What version of PHP & MySQL are supported?

Hands-on Web Hosting has used multiple versions of PHP and MySQL over the years as the software is constantly being updated.  Today, we use the latest versions of both of these softwares. Today, both version 4.x and version 5.x of the software is supported.

When a new account is signed up with Hands-on Web Hosting, by default, the users are placed on a machine that operates PHP 5.x and also MySQL 5.x.  These are the two latest branches of the software that are available on the market that have been tested and proven to be stable.

Many software such as X-Cart Shopping Cart software version 4.0.x and previous do not have the ability to operate on a PHP5 server.  As such, we still maintain PHP 4.x and MySQL 4.x servers which are required for this software.

Most hosts today have automatically upgraded their clients to a later version of MySQL only to break the older software which requires PHP4 and MySQL4.  If your host has recently done this, they weren't thinking of you.  It's common practice these days for hosting companies to upgrade system software without thinking of their clients.  When people do complain that their software doesn't work, the solution from them is to upgrade the software or purchase new software.  This is unacceptable!

At Hands-on Web Hosting we pride ourselves on our customer service and the fact that software is tested in a TEST environment prior to loading on our production machines.  There are NO plans to upgrade 4.x servers to the 5.x platforms.  As long as PHP4 and MySQL 4 are still considered STABLE and have the necessary security patches installed, we will continue to offer these machines.  Once the product has reached End of Life status however, we will be forced to decommission the machines due to security exploit possibility, however this is a long way in the future.

If you require PHP4 on your site, please be sure to open a support ticket with us at http://support.handsonwebhosting.com once you have signed up of your hosting account.  We will make sure that you are on a PHP4 server and not on a PHP5 machine.