What filename does my PHP initialization file need to use?
PHP initialization files can manage form, server, and environmental variables as well as server-side cookies, temporary directories, error display, and error logging. You can look at the directives these files can control in PHP's documentation.
The file name your PHP initialization must use depends on the type of hosting account you have (more info).
| Type | Filename | Location (more info) |
|---|---|---|
| Web Hosting - Windows with PHP 5.4 (info) |
.user.ini1 |
Root of account (one per account) |
| All Other Web Hosting | php5.ini |
Root of account (one per account) |
| cPanel | php.ini1, 2 |
/public_html (one per account) |
| Plesk | .user.ini1 |
Website root (one per website) |
| Managed WordPress | .user.ini1,3 |
/html (one per website) |
If changes to your PHP initialization file are not taking effect, we have troubleshooting steps available here.
Web Hosting accounts running Windows with IIS 6 do not support PHP and therefore do not support PHP initialization files.
1 .user.ini files do not let customers modify all of the same settings as php.ini files (php's documentation) and are only compatible with PHP versions 5.4 and above (Web & Classic / cPanel / Plesk).
2 cPanel also supports .user.ini files.
3 Managed WordPress accounts also support using php.ini files, but because of the difficulty in refreshing them when they're updated, we recommend using .user.ini files instead.
