What changed: The WooCommerce engineering team proposed raising the minimum PHP requirement to PHP 8.1 or newer for WooCommerce 11.5 and later. If adopted, future WooCommerce versions would end support for PHP 7.4 and PHP 8.0.
Who is affected
The change affects WooCommerce stores running PHP 7.4 or PHP 8.0, as well as agencies, hosting providers, extension developers and WooCommerce contributors.
What it means for your business
For small and mid-sized businesses using WooCommerce, the practical step is to check the PHP version in hosting. Stores on older PHP may need to upgrade PHP before moving to WooCommerce 11.5 or a later compatible release.
What to do
Inventory your store’s PHP version, WooCommerce version and critical extension/theme compatibility; if you use PHP 7.4 or 8.0, test the PHP upgrade on a staging site before production.
When it takes effect
The targeted release is WooCommerce 11.5 in January 2027; the final target release and minimum PHP version will be confirmed after feedback and usage data are reviewed.
Source: https://developer.woocommerce.com/2026/09/08/from-php-7-4-to-8-1/
