WordPress is no doubt the most popular CMS in the market. The user-friendly platform has its share of pros and cons. There is a bit of learning for novice developers that they need to do before they start editing. Usually, when a developer tends to make the edit, problems arise.
However, for every error, there are certain things that you can do to resolve the error. Here is your chance to take care of the problems and mistakes you might face in your WordPress website.
The error is relatively standard, so there is no need to worry about it at all. With just a few steps, you’ll be able to resolve the error yourself. And you won’t even need any technical help.
There can be a couple of things that can go wrong. And one of them is the MySQL extension error. This might be a simple error, but if you don’t take care of the problem, it will create problems later on.
One of these issues is an error message, “Your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension” It might seem like a small error, but for developers, this can be daunting. And the website owners find it challenging to deal with this error without taking help from their technical staff.
This error message often becomes frustrating. But the good news is that this error can quickly be resolved by following some simple tips. When you understand the cause of the problem, it gets easy to resolve the issue.
In this blog, you’ll learn what the error message means, the potential reasons why you get this message, and how to resolve the issue. You’ll learn to diagnose the problem and figure out ways to fix it, and if you are unable to resolve the case, you can always contact a developer who might help you. But ensure that the developer is an expert because you don’t want any problems with your website.
Is WordPress Missing MySQL Extension? This Might Be The Cause
The simplest way to check this is going to the dashboard of WordPress and going to ‘Updates’ and checking if there is an ‘Update Now’ button or not.
For a managed hosting, you need to check with the hosting provider and see what option they are providing to update the WordPress dashboard. We would personally suggest that you use the dashboard to make the necessary update in your WordPress.
Moreover, if you have access to the server terminal, you can use that to run some codes and get the job done. But for that, you need help from some technical person.
The “Your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension” error in the WordPress message typically arrives when there’s a problem with the code or the script on the server.
The error indicates that the server’s current PHP does not have the required extension to communicate with the WordPress website via the MYSQL database.
The reason might be either the two things:
- Your WordPress with PHP 7+ is outdated
When you use an older WordPress version and an advanced PHP version, it might create a conflict between PHP and SQL because PHP no longer supports the PHP 7+ extension used by WordPress.
The newer version of WordPress uses PDO_MySQL or MySQLi, which has been updated for WordPress.
- PHP 5.6 is outdated or missing an extension
The other cause might be because the PHP 5.6 version is missing or incorrectly configured.
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Now that you understand the core of the problem, here are some tips that will help you to fix the problem.
Here are some of the things that might be wrong in your system. Let’s look at them one by one and how to resolve the problem.
- Inspect Your PHP Version
- Check The WordPress Core Update
- Check Installation of MySQL Extension
- Ensure That PHP Extension Is Correctly Configured
- Inspect Your PHP Version
Firstly, you need to find out which PHP version your WordPress is running. For that, you need to follow the following steps:
To make changes, you need to connect your WordPress website with the FTP server. Once you get the FTP credentials, you must log in from an FTP software to connect your WordPress site with the server.
It is easy for cPanel users to go to the cPanel File Manager tool and change them.
Once the server’s connection is established, you have to create a file called phpinfo.php at the main directory of the WordPress website. This is a similar folder that contains the wp-config.php file.
Then, change the file by adding some code:
<?php
phpinfo();
?>
When the file is saved, browse to sitename.com/phpinfo.php. You’ll see plenty of data regarding PHP server configuration. Don’t worry about it. Browse to the Core section & find the PHP Version. You might see some numbers. These are significant numbers. For instance, you might see 7.3.27 or 5.6.8
Moreover, it is advised to use the latest PHP version because the older version will not support the latest updates that will prevent your site from being hacked. From a security and performance point of view, updating the PHP version is the safest thing.
How To Check The Version Of Your PHP?
If the starting of your PHP is “7”, this means that you must update your WordPress. But if your PHP uses a series of 5.X, it means that the MySQL extension is missing.
Experts suggest using the advanced version of PHP. And some of the hosting servers don’t even use the PHP version below 7.2. The older version is slow and has low performance because it doesn’t have any security updates.
So, the website might be at risk. And this gives easy access to hackers to inject malicious code into your WordPress website. Experts suggest that you don’t have to keep the old version and update everything to the latest version.
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Check The WordPress Core Update
If you are operating with PHP version 7+, then the only reason for the problem is using an older WordPress version. For instance, WordPress 3.9 or lower, that’s why it is giving an error.
When you update the WordPress version, you’ll get many new security features, performance, and improvements.
You even manually upgrade the WordPress version. But before you do that, ensure that you have backed up the previous version of your website. This will help you to revert in case anything mistakes happen on the website.
When you are sure that you’ve backed up, go to WordPress.org and check the latest software of WordPress.
When you download the file, you can extract it on your computer. Browse to the WordPress folder and just erase these:
The wp-config-sample.php file.
The wp-config.php file
The wp-content folder
Once these files are deleted, you can upload the rest of the files on the server via FTP. If you receive a pop-up to overwrite the files, say ‘Yes.’
Installing WordPress Software
Once you’ve uploaded the files, you now have the advanced WordPress version, and your problem might be resolved.
The next phase can be that you update all the plugins & themes that you have. Once you update them all, you will not face any sort of error in the future too. At times the error is due to the old version that is creating the problem.
Once the themes and the plugins are updated, there is a good chance that the error will be eliminated.
Check Installation Of MySQL Extension
If you are using a PHP 5.6 version or lower, it indicates that you might miss the MySQL extension required for the WordPress
To see if you have the latest version or not, you can revert to step 1.
Look for MySQL or MySQLi
You’ll be able to see the version of MySQL right next to Client API.
Ensure That PHP Extension Is Correctly Configure
In most cases doing the above might resolve the error. But if that doesn’t happen, there might be a problem with the configuration of the plugin. For this, you need to take help from the technical staff of the hosting service.
It is worth reminding you that you must use the PHP version greater than 7.2 cause the lower versions don’t get the security updates. Moreover, the performance of older versions will not be as fast as the newer version. So, it is wise to stick to the more recent version.
It is advised that you upgrade your server to the latest version. Because there are many PHP 5.6 or lower features that cannot avail, with PHP 7.2+, it will be easy to configure the PHP version to the latest WordPress site.
For a lower version, the issue might be caused due to the following reasons:
- You are using a Linux server, and you have uploaded php.ini for Windows file.
- The path of the file that you are uploading is incorrect.
Before making any changes take backup. Now, the path of the php.ini file is somewhere in the phpinfo.php file, which was created before.
If the problem is not fixed, try deleting the php.ini file and see if the problem is fixed or not. And you need to make sure that before you delete any file or update, just take your website’s backup. Because if something unexpected happens, you have a chance to revert to the previous state.
Closing Thoughts
The error message might be because of a technical issue. The above tips are the most straightforward way in which you can resolve this error. We’ve tried to explain the problem most only. After you’ve read above all, you’ll be able to resolve the issue yourself.
From figuring out the error to fixing it, now you know how you can do it. The diagnosis is easy, but there might be a problem in resolving it. If you find that resolving the issue is challenging, you can always go for a freelance developer to help you take care of the problem.
Experts suggest that you need to keep the PHP and the WordPress version similar. But the rule of thumb is never to use a version lower than PHP 7.2+, and for WordPress, the version is 5. If you are using any version lower than these, this is a severe problem.
Another problem that might occur if you use a lower version of WordPress or PHP is that it will not be secured. The security and performance depend upon the upgrades that the software offers. But the lower version is not accompanied by the latest updates. This gives a chance for hackers to breach without making much effort.
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