Key facts
- osCommerce 2.3.4 runs on PHP 5.3 to 5.6; 2.3.4.1 adds PHP 7 support
- osCommerce 2.2 shops date from the PHP 4 and early PHP 5 era and often rely on register_globals-style code
- CE Phoenix (now Phoenix Cart) is the community continuation of osCommerce 2, with recent releases supporting PHP 8.2
- osCommerce 4 is a separate codebase, supporting PHP 7.2 and higher
- Old osCommerce add-ons from the contributions site are a common source of security holes
- dijitul Complete Hosting is £1 a day + VAT, including migration
osCommerce versions you might be running
osCommerce was one of the first open source shops, and a lot of UK businesses built on it in the 2000s. What you have decides what it needs:
- osCommerce 2.2 (MS2 and RC releases): PHP 4 and early PHP 5 code. Often heavily modified with add-ons.
- osCommerce 2.3.x: 2.3.4 targets PHP 5.3 to 5.6. The 2.3.4.1 update added PHP 7 support.
- CE Phoenix / Phoenix Cart: the community-led continuation of the 2.x line, with recent releases working on PHP 8.2.
- osCommerce 4: a separate, newer codebase supporting PHP 7.2 and higher.
Look at the footer of your admin area or the includes/version.php file to see which you have.
Keeping an old osCommerce shop trading
If your osCommerce 2.x shop still takes orders, the business case for rebuilding it may not be urgent, but the hosting has to be right. Most mainstream hosts have dropped PHP 5, so these shops tend to break overnight after a server upgrade.
Where it can be done safely, we host the shop on the PHP version it needs, isolated from other sites, with a firewall and malware scanning in front of it. We also check for the well-known osCommerce 2.2 admin bypass and file manager issues, which are still exploited by bots today. Read more about our approach on PHP 5 hosting and old website hosting.
Where to go next from osCommerce 2
There are three realistic paths, and we'll talk them through without pushing:
- Phoenix Cart: closest to what you have, keeps the same data structure, runs on PHP 8. Add-ons must be replaced with Phoenix versions.
- osCommerce 4: a modern rewrite with a different admin. Data can be imported.
- A different platform: WooCommerce, PrestaShop or OpenCart, with products and customers migrated across.
Whichever you pick, keep product URLs or set up 301 redirects so you don't lose your Google rankings.
Payments and PCI on old osCommerce
The single most important check on an old osCommerce shop is the payment module. Some older shops still collect card numbers on their own pages and pass them on, or worse, store them in the database for manual processing. That puts the whole server in PCI scope and is a serious risk. Switching to a hosted payment page from Stripe, PayPal or your bank's gateway removes that problem and adds 3D Secure 2 support for UK cards.
How dijitul moves your osCommerce shop
We copy files and database, fix the paths in both configure.php files, check the character set so pound signs and accents don't turn into odd symbols, and test checkout before switching DNS. Then we look after the server, daily backups and SSL for £1 a day + VAT, with UK phone support from people who remember osCommerce the first time round.
Frequently asked questions
Who can host an old osCommerce website in the UK?
dijitul, a UK hosting company trading since 2006, hosts old osCommerce 2.2 and 2.3 shops on managed Plesk hosting for £1 a day + VAT. We run them on an older PHP version where it is safe, add a firewall and malware scanning, move the shop for you, and help plan an upgrade.
Does osCommerce work with PHP 7 or PHP 8?
osCommerce 2.3.4 only supports PHP 5.3 to 5.6. The 2.3.4.1 release adds PHP 7 support. For PHP 8, the options are the community Phoenix Cart continuation, which supports PHP 8.2 in recent releases, or the separate osCommerce 4 codebase.
Is osCommerce still supported?
The original osCommerce 2.x line is no longer actively developed. The community continues it as Phoenix Cart, and osCommerce 4 is a separate modern codebase. Old 2.2 and 2.3 shops still work, but need careful hosting and should be planning a move.
Why do the pound signs on my osCommerce shop show as odd characters?
That happens when the database character set and the page character set don't match, often after moving an old shop to a newer MySQL or MariaDB server. It is fixed by setting the connection character set correctly, which dijitul checks as part of every osCommerce migration.
How do I move from osCommerce to WooCommerce?
Export products, categories and customers from osCommerce, import them into WooCommerce using a migration plugin or CSV, then set up 301 redirects from old osCommerce URLs to new ones so search rankings carry over. Rebuild payment and shipping settings rather than copying them.
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Set it up and forget about it
Managed hosting, Plesk, Cloudflare DNS, daily backups and your domain for £1 a day + VAT. We move your site for you.