If you want to update the PHP version applicable to your hosting plan as a whole, you can do it directly in hPanel.
In case you'd like to change the PHP version for only one of your domains, subdomains, or a subfolder inside any of these, you can do so by adding a line of code on the .htaccess file:
Step 1 - Open Your .htaccess File
Go to Websites → Manage, search for File Manager on the sidebar and click on it:
Then, access the folder to which you would like to apply a different PHP version. If you want to edit a domain, access its public_html folder. For a subdomain, the corresponding folder will be inside the domain's public_html folder:
For a specific folder, go to the desired folder's path. Once in the correct location, open the .htaccess file by double-clicking on it.
If the file doesn't exist, you can create it directly in the File Manager. Make sure to include a dot (.) at the beginning of the filename!
Step 2 - Edit the .htaccess File
Add the following code to your .htaccess file (at the very beginning of it):
<FilesMatch "\.(php4|php5|php3|php2|php|phtml)$">
SetHandler application/x-lsphp71
</FilesMatch>
The second line will define the PHP version for the folder. All you need to do is change application/x-lsphp71 code for the version that you would like to use. Check this table for the possible values:
PHP version | Code |
5.2 | application/x-lsphp52 |
5.3 | application/x-lsphp53 |
5.4 | application/x-lsphp54 |
5.5 | application/x-lsphp55 |
5.6 | application/x-lsphp56 |
7.0 | application/x-lsphp70 |
7.1 | application/x-lsphp71 |
7.2 | application/x-lsphp72 |
7.3* | application/x-lsphp73 |
7.4 | application/x-lsphp74 |
8.0 | application/x-lsphp80 |
8.1 | application/x-lsphp81 |
*PHP versions prior to this one are currently considered outdated and are no longer supported.
NOTES
To check if the change was applied correctly, you can create a phpinfo.php file
Changing PHP versions using files is not recommended, as it doesn't include PHP extensions and options. Thus, it might affect the website's work