Need help changing php settings on your hosting? If you have found this article, you most likely have a Managed WordPress hosting, and are trying to update upload_max_filesize or memory_limit to etiher try and upload a theme/plugin or resolve a memory related error. Whatever brings you to this page, I will show you how to change PHP settings on Managed WordPress!
I will teach you how to change PHP settings on Managed WordPress in 4 easy steps.
1) Download an FTP program.
2) Connect to FTP.
3) Create a .ini file
4) Edit .ini file to specify your needs.
You will need to download an FTP client, to change php settings on Managed WordPress. I usually recommend Filezilla. Filezilla is a FREE FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client, which simply allows you to connect your computer directly to your server, upload/download/edit files. In this case, we will be editing a file.
1. Download FileZilla
Start downloading and installing Filezilla, head over to their website, https://filezilla-project.org.
We cannot stress this part enough…
Make sure you download the Client, NOT the server. The client is FREE. On the next page, Windows 64 users – Click the green button that reads ‘Download FileZilla Client’. Mac, and Windows 32 users, click the icon for your platform below the words “More Download Options”.
Once FileZilla is downloaded to your computer, follow the instructions to install the program. Be aware that you will need to click ‘No Thanks’ a couple times to some programs that FileZilla attempts to install on your computer, but are not needed for the program.
Visit your Hosting Provider
Visit the site GoDaddy.com and click ‘Sign In‘ on the top right. Sign into your account with your username or customer number. Once signed in, if you are not already on the ‘My Products’ page, head there next. Find the person icon on the top right, click the person icon, and in the drop down menu, select ‘My Products’.
After navigating to the products page, scroll down to the section that says Managed WordPress. Click ‘Manage All‘ to the right.
Now that you have clicked Manage all, you will see a list of all your Managed WordPress sites listed. There will be two choices. If you only have a few sites, like in the image below, you will find your site that you are going to change the php settings for, and click Overview. Otherwise, you have many sites, each site will have 3 dots to the right of it. Click the 3 dots, and select Overview.
Look up on the top left, you should see Overview, Backups, Tools, and Settings. Make sure to click on Settings, and you will be able to see your FTP settings on this page. On GoDaddy, these will be labeled as SFTP settings, as it uses the secure port 22. Make sure you are using port 22!
See where it says SFTP/SSH Details? Click View to the right. Then click copy for each of the fields you need. You will need all 4; Hostname, username, password, and port.
2. Login to FTP or SFTP
After clicking View to the right of SFTP/SSH details, find the following information, and copy/paste directly into FileZilla.
You will need; Hostname (this is usually site name, or IP address), Username, Password, and Port. As showin in the image above, you can easily copy and paste all four.
And that’s it! You are now logged into FileZilla.
Examples of php settings on Managed WordPress
Some examples of php settings are shown below. IF you are using Divi, Avada, Elementor, etc. Make sure to copy / paste the code below into your .user.ini file! I made it easy for you, just copy and paste. It’s already written out like it needs to be.
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 256M
post_max_size = 256M
max_execution_time = 300
max_input_vars = 2500
Next, we will learn how to change the php settings on Managed WordPress using a file called .user.ini
The correct .ini file for Managed WordPress is .user.ini
As you are now logged into FileZilla, and are seeing all the files and folders on the right hand side, look for .user.ini. Typically, the top 3 folders are wp-admin, wp-content, and wp-includes, followed by all the files. The file .user.ini may not be created yet, so look to see if you have it or not. If not, simply create a new file using filezilla. Find out how below.
3. Create file called .user.ini
If you do not see a file called .user.ini, do not worry, as this is normal. You can easily create one, as shown below. In FileZilla, in the bottom-right section, select the very first folder named ( .. ), found above the 3 wp folders, wp-admin, wp-content, and wp-includes. Simply right click this folder, and select the option ‘create new file’. Make sure to name the file ” .user.ini “. Yes, the filename does actually start with a period. Double check that it is spelled correctly!
4. Edit .user.ini to suit your needs
Once the file .user.ini exists, you will need to edit it. You should have notepad or something similar on your computer. Windows comes with Notepad preinstalled. I use the program called Notepad++, a free program that allows you the freedom to edit any coding language. To edit the file, right click the filename .user.ini, and click on ‘view/edit’.
I have created the code to raise each of the variables below, simply copy and paste this into your .user.ini file, and edit the sizes of the php settings to what you need. Simply copy the code below, and paste it into your blank Notepad that opened up.
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 256M
post_max_size = 256M
max_execution_time = 300
max_input_vars = 2500
After you make all the necessary changes to the php settings in the .user.ini file on Managed WordPress, simply click ‘Save’ on the top left of the editor.
Then bring up FileZilla and click ‘Save and overwrite’ to the warning that pops up. This will save the code you wrote, and the changes should take effect within 5 minutes.
Congratulations! You are all done. You have successfully changed php settings on Managed WordPress with GoDaddy hosting. We know it can be confusing, hopefully all the images helped out!
If you want a way to check if the changes to your php settings went through, read the article ‘View your PHP Settings with a PHP Info Page‘.
