Setting PHP Versions Per Folder / Website Using .htaccess (AddHandler)

Knowledgebase Article

Setting PHP Versions Per Folder / Website Using .htaccess (AddHandler)

By default, your website runs on the PHP version set in cPanel. If you’re looking to set a different version of PHP account wide, take a look at how to do this using the Select PHP Version tool.

However, if your hosting account contains multiple websites, subdomains, or addon domains, you may need different PHP versions for different parts of your setup.

This is particularly useful when hosting a mix of modern and legacy applications that require specific PHP versions.

You can achieve this by adding an AddHandler rule to the .htaccess file for each website or folder where a different PHP version is needed.

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Why Set a PHP Version Using .htaccess?

There are several reasons you might want to manually set a PHP version for your website:

Compatibility – Some older scripts may require an older PHP version, while newer applications might need the latest PHP version.
Testing & Development – You may want to test your site with a different PHP version before changing the global setting.
Folder-Specific Configuration – You might need different PHP versions for different parts of your website (e.g., a legacy app in one folder and a modern app in another, or a staging site copied from the live version to test on a newer PHP release).

Note on Older PHP Versions

On our servers, older PHP versions are security-hardened, so even if they are no longer officially supported, they remain secure. However, using an older PHP version may indicate that your application is outdated. We strongly recommend ensuring that your software is up to date and follows best security practices.

How to Set a PHP Version using .htaccess

The .htaccess file applies settings to the folder it resides in and all its subfolders. This means that if you add an AddHandler rule at the root of your website, it will apply to your entire site. If you only want to change the PHP version for a specific folder (e.g., an addon domain, subdomain, or a staging site), make sure to add the .htaccess file within the folder where your application resides.

To set a specific PHP version for your site or a folder, add the following line to your .htaccess file:

AddHandler application/x-httpd-phpXX .php // Replace XX with the desired PHP version

Ensure that you replace XX in the AddHandler directive with the required PHP version for your website or application.

For example, to use PHP 8.1:

AddHandler application/x-httpd-php81 .php // This sets PHP 8.1 for this directory and its subdirectories

More Examples:

If you want to set different PHP versions for different parts of your site, you can create separate .htaccess files in the relevant folders. Each file applies only to the directory it is placed in and any subdirectories. Ensure you do not add these rules to a single .htaccess file that tries to set multiple PHP versions for different directories.

Example 1: Setting PHP 8.0 globally

Add this to the .htaccess file in your root directory (/public_html/), applying it to the entire website:

AddHandler application/x-httpd-php80 .php // Sets PHP 8.0 for all scripts in this directory and subdirectories

Example 2: Setting PHP 5.6 for a legacy application

If you have an older application in the legacy folder that requires PHP 5.6, create a separate .htaccess file inside /public_html/legacy/ and add:

AddHandler application/x-httpd-php56 .php // Sets PHP 5.6 for scripts within the legacy folder

Example 3: Setting PHP 8.2 for a staging environment

If you want to test your website with PHP 8.2 in a staging environment located in /public_html/staging/, add the following to .htaccess inside that folder:

AddHandler application/x-httpd-php82 .php // Sets PHP 8.2 only for the staging folder

These examples ensure that each section of your website runs on the required PHP version while preventing conflicts with other parts of your hosting environment.

Supported PHP Versions

Below is a list of available PHP versions you can use with the AddHandler directive at the time of writing:


AddHandler application/x-httpd-php56 .php // PHP 5.6
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php70 .php // PHP 7.0
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php71 .php // PHP 7.1
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php72 .php // PHP 7.2
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php73 .php // PHP 7.3
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php74 .php // PHP 7.4
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php80 .php // PHP 8.0
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php81 .php // PHP 8.1
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php82 .php // PHP 8.2
AddHandler application/x-httpd-php83 .php // PHP 8.3

Verifying Your PHP Version

To confirm that your website is using the correct PHP version:

Create a new file with a name of your choice (e.g., php_version.php) in your website’s root folder. We recommend using a custom name for this file of your own choosing.
Add the following content to the file:
```
<?php
phpinfo();
?>
```
Save the file and open it in your web browser (e.g., https://yourdomain.com/php_version.php).
Look for the PHP Version at the top of the page.

Important:Once you have confirmed the PHP version, delete the file immediately to prevent exposing sensitive server information. Leaving this file accessible could allow 3rd parties to gain details about your PHP configuration. If needed in the future, simply recreate the file temporarily to check the PHP version again.

Editing .htaccess

To modify the .htaccess file, you can use one of the following methods:

cPanel File Manager:
1. Log in to cPanel and open File Manager.
2. Navigate to the folder where your .htaccess file should be located.
3. Click Settings (top-right corner) and enable Show Hidden Files (.dotfiles), as .htaccess files are hidden by default.
4. Locate and edit the .htaccess file directly.
5. Save the changes.
FTP/SFTP:
1. Connect to your server using an FTP client like FileZilla.
2. Navigate to the directory containing the .htaccess file.
3. Download the .htaccess file to your local machine.
4. Open it in a text editor, make changes, and save it.
5. Upload the modified file back to the same directory on your server.
SSH/Command Line:
1. Connect to your server via SSH.
2. Use a command like cd /home/youruser/public_html/yourfolder to navigate to the correct directory.
3. Edit the .htaccess file using nano .htaccess or vim .htaccess.
4. Make your changes and save the file.

Note: If an .htaccess file does not exist, you can create a new file named .htaccess in the relevant directory using any of the above methods. Ensure the filename is exactly .htaccess without an extension.

Important Notes

If you migrate a website from another host, your .htaccess file may include outdated PHP version settings that do not work on our servers. Different hosting providers use various methods to set PHP versions, such as AddType, SetEnv, or .user.ini files, which may not be compatible on our environment. If you experience issues, review your .htaccess file and replace any existing PHP version settings with the recommended AddHandler directive above to ensure proper functionality.
PHP Extensions & Settings – When using .htaccess to set the PHP version, the server's default extensions and settings for that version will be applied. To customise these settings, go to:
- cPanel → Select PHP Version
- Select the PHP version you've set in .htaccess
- Enable the required extensions and modify settings without clicking ‘Set as current’, as this will change the default PHP version for your entire hosting account. If you are setting a PHP version via .htaccess, you typically do not want to override the account-wide setting. For more details see our companion article on using the Select PHP Version tool in cPanel.
Testing Before Making Changes – If you are unsure whether changing the PHP version will impact your website, test on a staging environment first or back up your .htaccess file before making changes.
.htaccess Overrides Account-Wide PHP Settings – If a PHP version is set using .htaccess, it will override the default version set in cPanel. If your PHP version does not appear to be updating after changing it in cPanel, check your .htaccess file for an AddHandler directive that may be enforcing a specific version.