PHP Version

[pzv]

Did a research and now I wonder if I'll be able to run vB3 at all.
Will vB3 work on a modern shared hosting space? What's the latest PHP version vB3 will work on?
If not, what's the solution?

[Mark.B]

vBulletin 3.8.11 (which is the latest and final version of vB3) will work on phpb 5.6 or php 7.1.
Many hosts will have php 7.1 available so this shouldn't be an issue at this time.

It will not run properly on any php versions later than that (eg 7.2 and 7.3).

vB3 has not been in development for several years now.


The same advice applies to vB4, where the final version is 4.2.5.

vB5 is the only version of vBulletin in development.


Frankly, I would not start a new site using vB3 or vB4 because they are old and you will run into compatibility issues sooner or later.
vB5 should be used for new sites.

[MDawg]

1) I have a vb4 site (running PhP 7.1) and vb5 site (running whatever PhP is latest, currently PhP 7.3.8) on same server, all you have to do is either direct the PhP version via a line of code within the .htaccess for that directory where you want the PhP version kept low, such as

# php -- BEGIN cPanel-generated handler, do not edit
# Set the “ea-php71” package as the default “PHP” programming language.
<IfModule mime_module>
AddHandler application/x-httpd-ea-php71 .php .php7 .phtml
</IfModule>
# php -- END cPanel-generated handler, do not edit

or just set it via WHM / MultiPHPManager to be 7.1 and no higher for that directory (domain).

2) You'll also want to upload a phpinfo.php file (attached) into that directory so that you may check easily the PhP version via www.mysite.com/phpinfo.php at any time.


In my opinion vb3 is just too antiquated, but vb4 is an acceptable solution for an older site, especially if you have modified it with a lot of hacks and want to maintain these add-ons.

[BirdOPrey5]

Just be aware not all hosts are setup to have multiple PHP versions available, and even those that are may have different PHP versions than your host. It isn't always as simple as editing the htaccess file. Some hosts don't run cpanel/WHM at all.

[Wayne Luke]

PHP 7.1 will reach End of Life on December 1st, 2019. This means there will no longer be security patches for the PHP software. Both vBulletin 3.8.X and 4.2.X are considered End of Life at this time. New sites should only use vBulletin 5.5.X or higher. vBulletin 5.5.4 will have support for versions of PHP starting at 7.1.X and up to and including PHP 7.4.X.

If you're worried about maintaining a server, we offer our hosted solution vBulletin Cloud.

[pzv]

Thanks guys, I'll have to think this through.