WordPress PHP Update and Testing

WordPress Upgrade to PHP 8.5

I need my WordPress site upgraded to PHP 8.5 and the latest core version. Work on my existing staging site: update core, theme and all plugins, then find and fix any issues before I push to live.

The site relies on a customised theme and several bespoke plugins. Front-end rendering, SEO features and dynamic elements must behave exactly as they do now. No full backup is needed, as the staging copy covers rollback.

Deliverables

Staging site running PHP 8.5, latest WordPress, and updated theme and plugins
Change log listing all updates and fixes
Confirmation that pages, forms, login, admin screens and plugin features work
Push-to-live instructions (or a supervised migration) after my sign-off

Acceptance criteria

All front-end pages load without errors
Custom functionality matches current behaviour
No new PHP or JavaScript warnings in the browser console or server logs

Experience with WP-CLI and version control is a plus, but not required.