Your websites run on PHP. The PHP settings tile in the Control Panel shows the server's Apache and PHP versions and lets you change common PHP settings for your account. Changes are carried out automatically, usually within a minute, and apply to all sites of your account.
The settings
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Memory per request | the most memory one PHP request may use; raise it when you see Allowed memory size exhausted |
| Largest file upload | the largest single file an upload may have (media, backups, themes) |
| Largest form submission | the largest total of one form, uploads included; must be at least the largest file upload |
| Time limit per request | how many seconds a request may run before it is stopped |
| Time limit for receiving a request | how long PHP waits for a large upload to arrive |
| Form fields per request | large menus and page builders may need more |
| Show errors in the page | for troubleshooting only: visitors would see the errors too |
| Which errors are reported | from errors only to everything; errors and warnings, no deprecation notices is recommended |
| Time zone | for dates when your code does not set a time zone |
| Session lifetime | how long an idle visitor session lasts, for example before a cart or login expires |
Each setting shows its current value next to the server default. The panel shows the range allowed for each value.
Changing a setting
- Open PHP settings.
- In the Change to column, enter or choose the new value; or tick Back to the server default, or choose Server default in a list.
- Save changes. Only what you changed is sent. While a change is being carried out, the panel waits for it before accepting the next one.
New values apply to new requests to your sites; nothing needs restarting on your side.
Tips
- Raise limits step by step. A very high memory limit hides problems in a plugin rather than fixing them.
- Turn Show errors in the page off again after troubleshooting. Errors are always written to your PHP error log anyway: Read your website's error logs.
- WordPress uploads limited to a few megabytes? Raise both Largest file upload and Largest form submission.