Bluehost PHP version update broke my site

Backlight 4 & 5 Support
#1

I received a message from Bluehost that it was time to update to a newer version of PHP prior to them moving my account to their new server.

Do I need to do anything on my end?
Yes, to avoid a negative impact to your site, we recommend that you upgrade all of your web installations to the newest PHP software available before we move your account. Newer versions of PHP are already available on your current server, and you can set your site to use those versions with this helpful guide. You should also backup all of your website files.

I reviewed the info on the current version on my cPanel to be 7.3 for most domains, but figured that they offered 7.4 and that I should use the most recent. I followed their instructions for updating to 7.4. It showed success, but when I tried to browse to my site I am getting this error:

Unable to find the SQLite module. Backlight 2 requires the PDO, SQLite and XML modules. Make sure that these modules are installed and enabled.

I changed it back to 7.3 and all appears to be fine, but I’m concerned that when they move to the new server it might break.

Should I just leave all as it is currently or is there something that I need to do in Backlight to utilize 7.4?

#2

Did you ask Bluehost about the absence of the SQLite module in php 7.4? It may be something they, or you, can enable.

1 Like
#3

I am currently running on PHP version 5.2 because my old website was running on BL 1.1. I received a message from Bluehost that it was time to update to a newer version of PHP. I have the choice of versions 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4. Which version should I pick for BL3.X? FYI: I was running version 7.2 on my subdomain development site.

#4

Choose 7.4. If it’s broken by Bluehost then try the next-highest version.

#5

I did upgrade to 7.4. However, the website is broken and I get the following message on my site:
“Unable to find the SQLite module. Backlight 2 requires the PDO, SQLite and XML modules. Make sure that these modules are installed and enabled.”

I reverted back to 5.2 and I still get the same error message. How do I rectify this on the BlueHost server?

#6

Hi @Panagon, that’s no good. Have you tried 7.3 or 7.2? If none of them work I would suggest changing it back to 7.4 and then taking it up with Bluehost’s technical support.

#7

None of the PHP Versions work. Even if I go back to 5.2

#8

I wonder if Bluehost is applying the version change correctly. It seems strange that even older versions of PHP would no longer have SQLite support. In my experience Bluehost sets the PHP version by altering the .htaccess files in your public_html directory. It may be worth checking that the PHP version that’s been set there is what you’re expecting.
Another way would be to create a file called something like phpinfo.php with the following contents and upload it to your website then view in a browser. That would tell you what version is running, and also provide some details on SQLite support, if any.

<?php phpinfo(); ?>

If you do that then I recommend removing the file once all this is worked out.

#9

Thank you Ben for the trouble shoot info. I had a chat session with Bluehost last night and the Bluehost person who supported me (India?) had no problem at all with my website. What we found out that on my side (my desktop computer and my MS Surface) the URL “https://franzzihlmannphoto.com/” was broken but the the URL “https://www.franzzihlmannphoto.com/” worked. We also found out that Google returned the URL (https://franzzihlmannphoto.com/) that did not work on my computers. When I tried my Android phone all was working normally. The Bluehost support person suspected that my ISP was at fault…that was last night…this morning everything worked normally. Go figure!