WordPress is an incredibly powerful and reliable platform for managing your website. However, it isn’t without fault. There are a handful of common issues and error messages you might encounter, such as “Your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress“.
When you come across this message, it can be concerning and frustrating. Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to better understand both the cause and solution to this problem.
In this post, we’ll explain what this error message means and some of the potential reasons behind it. Then we’ll walk you through the methods you can use to resolve it. Let’s get started!
In This Article 🧐
- What Does “Your PHP Installation Appears to Be Missing the MySQL Extension Which Is Required by WordPress” Mean?
- How to Fix “Your PHP Installation Appears to Be Missing the MySQL Extension Which Is Required by WordPress” (3 Methods)
- Wrapping Up
Here at WP Buffs, we help website owners, agency partners, and freelancer partners maintain their WordPress sites 24/7. We do all the heavy lifting for you, so you don’t have to worry about updates or compatibility issues.
What Does "Your PHP Installation Appears to Be Missing the MySQL Extension Which Is Required by WordPress" Mean? 🤔
There are a handful of reasons you might see this message on your WordPress site:
Your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress
It means the PHP installation on your server doesn’t have the required MySQL extension to connect WordPress to your MySQL database. Support for this extension was deprecated in versions of PHP 7.0 and beyond.
This means that if you’re seeing this message, your WordPress site’s code isn’t compatible with the version of PHP you’re using. More specifically, it can indicate that:
- Your WordPress files are outdated
- The MySQL extension isn’t installed or enabled
- The PHP extension is not configured properly
This issue is most common with new WordPress installations, especially for certain operating systems that don’t include the MySQL extension by default, such as Linux. It may also occur when migrating a site or changing your server configuration.
How to Fix "Your PHP Installation Appears to Be Missing the MySQL Extension Which Is Required by WordPress" (3 Methods) 🦸♂️
The method you should use to fix “Your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress” will depend on a handful of factors, including the type of hosting you use. If you’re not comfortable accessing your site files via File Transfer Protocol (FTP), you may want to reach out to your hosting provider for assistance.
Let’s take a look at three potential ways you can resolve this issue:
1. Update Your WordPress Installation
The first and simplest solution for fixing this error message is to upgrade WordPress to the most recent version. To do this, log into your dashboard and select Updates:
Once it’s done, visit your site again to see whether the issue is resolved.
2. Make Sure the MySQL Extension Is Installed
If updating WordPress doesn’t help, the next step is to verify whether the MySQL extension is installed and enabled. Some operating systems don’t include the MySQL extension by default. If you’re using one of them, you’ll need to install it yourself.
First, create an info.php file in the root directory (public.html) of your WordPress site via FTP. It should contain the following:
Save your file, then visit it in your browser (https://www.yourdomain.com/info.php). You’ll see a page with the details of your PHP installation.
Look for the mysql or mysqli section. If the extension is installed, it will display the version next to Client API:
If it’s blank, the extension is not installed. The steps to install it vary depending on your host and systems. For detailed guidance, you can refer to the PHP documentation and installation guides.
If your host uses cPanel, you can enable the MySQL extension by clicking on Select PHP Version under Software:
After choosing the most recent PHP version, tick the boxes for “mysqli” and/or “mysqlnd”. Save your changes, then refresh your site to see if the error is resolved.
3. Verify the PHP Extension Is Properly Configured
At this point, if the issue still isn’t fixed, it’s likely that your PHP extension directory is not configured properly (or at all). Navigate back to the PHP info page in your browser to check by looking for “Loaded Configuration File“.
This is where you’ll find the file path value, which will look something like this:
Make note of the file path. Next, locate the extension_dir parameter:
The entry should match the Loaded Configuration File path. In the above example, you’ll notice that it displays the correct extension directory path for the PHP version. However, if yours is pointing to the incorrect location, you’ll need to edit your php.ini file to replace it with the correct one.
Wrapping Up 👏
While WordPress is an intuitive and stable Content Management System (CMS), it’s not uncommon to occasionally come across an error. Fortunately, most problems are easily resolvable.
In this post, we discussed three ways you can fix the “Your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress” message:
- Update your WordPress installation to the latest version.
- Make sure the MySQL extension is installed and enabled.
- Verify that the PHP extension is properly configured.
Staying on top of site updates can be a time-consuming and tedious process. However, to avoid security and performance issues, it’s essential. At WP Buffs, we offer Care Plans that make maintaining and updating your WordPress site a smooth, seamless process. Whether you need technical support or simply want to save time, we’ve got it covered!
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