For today’s blog post, I thought I’d pull the curtain back and share some of the behind-the-scenes things that we’re working on. Our latest major technical project has been upgrading all of our client websites to the latest version of PHP. This process is very time consuming and requires a significant attention to detail as we back up, test, compare, restore, backup again, re-test, compare again, until your site is functioning properly on the latest version of PHP.
What is PHP?
Hypertext Preprocessor, aka PHP, is a general-purpose scripting language that is used for web development. Think of PHP as the backbone of your website. The software we build websites with are written using PHP. Keeping PHP updated is an important part of maintaining your website’s functionality and security.
Here are a few reasons why we want to upgrade your site to the latest version, PHP 8.0:
- Faster performance – PHP 8.0 is 30% faster than the previous version due to improved code execution.
- PHP 8 will expand and improve over time – development has ceased on previous versions, so going forward any improvements will come via new versions of PHP 8.x.
- The previous version, PHP 7.4, loses security support in November 2022 – security is extremely important in the digital world and older versions of PHP will no longer benefit from security updates.
Unfortunately, not all websites can be upgraded to PHP 8.0
The Bullseye Media team will be reaching out to you if your website falls within that group. If your website is part of the small minority of sites that are unable to upgrade, we’ll provide you with options for moving forward.
Even though this type of update isn’t sexy, exciting, or readily apparent from the external view, it is critical to the ongoing functionality of your website. The Operations team at Bullseye Media, my team, are constantly looking for ways to improve and enhance your website.
Please reach out if you have any questions!