Is PHP Still Relevant in 2026? What the Data Shows

Is PHP still relevant in 2026? Yes. W3Techs reports that PHP runs 69.7% of all websites with a known server-side language as of 14 October 2026.

We built this answer from live data in October 2026. We read the W3Techs usage pages, the php.net support table and the 2025 Stack Overflow survey. We also read the WordPress and WooCommerce requirement pages, ran sample PHP code and ran a Site Health check on our WordPress 7.1.3 test site.

You get the usage numbers, the PHP versions that still receive security fixes, and what modern PHP looks like. Then we cover PHP for WordPress and WooCommerce, PHP vs Python, and how to check the version your own site runs.

Is PHP Still Relevant in 2026?

Is PHP still relevant in 2026? Yes, and as of 14 October 2026 W3Techs puts PHP at 69.7% of all websites with a known server-side language. The language also keeps shipping, with PHP 8.5 released on 20 November 2025 as its newest stable branch.

That number counts websites. It does not count developers or new projects, and a site that has run on PHP for ten years still counts today.

So the figure shows how much of the web depends on PHP. It says little about how many people pick PHP for a fresh build.

Relevance and popularity are also different things. PHP gets less press than Python or JavaScript. It still sits under WordPress and WooCommerce, which later sections cover in detail.

Three public signals back the verdict. php.net publishes a support calendar that runs to 2029.

WordPress.org names PHP 8.3 or greater in its requirements. The Laravel release notes show a new major version in March 2026.

Is PHP Still Used? The Numbers

Yes, PHP is still used on most websites that reveal their server-side language. W3Techs lists PHP at 69.7% against 7.7% for JavaScript and 7.1% for Ruby on 14 October 2026. Developer surveys show lower numbers because they count people and not websites.

The table below shows the top server-side languages in that W3Techs report. The shares add up to more than 100% because a site can use more than one language. The gap between first and second place is 62 percentage points.

Server-side language	Share of websites (14 October 2026)
PHP	69.7%
JavaScript	7.7%
Ruby	7.1%
Java	5.5%
Scala	5.0%
ASP.NET	4.2%
Python	1.1%

That 69.7% is PHP market share among websites with a known server-side language. Developer usage looks different.

The 2025 Stack Overflow Developer Survey asked which languages people worked in over the past year. PHP got 18.9% of all respondents and 19.1% of professional developers.

Both numbers can be true at once. PHP leads on websites and trails among developers overall. A language with a huge installed base does not need to top a popularity poll to stay useful.

What Is PHP Used For?

PHP is a server-side scripting language that builds a web page on the server before the browser receives it. W3Techs describes it as a scripting language for creating websites. WordPress, WooCommerce and the Laravel framework all run on PHP and publish their own minimum PHP versions.

Each of those projects states its PHP requirement in public. WordPress.org recommends PHP 8.3 or greater. WooCommerce lists PHP 8.3 or greater for version 10.8 and newer.

The Laravel release notes say Laravel 13 requires PHP 8.3 as a minimum. So three major PHP projects now ask for the same floor.

In practice that gives you three kinds of PHP work. You can run a content site on WordPress, run a store on WooCommerce, or build a custom application on a framework such as Laravel. Each one depends on the PHP version your server runs.

That last point matters most. WordPress runs on PHP. The code in your theme and plugins runs on your server’s PHP version as well.

A plugin that works on one PHP version can fail on another. The version matters more than the language debate.

If you run self-hosted WordPress, PHP is the part of the stack your host manages and you still depend on. Many site owners never write PHP. They run it every time a page loads.

Is PHP Dead? Common Myths Checked

No, PHP is not dead. It follows a public release schedule, and PHP 8.5 came out on 20 November 2025. The bigger problem is old PHP: W3Techs shows 35.3% of PHP sites on PHP 7 or older as of 14 October 2026.

Note: The 35.3% adds the W3Techs shares for PHP 7 (27.4%), PHP 5 (7.8%) and PHP 4 (0.1%). The php.net support table lists only branches 8.2 to 8.5 as supported. None of those older versions still gets fixes.

Here is how the four most common myths hold up against the vendor pages:

• PHP is slow: PHP 8 added a JIT compiler. The PHP 8.0 release page says typical application performance is on par with PHP 7.4. Treat JIT as a bonus for heavy computing jobs and test your own site before you expect a gain.
• PHP is insecure: Security depends on the version you run. php.net supports each branch for four years and then ends its life. An unsupported branch gets no more fixes.
• PHP lacks modern features: PHP 8.0 added named arguments, attributes, union types, the match expression and the nullsafe operator. The next section shows what that looks like in code.
• Nobody builds new things in PHP: The Laravel release notes list Laravel 13 as released on 17 March 2026. It supports PHP 8.3 to 8.5.

So the honest verdict is narrower than “PHP is dead” or “PHP is great.” Current PHP is a maintained language. Old PHP is the real risk.

What Is the Latest Version of PHP?

The latest version of PHP is PHP 8.5, which the PHP project released on 20 November 2025. php.net lists four supported branches: 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5. Branch 8.2 receives security fixes only until 31 December 2026, the earliest cut-off of the four.

The table repeats the support dates from the php.net page. Each branch gets two years of active support and two more years of security fixes.

PHP branch	Initial release	Active support until	Security support until
8.2	8 December 2022	31 December 2024	31 December 2026
8.3	23 November 2023	31 December 2025	31 December 2027
8.4	21 November 2024	31 December 2026	31 December 2028
8.5	20 November 2025	31 December 2027	31 December 2029

Notice what the dates mean for a live site. A host that still offers PHP 8.2 gives you fixes until the end of 2026. Moving to PHP 8.3 or newer buys you more years.

Frameworks follow the same calendar. The Laravel support policy lists PHP 8.2 to 8.5 for Laravel 12 and PHP 8.3 to 8.5 for Laravel 13. An app on an old PHP branch also blocks its own framework upgrades.

Pick the branch by what your software supports and not by the newest number. For a WooCommerce store that means PHP 8.3 or 8.4. Move to 8.5 once your theme and plugins list it as supported.

What Does Modern PHP Look Like?

Modern PHP has typed parameters, named arguments, a match expression and a pipe operator in its newest branch. PHP 8.0 added named arguments, attributes, union types, match and the nullsafe operator. PHP 8.5 added the pipe operator and a URI extension.

The short script below uses a named argument, a match expression and the pipe operator. We ran it on PHP 8.5.5 and it printed the three lines shown in the comments:

<?php
function price( float $amount, string $currency = 'USD', bool $tax = false ): string {
	return $currency . ' ' . number_format( $amount, 2 ) . ( $tax ? ' incl. tax' : '' );
}
echo price( 19.5, tax: true ), "\n"; // USD 19.50 incl. tax

$status = 'paid';
echo match ( $status ) {
	'paid'    => 'Ship it',
	'pending' => 'Wait',
	default   => 'Check the order',
}, "\n"; // Ship it

$slug = '  Hello World  '
	|> trim( ... )
	|> strtolower( ... )
	|> ( fn( string $s ) => str_replace( ' ', '-', $s ) );
echo $slug, "\n"; // hello-world

The pipe operator needs PHP 8.5. On an older branch that last block is a parse error. Check your host version before you copy it.

Frameworks lean on these features. The Laravel 13 notes describe expanded PHP attribute support, with attributes such as #[Middleware] and #[Authorize] on controllers. That style did not exist before PHP 8.0.

The version on your server decides which PHP you get. A server on PHP 7.4 cannot run any of the code above.

Is PHP Still Relevant for WordPress and WooCommerce?

Yes, PHP is still relevant for WordPress and WooCommerce because both projects require a current PHP version. WordPress.org recommends PHP 8.3 or greater. WooCommerce lists PHP 8.3 or greater for WooCommerce 10.8 and newer and says it is tested up to PHP 8.4.

Older versions still work for now. The WooCommerce requirements page says PHP 7.4 and newer works but has reached end of life and may expose your site to security vulnerabilities. If your host still offers PHP 7.4 as the default, that is a reason to ask for an upgrade.

Updating has a cost. The WordPress guide to updating PHP warns that themes and plugins may not work on newer versions. It tells you to back up first and to update WordPress, themes and plugins before the PHP change.

You can read your current version without leaving the dashboard. Open Tools > Site Health > Info > Server and find the PHP version line. This is what that screen showed on our WordPress 7.1.3 test site:

Your host controls the version. The WordPress update guide says many hosts let you switch it in their settings.

It says to email your host if yours is not listed. Three steps cover the whole change:

If a plugin fails after the switch, our guide on accessing WordPress admin with a fatal error warning shows how to get back in. Some limits live in php.ini, and our post explains where the php.ini file is in WordPress.

If you would rather not test PHP updates yourself, WordPress maintenance services are one way to hand that job over. Stores with custom code may prefer WooCommerce development services for the compatibility work.

PHP vs Python: Which Should You Pick?

Pick PHP for WordPress and WooCommerce work and pick Python when your team already writes it. The 2025 Stack Overflow survey has Python at 57.9% and PHP at 18.9% of all respondents. W3Techs shows the reverse for websites: PHP at 69.7% and Python at 1.1%.

Those two numbers measure different things. The survey counts developers who say they used a language. W3Techs counts the server-side language it detects on websites.

The Stack Overflow survey summary points to AI, data science and back-end work as the pull behind Python’s growth. A WordPress plugin is a different job.

The platform runs on PHP. A plugin author works in PHP too.

Match the language to the project in front of you. A store that already runs WooCommerce does not gain anything from a rewrite in another language. A data pipeline that already runs in Python does not need PHP.

The switching cost is the part people skip. Moving a live store to another language means rebuilding checkout, orders, plugins and integrations. Updating PHP on the same store usually means testing the plugins you already have.

If you are still choosing a first language, look at the job you want. WordPress, WooCommerce and Laravel work points to PHP.

Data and AI work points to Python. Neither choice is wrong.

Conclusion

Is PHP still relevant? Yes, because W3Techs shows it on 69.7% of websites with a known server-side language and php.net lists four supported branches. WordPress, WooCommerce and Laravel 13 all ask for PHP 8.3 or newer.

The practical risk is old PHP and not the language itself. Check your version in Site Health. If it is below 8.3, back up the site and ask your host about the upgrade.

If you work in WordPress or WooCommerce, keep PHP current and stay with the language. If you start from a blank page, pick the tool that fits your team.

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