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Free Plugin by WP Engine v1.6.3

PHP Compatibility Checker

Make sure your plugins and themes are compatible with newer PHP versions.

PHP Compatibility Checker

The facts

Rating
2.7★ from 131
Active installs
200k+
Price
Free
Last updated
20 Jul 2026
Added
Jun 2016
Requires WP
5.6
Tested up to
WP 6.4.10
Requires PHP
5.6
Downloads
3,045,629

Our analysis

AI-assisted

PHP Compatibility Checker is a WordPress plugin designed to help users assess their site's compatibility with different PHP versions. It scans the theme and plugin code installed on your site, providing a report that identifies compatibility issues, along with details on the specific lines of code that may cause problems. The plugin relies on Tide to produce near real-time results, although it does not execute code, meaning it cannot detect runtime compatibility issues.

This plugin is suitable for any WordPress website looking to ensure compatibility with PHP versions up to 8.0. However, users should be aware that the plugin is no longer actively maintained, which may affect its reliability over time.

Best for: This plugin suits WordPress site owners who need to check PHP compatibility for their themes and plugins.

What it does well

  • ✓Free to use under the license provided
  • ✓Checks compatibility with PHP versions up to 8.0
  • ✓Identifies specific lines of code causing compatibility issues
  • ✓Categorises issues into errors and warnings
  • ✓Utilises Tide for near real-time scanning

Where it falls short

  • •No longer actively maintained
  • •Cannot detect runtime compatibility issues
  • •May show false positives due to linting limitations

Verdict

PHP Compatibility Checker can be a useful tool for assessing code compatibility, but its lack of active maintenance may limit its effectiveness in the long term.

From the developer

WP Engine's own description of PHP Compatibility Checker, lightly tidied.

WARNING: PHP Compatibility Checker is no longer actively maintained.

This software is still free to use under the license provided, but users should be aware that it is not currently maintained. No additional releases, including security releases, will be made available.

The WP Engine PHP Compatibility Checker can be used by any WordPress website on any web host to check PHP version compatibility.

This plugin will lint theme and plugin code installed on your WordPress site and give you back a report of compatibility issues as reported by Tide for you to fix. Compatibility issues are categorized into errors and warnings and will list the file and line number of the offending code, as well as the info about why that line of code is incompatible with the chosen version of PHP. The plugin will also suggest updates to themes and plugins, as a new version may offer compatible code.

This plugin does not execute your theme and plugin code, as such this plugin cannot detect runtime compatibility issues.

Please note that linting code is not perfect. This plugin cannot detect unused code-paths that might be used for backwards compatibility, and thus might show false positives. We maintain a whitelist of plugins that can cause false positives. We are continuously working to ensure the checker provides the most accurate results possible.

This plugin relies on Tide that constantly scans updated versions of plugins and themes in the background. Your scan results should be near real-time, but if not that just means Tide has not yet scanned your specific plugin or theme version. Please be patient as this may take up to 10 minutes for results to be returned from Tide. Please see the FAQ for more information.

Update to PHP 7.4

  • Use this plugin to check your site for compatibility up to PHP 8.0!
  • As of July 2022, 8.52% of WordPress websites run a PHP version older than PHP 7.0.
  • These versions of PHP have been deprecated and unsupported for over 2 years.
  • Only 7.1% of WordPress websites run PHP 8, the current main version of PHP.

Disclaimer

While this plugin is written to detect as many problems as accurately as possible, 100% reliable detection is very difficult to ensure. It is best practice to run comprehensive tests before you migrate to a new PHP version.

The plugin was created by WP Engine to help the WordPress community increase adoption of modern PHP versions. We welcome contributors to this plugin, and are excited to see how developers and other WordPress hosts use this plugin.

To disclose security issues for this plugin please email WordPress@wpengine.com.

Read the full description on the official page →

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