PHP questions

PHP 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2 and 8.3. You can choose the version per domain in DirectAdmin and change it whenever you like.

In DirectAdmin, open the PHP version selector for your domain and pick the version you want. The change applies straight away, and switching back is just as quick if something breaks.

PHP is a programming language that runs on the web server and builds pages before sending them to the browser. WordPress, Joomla, Drupal and most contact forms are written in it — which is why hosting plans list which PHP versions they support.

Read the PHP error log rather than turning error display on for visitors. In DirectAdmin the logs are under System Info & Files › then Site Summary / Statistics / Logs, and the most recent entries at the end of the file are the ones that matter.

Raise it in your PHP settings for the domain, or with a memory_limit line in a .user.ini file. Some directives are adjustable on shared hosting and some are fixed, so check the value with phpinfo() after changing it to confirm it applied.

The limit comes from PHP’s upload_max_filesize and post_max_size. Raise both in your PHP settings. If the files are big — video especially — uploading by FTP into the right folder is faster and avoids the limit entirely.

The common ones most applications need are present. The reliable way to check for a specific extension is to create a page calling phpinfo() and look for it, then delete the page again — it reveals more about your server than you want public.

Raise max_execution_time in your PHP settings. Before you do, ask why the script needs so long — an import that takes minutes usually wants breaking into batches rather than a longer limit.

Your script tried to send a header — a redirect, a cookie — after output had already started. The usual culprit is a blank line or a stray space before the opening <?php tag in an included file. The error message names the file and line that produced the output.