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Discussion on: Greenfield Wordpress Plugin Development in 2019

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vip3rousmango profile image
Al Romano

What version of Wordpress should I aim for? 4.9 (which requires PHP 5.2...)
You can still get away with using PHP7 with v4.9, it's other plugins being used that you'll have to worry about. Most hosting install WP on PHP7 by default unless its custom setup or the option is there during install.

What version of PHP should I target? I know this relates directly to the question above, but 5.4.x is dead and no longer supported, right?
I'd target PHP7 as most hosting providers are upgrading to it for Managed WP hosting even if WP is v4.8.x.

How hard is it for a customer to upgrade Wordpress versions? I seem to remember that upgrading Drupal 6.x websites was a nightmare and you'd better have your backup ready to go.
v4 to v5 would be chaotic if the theme or major plugins are not v5 ready. While you can still upgrade to v5 and disable Gutenberg to revert back to Classic Editor it's not something you'd want your clients ever doing if they're not more advanced with WP Administration.

Is PHP 7.3 compatible with Wordpress 4.9?
It should work, anything PHPv7+ should work on WP v4.9 and up.