Hostgator Web Hosting Questions & Answers

How to let Hostgator web hosting support PHP 5.3?

Shared and Reseller

We currently have 5.3.5 installed on all servers. A handler for PHP 5.3 is added to our shared and reseller servers for those who wish to utilize it. In order to utilize this handler, you will need to add the following code to your .htaccess file:

Action application/x-hg-php53 /cgi-sys/php53
AddHandler application/x-hg-php53 .php

VPS and Dedicated Server

Do not use the Handler code listed above. Instead, you must email support@hostgator.com and request Apache be recompiled to use PHP 5.3.

Every one

Before switching, be aware of backwards compatibility issues with scripts: Older PHP coding may not be compatible with newer versions of PHP.

Please keep in mind: Using PHP 5.3 will break any sites requiring Zend or ioncube that were encoded with PHP 5.2. We recommend you check with the application developers to see if they have a 5.3 version available.

How to let Hostgator web hosting support PHP 5.4?
On Shared Environments

Accounts Provisioned After May 1, 2013

PHP 5.4 is available on Shared hosting accounts provisioned after May 1, 2013 by adding the following code to your .htaccess file:
# Use PHP 5.4
AddType application/x-httpd-php54 .php

You can edit your .htaccess file via FTP or through cPanel’s File Manager, whatever is more convenient for you.

Accounts Provisioned Before May 1, 2013

Currently, we do not offer PHP 5.4 on a Shared environment provisioned before May 1, 2013; however, we are developing a side-by-side solution like our existing dual environment for PHP 5.2 and 5.3. We will update this article when it is ready.

On Reseller Hosting

Accounts Provisioned After May 16, 2013

All new accounts provisioned after May 16, 2013 will have PHP 5.3 and PHP 5.4. You can enable PHP 5.4 on your Reseller account by following the instructions for Shared accounts above.

Accounts Provisioned Before May 16, 2013

Unfortunately, for accounts provisioned before May 16, 2013, we do not offer PHP 5.4. Existing accounts are “grandfathered” (continued as is) and will still have PHP 5.2 and 5.3 for the time being.  Since PHP 5.2 is deprecated and being phased out, it is recommended that you prepare your scripts to be compatible with PHP 5.3 or PHP 5.4 for future compatibility.

On VPS or Dedicated Servers

For VPS and Dedicated Servers, HostGator offers the latest stable version of PHP 5.4. Currently, PHP 5.4.14 or higher is available. Please contact HostGator for additional details.