I've been so frustrated with this whole PHP5.0 verse PHP4.0 versions in my 1and1.com hosting account regarding my wordpress sites. I had to write a quick post about this issue because I discovered that when my automatic upgrades were “hanging up” or not upgrading through the cpanel….that I wasn't the only one with this frustration. It was nearly impossible to update any plugin or install one. I just thought it was “the way it was going to be”.
Last week I read a post about WordPress PHP 4 and MySQL 4 End of Life Announcement that stated they will eventually stop supporting PHP4.0 version and ummm well you better get your stuff upgraded soon. So I started to dive in to look at the problem. The funny thing is MySQL in my 1and1 cpanel said this:
As you can see by this screen shot that it says my “MySQL5.0” is ready for each domain that I have. Needless to say this was far from the truth. By default up until sometime later this year, 1and1.com automatically installs or uses PHP4.0 but will stop using it and be apart of the 21st century. I like 1and1.com and have been happy with them. It is a great value for your money in relation to the benefits you receive.
Now the frustrating part… I wasn't to clear on how I needed to upgrade to the PHP5.0. The help faqs on 1and1.com were actually pretty vague and other website posts about this seemed to not ever respond to their commenters… or were just talking to the guy that has written code for several years. Yeah… not me.
So here is what you need to do. You need to upgrade your .htaccess file. You can find this located in the root directory of your site. You will need to access your server via a FTP client. If you don't use one then I recommend Filezilla. Once you log in you will see something similiar to this on the right side of Filezilla (This is just a portion of the whole screen):
Once you click “view/edit” it will pull up in a notepad file. You should see this:
# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ./index .php [L]
</IfModule>
# END WordPress
So 1and1.com and others said you need to add this code to the .htaccess file:
AddType x-mapp-php5 .php
The next question was “where does this code go in the above”. Well at first I wasn't for sure. I think I was scared poopless that I might screw up something. If you've been doing websites for any amount of time…you've done that! This post helped me out: Automatic Upgrade Failure (1&1 fix didn't work) and I added this code in red below and it worked!
# BEGIN WordPress
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ./index .php [L]
</IfModule>
AddHandler x-mapp-php5 .php
AddType x-mapp-php5 .php
# END WordPress
You will then click “save” in the notepad file and exit out of the file. This box below will pop up within in Filezilla. You want to select yes. Then refresh your directory on your server by right clicking “refresh”. You then should show the updated .htaccess file which will show you the date you updated it to the right of the file name.
You can ask me why that does the trick and I will give you the deer in the headlight look but I just know that it triggers your site to use PHP5.0 version. Another tool that a 1and1.com technical support rep hooked me up with was this “checkinfo.php” file he uploaded to my directory. When you type in www.yourdomain.com/checkinfo.php it will show you this below (after the file is in your root directory of course…). KABOOM, no more trying to figure out what version you are running. If you want a copy of the file please contact me via twitter @MGStults.
I hope this has been somewhat helpful and of course if you have questions please let me know. I will do my best to give you an answer. As always please back up your files before you make any changes.
Update
Below is a super quick video on a change. Inside your 1and1.com control panel they now have an area that you can select what version globally you would like to use. This should fix the problem but if not the above information is still pretty golden!
(You may have interest in this….)
Web Design Business Start Up Kit
This Web Design Business Startup Kit provides web designers with a complete turnkey business in a box solution. It includes:
You may already know a few points mentioned here but I found the information helpful so I decided to share. The web industry is absolutely booming and it gives you opportunity. CLICK Here to get your copy of the blueprint.
Michael G. Stults is a leader, manager, and most importantly a team builder. He has realized that his success in his personal and business life has been contributed to the professionalism of others. Along with his creative mindset, natural relationship building ability, and charisma, Michael has shown that he can succeed in business whether that be in the financial or online marketing sectors.
