How to Upgrade the PHP on Your Godaddy Dedicated Server

New GoDaddy hosting accounts support version 5 of the server-side scripting language PHP. Before you upgrade from an older account, confirm that the application versions currently installed on your server are compatible with PHP 5. Note that PHP 5 no longer supports the relational database MySQL by default, and MySQL client libraries are no longer bundled in PHP 5. MySQL is often used with PHP, so the decision to upgrade the PHP on a GoDaddy server may be a serious one. Instances may exist where you need to have PHP 4 and PHP 5 running at the same time to keep your website fully functional. Downgrading back to PHP 4 isn't an option after upgrading to PHP 5.

Instructions

1. View the hosting account that may need an upgrade to PHP 5 by logging into the GoDaddy "Account Manager" with your password and username. Choose "Web Hosting" from within the "Products" section, pick the hosting account, then click "Launch."

2. Confirm that a PHP upgrade is necessary by examining your current PHP version number. If you see that PHP 4 is active, you are a candidate for an upgrade.

3. Upgrade from PHP 4 to PHP 5 by navigating to the "Content" menu and selecting "Programming Languages." Choose the PHP version you're interested in and click "Continue." Clicking "Update" completes the process. You must wait up to 24 hours for a completed PHP upgrade.

References

• GoDaddy Help Center: What Versions of PHP Are Available on my Linux Hosting Account?
• GoDaddy Help Center: Viewing or Changing Your PHP Language Version
• The PHP Group: Migrating from PHP 4 to PHP 5