PHP 8.1 Deprecation & Setting 8.3 as Platform Default

The WP Cloud platform removal of PHP 8.1 will occur on 31 December 2025. 8.3 will be set as the default version on 19 May 2025.

WP Cloud follows the publicly available PHP supported versions life cycle, which includes supporting a release branch of PHP for two years from its initial stable release plus an additional two years for critical security issues only.

With this schedule in mind, we plan deprecations and default-version changes in advance and publish them on the WP Cloud blog and the Platform Update Schedule.

Note that for PHP versions >8.1, WP Cloud has adopted a modified schedule. Each year, hosts should work with their customers to upgrade sites away from the retiring versions by December 15th – 12:00 UTC. It’s recommended to start on the upgrade, default change, and user-facing removal process as soon as possible.

With this life cycle in mind, deprecations and default version changes are scheduled in advance.

Learn more and prepare for PHP 8.1’s upcoming deprecation, and the change to 8.3 as the platform default, below.

PHP 8.1 deprecation

Following this official PHP life cycle, the platform removal of PHP 8.1 will occur on December 31, 2025.

In general, we suggest that defaults for sites advance as soon as possible after a PHP release. Clients should plan an upgrade cycle that encourages users to move forward by incentivizing newer versions and discouraging the use of older versions nearing the end of their security support period.

Setting PHP 8.3 as platform default

Starting on May 19, 2025, the WP Cloud platform will set PHP 8.3 as the Atomic API default version of PHP. If a PHP version is not specified during a create-site request, PHP 8.3 will be used.

Clients are still free to set the available PHP version of their choice during site creation, or after creation by adjusting the php_version site meta, but we’re moving the platform default well ahead of the planned end of security support for PHP 8.2 on December 31, 2026.

PHP 8.3 is the logical choice for new sites, and customers on PHP 8.1 and 8.2 should be encouraged to upgrade ahead of their respective deadlines at the end of 2025 and 2026.

Next steps & recommendations

WP Cloud clients are encouraged to audit PHP versions set across sites, identify any sites still on 8.1, and begin upgrading to 8.3.

The /verbose parameter available via the get-php-versions endpoint includes detailed information about the available PHP versions, including the platform default and “until” and “status” details for each version. The “until” value should be treated as the absolute end date for a given version on WP Cloud.

Client hosts may use the php_version site meta during creation and after to adjust a site’s PHP version. The get-sites endpoint may be used with this meta to audit PHP versions set across all sites within your client.

• Default change: 8.3 will be set as the platform default automatically on 19 May 2025. To keep 8.2 or 8.3 explicitly, continue passing the php_version field on create-site and update-site calls.
• Existing sites on 8.1: schedule customer communication, testing, and upgrades now to avoid the 31  December 2025 cutoff.
• Existing sites on 8.2: plan to move to 8.3 well before 8.2’s platform removal on December 15, 2025.

Key dates

Date	Change
May  19, 2025	PHP 8.3 becomes the default for all new sites created via the WP Cloud Atomic API (unless explicitly set to another version).
Dec 31, 2025	Upstream security support for PHP 8.1 ends, 8.1 is removed from the WP Cloud platform.
Dec 15, 2026 12:00 UTC	PHP 8.2 is scheduled to be removed from the WP Cloud platform.
Dec  15, 2027 12:00 UTC	PHP 8.3 is scheduled to be removed from the WP Cloud platform.
Dec 15, 2028 12:00 UTC	PHP 8.4 is scheduled to be removed from the WP Cloud platform.

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