Old Website Hosting UK

Why old websites suddenly stop working

Most old websites don't break because something is wrong with them. They break because the server underneath them changed. Hosts upgrade PHP, the language most small-business sites are written in, and each major version removes features that older code depends on.

• PHP 7.0 removed the original mysql_* functions (mysql_connect, mysql_query and friends). A very large number of sites built before about 2014 use them to talk to their database. Take them away and the site shows a blank white page or a fatal error.
• PHP 7.2 removed the mcrypt extension, which older login, password and payment code often relied on.
• PHP 8.0 removed each() and create_function(), dropped old-style class constructors and turned many warnings into fatal errors.
• PHP 8.1 and later complain when old themes and plugins pass empty values to built-in functions, filling error logs and sometimes the page itself.

Databases moved on too: newer MySQL and MariaDB releases use strict SQL modes, so queries that saved empty dates as 0000-00-00 now fail. And payment gateways and APIs now insist on TLS 1.2 or newer, so an old server that only speaks TLS 1.0 can't take card payments even when the pages still load.

What dijitul does with an old website

We treat an old site carefully, because there is often no developer left who remembers how it was built.

1. Take a full copy. Files, database, cron jobs and email settings, plus a note of the exact PHP version and extensions it was running on, including any ionCube Loader dependency.
2. Rebuild it on our Plesk server. We set the site to the closest safe PHP version and test it on a temporary address before anything goes live.
3. Fix what breaks. Typical fixes are database connection code, character set problems (the classic garbled pound signs), strict-mode SQL errors and hard-coded http:// links that cause mixed-content warnings once SSL is on.
4. Switch over with no fuss. We move DNS to Cloudflare, issue a free SSL certificate and point the domain at the new server.
5. Look after it. Daily backups, server updates and monitoring from then on.

All of this is part of dijitul Complete Hosting, and the website migration is free.

Is it safe to keep running an old PHP version?

We'll be straight with you. PHP 5.6 stopped receiving security fixes from the PHP project on 31 December 2018, and PHP 7.4 on 28 November 2022. The bigger risk is usually not PHP itself but the old CMS, plugins and forms that sit on top of it, which attackers scan for constantly.

Here is how we reduce that risk:

• Isolation: the site runs under its own system user and PHP-FPM pool with open_basedir restrictions, so a compromise can't spread to other sites.
• Cloudflare in front: the server's real IP address is hidden and a lot of hostile traffic is filtered before it arrives.
• Web application firewall: ModSecurity rules on the server block common attacks such as SQL injection.
• Locked-down admin: where possible we restrict the admin login to your IP address and remove old installers and unused plugins.
• Daily backups: if the worst happens, we can restore a clean copy.

If a site is too risky to run as it is, we'll tell you plainly and explain what it would take to fix. More detail is on our website security page.

The upgrade path, when you're ready

Hosting an old site safely buys you time. It doesn't have to be forever. Once the site is stable, we can move it up PHP versions step by step: replacing mysql_* calls with mysqli or PDO, updating the CMS, and swapping abandoned plugins for maintained ones. For current planning, PHP 8.2 gets security fixes until 31 December 2026 and PHP 8.3 until 31 December 2027, so 8.3 or newer is the sensible target.

Sometimes a rebuild is cheaper than repair. If so, we'll say so, and keep your page addresses with 301 redirects so you don't lose your Google rankings. Upgrade and rebuild work is quoted separately, before we start.

The old sites we see most often

• Joomla 1.5, 2.5 and 3 sites (see Joomla hosting)
• Drupal 6 and 7 sites, now that Drupal 7 reached end of life on 5 January 2025 (see Drupal hosting)
• WordPress sites stuck on old themes and plugins that stopped being updated
• Older shops on osCommerce, Zen Cart and Magento 1
• Hand-built PHP sites from a developer who has since moved on (see abandoned website takeover)

If your site is already down, start with website rescue. For version-specific detail see legacy PHP hosting and PHP 5 hosting.

How to get started

You need control of your domain name, or the ability to prove you own it. Any logins you have for your current host, FTP or website admin help, but they aren't essential. Call us on 01623 650333, email info@dijitul.uk, or order dijitul Complete Hosting and tell us about the site in the notes. We'll look at it and tell you honestly what it needs.

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