Take Easy Steps Into Fixing ‘’Your PHP Installation Appears to Be Missing the MySQL Extension Which Is Required by WordPress’’ Error Once & for All

Over the years WordPress has gained massive popularity for its ease of use, inexpensive maintenance, user-friendly UI/UX, and intuitive functionality. 

It is estimated that over 35-45% of all active websites are built with WordPress CMS inside. 

And rightfully so, WordPress really has all that it takes to make a tech giant in this space. 

But it’s not always a smooth sail with WordPress, oh no! WordPress comes with its fair share of issues, and every now and then you will encounter them. 

One such issue that a lot of WordPress users have encountered during the installation of the CMS platform is that – 

‘’your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress’’.

This is a fairly common one when it comes to installation process errors. But have no fear, this is a rather simple one to get rid of.

But First, Let’s Get To Know What Causes This PHP Error in the First Place. 

As mentioned in the title itself, this error message/prompt “Your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress” stems from some issue that has occurred with the code/scripts on your server-side of things

This error indicates that your server’s PHP does not have the extension necessary to connect your WordPress site to its MySQL database.

This might be the cause for two reasons:

1. An Outdated Version of PHP Might Be the Cause 

The issue is known as – ‘’your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress’’ error can be caused due to running an older version of PHP. 

The MySQL extension has been deprecated in PHP 7.0 in favor of MySQLi. Thus, PHP 7+ does not include the MySQL extension WordPress needs.

Modern versions of WordPress will instead use the newer PDO_MySQL or MySQLi extensions. However, older versions of WordPress (below version 3.9) might cause this problem.

The newer versions of WordPress are opting to use the newer PDO_MySQL or MySQLi extensions instead. 

Therefore the older versions of WordPress (below version 3.9) can cause the ‘’your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress’’ error. 

2. Missing Extension or Improperly Configured

This is another likely cause of the ‘’your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress’’ error. 

The other likely cause is that your MySQL extension is either missing or incorrectly configured since you’re using PHP 5.6 (before it was deprecated).

Easy Step-By-Step Methods to Fix the ‘’Your PHP Installation Appears to Be Missing the MySQL Extension Which Is Required by WordPress’’ Error.

Now since you’re all caught up with the hows of this error. Let’s get to know how to fix part of this equation. 

These steps mentioned below might seem a bit daunting at first but rest assured by following these steps, you can fix this error on your own. 

1. Find Out What Version of PHP You’re Using via the cPanel

Finding out what version of PHP you’re using is the first step to diagnosing this issue. Your next steps will depend on this finding.

Access your WordPress site’s server through FTP to verify this. To connect, you’ll also need an FTP client and your web host’s FTP credentials.

With cPanel, you can manage your files through the cPanel File Manager.

Once connected, create a new file called phpinfo.php in the root WordPress directory. The new file that you’ve just created should be in the same directory as the  wp-config.php file.

After editing the file, add the following code:

<?php

phpinfo();

?>

After saving the file (and re-uploading if necessary), navigate to yoursite.com/phpinfo.php, replacing yoursite.com with your actual domain name.

After that, you will be able to see a screen displaying information about the PHP configuration on your server. Now look for the Core section and here you will find the PHP Version. 

Observe the numbers – for example, 7.4.28

That starting number entails your PHP version. Now you can further check this number on the search engine platforms like Google and Bing to find out more information regarding the version. 

On the other hand, if you’re still using an older version of PHP such as 5.x, this means you might be missing the MySQL extension. 

2. Find Out What Version of PHP You’re Using via the WordPress Dashboard

Now let us get to know how to check the version number via the WordPress dashboard. 

This method only works if you can access your WordPress dashboard; you can check which PHP version you’re running from there.

Visit your WordPress Dashboard > Tools > Site Health, Under Site Health Status you will be able to see the version of PHP that your WordPress is running and whether it should be updated. 

Note: We strongly recommend running your WordPress website on the latest version of PHP (which is currently 8.x plus). The newer versions of PHP offer faster performance, are more secure, and are compatible with the latest plugins and themes.

3. Keeping WordPress up to Date

MySQL extension errors can appear if you are using PHP 7+ with an outdated version of WordPress.

Due to PHP 7.0’s deprecation of the MySQL extension, older versions of WordPress cannot make use of it.

The newer version of WordPress uses a completely different set of extensions, the newer version of WordPress uses extensions like PDO_MySQL or MySQLi, you won’t encounter the missing extension error issue. 

This is why you should check whether an updated version of WordPress is available. 

If you can access your WordPress account, you can check whether there’s an update directly from your WordPress dashboard.

Visit your WordPress Dashboard > Updates, from here if you see a message – “An updated version of WordPress is available,” click you should Update Now.

In the event you are unable to access your WordPress dashboard, you will need to update WordPress via FTP.

• Download the latest WordPress.zip file

• Extract the .zip file with a file extractor tool, such as 7-Zip

• Log in to your site’s server using FTP

• Now navigate to the wp-content folder

• Click and rename the plugins folder to “plugins.hold.” This will temporarily deactivate the plugins

• Delete the following wp-includes and wp-admin folders
• Place the new wp-includes and wp-admin folders from the .zip file that you just extracted

• Organize your existing wp-content folder by uploading individual files into the new wp-content folder. Replace any existing files with the new ones.

• Place all new loose files in your public_html directory).

• Rename the “plugins.hold” file back to “plugins.”

And you’re done, now visit – your /wp-admin page. You will be prompted back to the login page. From here log back into your account. 

Just to be sure visit WordPress Dashboard > Updates this time around, you should not see any update option for WordPress, as you’ve just installed the latest version manually. 

Note: You can find more information regarding this subject on the WordPress Codex. 

4.  Check to Make Sure the MySQL Extension Is Installed

When you run WordPress on a server that still runs PHP 5.6 or lower, it may lack the MySQL extension necessary for WordPress.

Check the phpinfo.php file that you uploaded to your server in steps #1 & #2 to see if this is the case.

Find a section named either nd_mysql or mysqlnd.

You should see a version number next to the Client API library version item if the MySQL extension is installed:

If you can’t find this MySQL extension, that means you’re still missing this extension.

In this case, you should reach out to your hosting service provider for a solution. 

Or 

Alternatively, you can upgrade the PHP version of your site so you won’t need this extension.

5.  Check to Make Sure the PHP Extension Is Configured Correctly

It’s possible that your PHP extension is configured incorrectly even if you’re using the latest versions of PHP and WordPress.

There appears to be a problem with your PHP installation since WordPress requires the MySQL extension.

In step one, your browser was loaded with your phpinfo.php file.

Check whether it is correct. Locate the row titled “Loaded Configuration File.”

Replace the Loaded Configuration File path in php.ini with the path you just entered.

Two common issues arrive in this section, and they are – 

• Using a Windows php.ini file on a Linux server

• The file path is incorrect.

If you’re still having trouble it is recommended to get in touch with a professional server technician or your hosting service provider‘s support team. 

To Wrap It Up,

Since the error seems so technical, encountering the “Your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress” message is frustrating for most WordPress users.

Nonetheless, by following the steps in this article, you should be able to diagnose and fix this frustrating error.

To avoid this issue, make sure you’re using the latest versions of both PHP and WordPress.

By using the latest versions of these programs, this error will be automatically fixed, and you will benefit from all the other performance, security, and feature enhancements that comes with the updated versions.

In the end if you think this article helped, please consider sharing it with someone who might find this helpful.

And if you still have doubts or concerns please feel free to let us know in the comment section down below.