WordPress App & PHP 8.4?

MediaServe

@Adam I'm having problems with the WordPress app in the Enhance panel.

I choose a theme from themeforest.net to use for a project (because I have no design skills myself lol) and when I install WordPress from the panel all looks good including the Site URL in the app menu. However when I install the theme and demo data, the Site URL gets mangled if the PHP 8.4 version is set in the Advanced > Developer tools menu.

I wiped everything and reverted to PHP 7.4, then step by step I installed everything one by one, and no problems with 7.4. The prior 2 installs under PHP 8.4 mangled the Site URL so bad I wasn't able to change it and could not use the SSO login at that point, but I could still login to the dashboard normally and the Site URL there was fine in the general settings.

I've seen this happen months ago with the same sort of approach too (but different theme), so I figured I'd mention it without opening ticket. Anyone else see something like this? Something between the Elementor Pro connection and the purchased theme and / or required plugins fouled something up twice today under PHP 8.4 but not with PHP 7.4.

Isaia-Arknet_PTY_LTD

MediaServe

Some themes and their plugins are coded with compatibility for php 7.4
when you change php to 8.x some functions are not compatible and or some plugins do not work as they should and you get function or UI issues, the only way this gets fixed is if the developer of the theme release a theme update compatible with newer php version. not every theme is compatible with every php version, and even if pgp 8 is backwards compatible to some extent it is not 100% backwards compatible 🙂

I think next time when you purchase the theme look at the php compatibility aas i know developers do list these specs.

Steamon

MediaServe should we just not wait for a elementor update first? I have a few websites with elementor had this problem and temporary put them on php 8.3 or is there a other problem i am missing here?

MediaServe

Isaia-Arknet_PTY_LTD The requirements list "PHP version 7.4 or greater" and the theme was released first on 9 January 2025 so you might be right. They build a lot of themes though and provide generic requirements so who knows. I just can't imagine how the WordPress app in Ehance would mangle Site URL so badly thoough.

Kosta

MediaServe can you share link to the theme pls

MediaServe

Steamon We generally use the latest PHP version so this new website ended up with 8.4 by default. Might need to rethink this as well.

MediaServe

Kosta Sure! It's https://themeforest.net/item/elitehost-webhosting-whmcs-wordpress-theme/56109615

Not rated for the latest WordPress either. Still weird that the WordPress App in Enhance mangles the Site URL to the point where it cannot be changed and SSO fails. I can imagine this happening for many WordPress users hosted on Enhance.

Isaia-Arknet_PTY_LTD

MediaServe

lattes php is not always the best PHP for production as everyone needs to upgrade their code for that version of PHP 🙂
the php the theme was build for, is the best php for the case, I am not trying to be a smart one here, just trying to have a trouble free life 🙂

cars run on 98 petrol and run smoother but the engine will get faulty faster compared to using 91 petrol 🙂 as the 91 is more "greasy" and the life of the engine will prolong 🙂 hope you get my analogy 🙂

MediaServe

Isaia-Arknet_PTY_LTD Well as I said, I (nor anyone here) has graphic design skills, and this one was complementary to the brand we've been working on, so it is what it is. I didn't even realize that Elementor wasn't really ready for PHP 8.4 either (nor PHP 8 at all given the online reports I just looked up lol.) I can troubleshoot WordPress errors all day long but cannot design for it all.

And WordPress designers are difficult to come by. Would love have a good WP contractor for our clients who need designs.

Isaia-Arknet_PTY_LTD

we all have this issue regarding design especially when branding is involved and a particular look needs to be there.

what we do is, go with themes like Astra or Neve, as we care about performance, and pick their themes and customise them. if a website does not fit there, then we really consider if the effort is worthed 🙂

twest

It's never a good idea to run the latest php for WordPress. Plugins and themes always lag behind several versions and will commonly crash your sites on newer versions.

WordPress itself is only compatible up to 8.2 at this time. It only has Beta support for 8.3 and 8.4, meaning expect bugs.

Most our clients are on 8.1 with minimal issues. We'll update them in mass to 8.2 toward the end of the year when 8.1 stops having security updates/reaches end of life. Just as we will go to 8.3 toward the end of next year when 8.2 reaches end of life.

Using 8.4 at this time is overall a bad idea. I only use 8.3 on apps I hand-coded that I know are compatible.