My monthly report says my PHP is out of date and can't be updated, why is this?

My monthly report says my PHP is out of date and can't be updated, why is this?

Other Hosting

This issue is usually because your website is hosted outside of our platform. Regular hosting doesn't usually include software updates. Updating PHP versions can cause a lot of sites to break which of course the host doesn't want to be responsible for. This means that the PHP version can be left behind and is insecure (which is why we warn about it). Send us a support ticket if you'd like tailored advice on how to solve this issue.

Compatibility issues

Another issue is old themes and plugins that are incompatible with the newest PHP versions. If the themes and plugins are chosen carefully, they will have a long shelf-life. More often than not, smaller plugins come and go and it's usually these plugins that have problems with the newest PHP versions. We have articles here and here about website longevity and how to improve it.