When it comes to changing how your website functions, you might come across a WordPress file called php.ini. It is a critical file in your WordPress installation. You’ll often need to edit it for better functionality and performance of your website.

However, many website owners don’t know where it is located. Now, we’ve helped thousands of users maintain their websites, and we understand that editing the file requires a bit of technical understanding.

In this article, we will show you where php.ini is in WordPress and how to edit this file.

To help you navigate the post, you can click the links below to jump to any section you’re interested in:

What Is the php.ini file in WordPress?

The php.ini file is a default configuration file for PHP on your WordPress site. PHP is a scripting and programming language on which WordPress is written.

It’s used on the server side of things, which means it runs on your web hosting server. Through PHP, WordPress is able to display your blog posts, products, media content, and more.

The php.ini file configures how PHP works and can have a huge impact on your website’s functionality. Whenever PHP runs on your site, it will look for this file.

That said, let’s see why and when you’ll need to edit the file on your website.

Why Do You Need to Edit the php.ini File in WordPress?

The php.ini file is very important for your site’s performance and functionality. This means you can edit it to ensure your website works smoothly or resolve any errors.

For instance, editing the php.ini file allows you to increase the maximum file upload size and resource limits.

If you have a photography website or a site that requires a lot of videos and images, then you might encounter an error ‘uploaded file exceeds the upload_max_filesize’ message.

Increasing the upload size in the php.ini file will help resolve this error and allow you to easily upload larger media files. Plus, you can also increase the available memory to accommodate long blog posts with lots of images.

Similarly, the php.ini file lets you edit the file timeout settings. If a file takes longer to process, then your site can time out and stop processing the request. To prevent this from happening, you can increase the number of seconds before timeout through the php.ini file.

Lastly, you’ll also be able to enable or disable file extensions in PHP by editing the file. This is really useful if you see a ‘Your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension’ error on your site. It helps fix this error and resolve issues when establishing a database connection.

Now, let’s look at where the php.ini file is located in WordPress.

Finding the php.ini File Location in WordPress

There are several ways you can locate and view the php.ini file.

You can use your hosting service’s cPanel, a plugin, or an FTP client to access your website files and folders.

1. Use cPanel to Locate the php.ini File

You can use the cPanel provided by your WordPress hosting provider and access the File Manager to locate the file. This method is pretty straightforward, and you don’t need to edit any code.

For this tutorial, we will use Bluehost to access the cPanel. If you’re using another hosting service, then the steps may vary.

First, you’ll need to log in to your Bluehost account. From here, simply click the ‘Settings’ button below your website.

Next, you can switch to the ‘Advanced’ tab from the menu at the top.

Then scroll down to the cPanel section and click the ‘Manage’ button.

On the next screen, you’ll see the cPanel of your website.

Simply scroll down to the Files section and click the File Manager option.

After that, you’ll see all the folders and files of your WordPress website.

From the left panel, you can navigate to the ‘public_html’ folder. Next, you should see files in the folder on your right. You can scroll down and locate the ‘php.ini’ file.

To download the file for editing, you can simply right-click the php.ini file and save it on your computer.

2. Locate the php.ini File using a File Manager Plugin

Another way of finding out where the php.ini file is in WordPress is by using a plugin like WP File Manager.

It is a free WordPress plugin that lets you edit, download, delete, and organize your files and folders directly from the WordPress dashboard. You don’t have to use an FTP client or cPanel to access your site’s files.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the WP File Manager plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you can head to WP File Manager from your WordPress admin panel.

Next, you’ll need to select the ‘public_html’ folder from the panel on the left. After that, you can scroll down and navigate to the ‘php.ini’ file.

Once you’ve located the file, simply right-click to download it onto your computer.

3. Finding php.ini Path in WordPress using the phpinfo.php File

You can also find the php.ini file by creating a phpinfo.php file and placing it in the root directory of your WordPress installation.

This is a slightly advanced method and is recommended for people who know how to use an FTP client and access the root directory of a website.

First, you’ll need to create a new text editor file. You can use Notepad, Bracket, Sublime Text, or any similar software to create one. In the file, ensure that you enter the following code:

Next, you’ll need to save the file and name it phpinfo.php. You can use any other name, but make sure that there is ‘.php’ at the end.

After that, you will need to use an FTP client to access the root directory of your website and upload the file. Simply drag the phpinfo.php file from the left panel and drop it into your site’s root directory.

If you need help, then please see our guide on how to use FTP to upload files to WordPress.

Next, you will need to enter the following web address in your browser:

Just make sure that you replace the ‘example.com’ with your domain name.

From here, you’ll see details about PHP installation on your site and the path for locating the php.ini file.

To find the path of the file, you can look for the ‘Configuration File Path’ or ‘Loaded Configuration File’ fields.

You’ll see the path for the php.ini file in either one of the fields.

Once you know the path, you can access your site’s files using an FTP client.

From there, simply go to the path you just discovered and download the php.ini file.

Editing the php.ini File in WordPress

Now that you know the location of the php.ini file, the next step is to download and edit it.

Go ahead and open the file in Notepad or any other text editor.

Next, you can edit the file to improve your site’s performance. Here are a few common configurations you can make in the php.ini file:

• max_execution_time – This is the time needed to run commands and execute scripts. You can increase the default time of 60 to a higher number if you’re uploading large files to the server.
• memory_limit – It relates to the memory needed to upload files and execute commands. Editing the memory limit will help you accommodate long content and lots of images. By default, it is set to 256M, but you can increase the memory limit.
• upload_max_filesize – Editing this option allows you to upload large media files and increase the limit.
• post_max_size – If your blog posts contain a lot of images and videos, then the size of the post will increase. To avoid any errors, you can increase the post_max_size to accommodate more extensive articles.

Once you’ve made these changes to the php.ini file, you can simply upload it back to your server in the same location using the cPanel, an FTP client, or the file manager plugin.

Hire WordPress Experts to Edit the php.ini File

If you have some technical knowledge of using WordPress, then editing the php.ini file is simple. However, as your site grows, it can be challenging to manually go through the file and improve your site’s performance.

This is where it can make sense to hire a WordPress support agency.

For instance, WPBeginner Maintenance and Support Service is the best and most affordable support agency available today.

Our team of experts has 16+ years of experience in the industry, and we can edit the php.ini file to optimize your website. You also get 24/7 support, regular cloud backups, malware scanning, uptime monitoring, speed optimization, and other services.

We hope this article helped you learn where php.ini is in WordPress and how to edit it. You may also want to see our guide on the most common WordPress errors and the best WordPress activity log and tracking plugins.

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