formerly MODX Evolution) or later versions.

In November 2017, we made PHP 7.1 the default version for all new Clouds. Very few MODX Cloud customers have needed to downgrade.

Reasons people might have issues with PHP 7.1 include:

  • Outdated MODX Revolution or other software
  • MODX Extras or software add-ons/Plugins not updated or unsupported
  • Custom code that requires updating

If you’re using other software alongside MODX or in a Flex Cloud, most applications today should be compatible with PHP 7.1 which was first released in December of 2016.

How to Prepare for PHP 7 in MODX Cloud

For customers who created their sites before November, 2017, or do not know if their sites are compatible with PHP 7.1, we’ve created a Support Article to guide customers through the move to PHP 7.1.

Need Help Getting Ready?

For site owners who are unsure about how to get their site ready for the upcoming changes, we advise you to contact your developer or designer. If you’ve lost contact with your developer or designer, you can find a local MODX Professional to assist, or you can contact MODX Cloud Support.