How to update php settings on GoDaddy cpanel hosting

If you are reading this, then you most likely wondering what exactly are php settings, and how exactly do you change them? In this article, we will explain what PHP actually is and what it’s used for, and then explain what these php settings are. We will not only show you where to adjust the values on your shared hosting plan, but we will explain exactly HOW to adjust your php settings to the exact values you would like.

It is actually quite common to have to upgrade your php settings on a shared server, when you are using Content Management Systems like WordPress, Joomla, or Magento etc.

To put that in context, php is a programming language that is widely recognized and is most popular for its use to build websites. In fact, php is one of the most popular programming languages, due to the rising success of Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress, Drupal and Joomla. Basically, php is the scripting language that WordPress runs off of.

Great, so my website runs off of the programing language PHP, but what are php settings?

Here is a list of most common php settings, and I recommend changing all of them, depending on the task.

The following section provides instructions for locating and editing the php settings on cPanel Hosting on GoDaddy. These instructions will also work on ALL cPanel accounts.

I have broken this up into two sections, the first section for pure simplicity, and the second section for more advanced controls. If you wish to skip to the more advanced method, use the link directly below to skip ahead.

If you are using a GoDaddy, get into cpanel by visiting ‘My Products’ and navigate to the ‘Web Hosting’ section. You should see your cpanel hosting with the words ‘options’ and ‘Manage’ to the right. Click on Manage. Now click the ‘Cpanel Admin’ button on the upper right of your screen. You will land on a page similar to the one below:

Believe it or not, cPanel has an entire section where you can change your php settings with a click of a button. It is well hidden, and not clearly labeled, which is why the question of ‘Where do I change my php settings?‘ is so popular.

Find the Software section of your cpanel. It is normally the 4th or 5th section down. There is a button called ‘Select PHP Version’. Click on that.

Once inside of ‘Select PHP Version’, you will notice all of the PHP Modules that are available in cPanel. Ignore these, and locate the blue link ‘Switch to PHP Options’ in the upper right. This may sometimes be labeled ‘Switch to PHP Settings’. This link will actually take you to the page to change your php settings.

Finally, we have found the PHP settings inside of cPanel! Notice all of the options you have to choose from. You can find your max execution time, upload max filesize, post max size etc. To change the values, you need to click on the actual value itself, and that will open up a dropdown box to select the custom value you would like to set it to!

That’s it! That was the simple method of changing php settings in cPanel. Notice that you cannot change ‘post max size’ above 128M.

1. Log in to your cpanel hosting

If you are using a GoDaddy, get into cpanel by visiting ‘My Products’ and navigate to the ‘Web Hosting’ section. You should see your cpanel hosting with the words ‘options’ and ‘Manage’ to the right. Click on Manage. Now click the ‘Cpanel Admin’ button on the upper right of your screen.

Your screen should look something like this:

First, we need to make this file visible. Files like .htaccess, and .user.ini are going to be hidden by default. In the upper right corner inside of File Manager, click on ‘Settings’. Make sure that ‘Show hidden files (dotfiles)’ is selected. Click ‘Save’.

Next, in the upper left corner, above where it says ‘Collapse All’, locate the button that says ‘+File’. This creates a new file. Name the new file .user.ini as shown in the picture below. Once you have it named, click the button ‘Create New File’.

Now, all that’s left to do is to edit the .user.ini file with the values of the php settingsyou need. Simply find the .user.ini file in the file manager, it should be the first or second file after the folders. Right click the file, and click edit. Or select the file, and there is an ‘Edit’ button in the menu on the very top. On the next popup, click ‘Edit’ once more, and you can now edit the file. What you would write in this file, is each php settin on its own line, followed by the = sign, and the value you need. Below is a list of example php settings and their adjusted values.

After you make all the necessary changes to the php settings, simply click ‘Save Changes’ on the top right of the editor. This will save the code you wrote, and the changes should take effect within 5 minutes. The reason we use .user.ini, instead of php.ini, is because the changes take place much quicker, and can be used as a local value. The same file is used in Godaddy’s Managed WordPress hosting as well.

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