Flashcloud hosting supports PHP 7.4, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3, and you can run a different version on every domain in your account. The system default is PHP 8.2, but nothing stops you from switching a single domain to 8.3 for a fresh install or back to 7.4 to keep an old application alive while you plan an upgrade.
If you just need to change a version, go to Services → your hosting → PHP Version tile in the portal, pick the version for that domain, and save. For more on supported languages and runtimes, see What programming languages and runtimes do you support?.
Which version should you use
The right version depends on what's running on the domain, not on chasing the newest release:
- PHP 8.3 - the newest supported version. Use it for new installs and any application whose vendor confirms 8.3 compatibility.
- PHP 8.2 - the system default. A safe, current choice if you're not sure what your application needs.
- PHP 8.0 / 8.1 - middle ground for applications or plugins that haven't been tested against 8.2 or 8.3 yet but have moved past 7.x.
- PHP 7.4 - kept available for legacy applications that genuinely can't run on 8.x. Treat it as a bridge, not a destination: it's past its official support window, so anything public-facing on 7.4 is running without upstream fixes.
If you manage WordPress sites, the version a theme or plugin needs is usually listed in its requirements. When in doubt, test on a staging copy before switching a production domain's PHP version, especially when moving from 7.4 to 8.x, since deprecated function calls that were silently tolerated in 7.4 can throw fatal errors on 8.x.
Changing the version per domain
Each domain on your hosting account can run its own PHP version independently. This matters if you host multiple sites on one plan, for example a legacy client site still on 7.4 next to a new build on 8.3.
- Log in to the portal and go to Services.
- Click into the hosting service.
- Open the PHP Version tile.
- Select the domain if you have more than one, choose the version, and save.
This tile only switches the version. It does not touch PHP resource limits.
Changing PHP limits vs. changing the version
A common mix-up: the PHP Version tile controls which PHP runs, not how much it's allowed to use. If you're hitting an "upload exceeds maximum file size" error or a script is timing out, that's a limits problem, not a version problem.
To change limits like upload_max_filesize, post_max_size, memory_limit, or max_execution_time, log in to cPanel from the same hosting service and go to Software → MultiPHP INI Editor. You can edit these per domain, either through the basic mode (dropdowns for common settings) or the raw editor mode for anything not exposed in the basic view.
Checking what a script actually needs
If you're not sure which PHP version an application requires, check its documentation first, particularly the composer.json file for PHP-based projects, which usually declares a "php" constraint under require. A constraint like "php": "^8.1" means anything 8.1 or newer, up to the next major version. WordPress core itself supports a wide PHP range, but individual plugins and themes are often stricter, so check those separately from core.
After switching versions, reload the site and check for a white screen or visible PHP errors. If nothing appears wrong on the surface, it's still worth a quick look at the error log, since some incompatibilities (deprecated notices, silently failing functions) don't always produce an obvious visual break.
When to contact support
If you've switched versions and a site breaks in a way you can't trace to a specific plugin or theme, or you need an extension enabled that isn't available through the standard PHP Selector, open a ticket from Support → New ticket in the portal. It reaches a real person, not a bot, and they can look at the specific error against your account's configuration.