Trending Now 1.1.4

The minimum PHP version is now 7.4, down from 8.1.

Exactly two things required PHP 8 — a pair of str_ends_with() calls, in the release-asset check and the SerpAPI domain allowlist. Both are plain substr() comparisons now. Nothing else in the codebase used 8.0+ syntax or functions: the two modern features it leans on hardest, typed properties and arrow functions, both landed in 7.4. The old floor of 8.1 was where the plugin started, not something it had earned.

Verified by running it

On PHP 7.4.33 with WordPress 7.0.3, not by inspection:

• activation, schema creation, secret generation
• live SerpAPI fetches through both the top-stories and domain-allowlist paths
• wp_rest against two real network sources, featured images resolving
• curated links, a full ingest cycle and selection
• all three layouts, the archive, relative timestamps
• the updater asset check and the page-cache purge
• all four admin tabs

Error log empty throughout. Every file also lints clean under 7.4, and the test suite passes on both 7.4 and 8.x.

One thing to check before installing

WordPress itself must be 6.4 or newer — that requirement has not changed, and it is enforced on the version header regardless of PHP. A site on old PHP is often on old WordPress too; if activation is refused, that is why.

Note

PHP 7.4 has been end-of-life since November 2022 and receives no security fixes. This release exists for a legacy install that cannot move yet — it is not a reason to stay there. Development continues against PHP 8.x.

No behaviour, data or settings changes.