What's the most stable CMS platform for running CiviCRM on PHP8?

Question

I really like CiviCRM... In many ways its kind of overkill for our small NFP (soon to be RC), but it has enough features to make it a better option than having some ERP built up from scratch.

The thing is, I just tried an install on BackDrop CMS and although BackDrop itself is running perfectly well on PHP8, the CiviCRM port there is breaking all over the place with PHP8 warnings and errors. I was able to get it installed, but some of the configuration pages error out and don't save to database :(

It seems that platform is not really supported now, and maybe won't be kept under development in the future.(??) I'm quite familar with Drupal7 ( and thus BackDrop) but have had nothing but grief from Drupal 8 / Composer, so have no interest in going down that rabbithole.

So I guess my question is this: WordPress or Joomla?? I've never been a fan of WP, but have run Joomla for years. It does look like the CiviCRM port for Joomla 4 is still somewhat work-in-progress ( from what I can glean from postings here and there).

Is anyone running a stable live site on Joomla 4?

Is the current WordPress incarnation suitable for going live (on PHP8 ??)

I'm don't feel like I can rely on the current CiviCRM documentation... it implied that BackDrop was ready for prime time, but clearly it isnt! Also some of the current online CiviCRM Demos are not functioning well... so I am not sure what is the best path to take here!

Any advice would be much appreciated, thanks!

Answer 1

Welcome - if you like CiviCRM you're in the right place!!

See https://docs.civicrm.org/installation/en/latest/general/requirements/#php-version Although php 8.0 and 8.1 are compatible with Core, extensions may not be.

The recommended version is still php 7.4

The vast majority of the CiviCRM code base is the same regardless of CMS so any php8 issues will exist on all CMSes. There are lots of fixes being applied to address php8 warnings but you shouldn't be getting anything more serious than warnings.

If you really want to run php8, check the various settings for reporting of php warnings.

The documentation in the core guides (https://docs.civicrm.org/) is fairly reliable and is updated regularly. BackDrop is fine.

There are certainly Joomla4 sites in progress although I don't know whether they are live yet.

It sounds like your issues are more related to php8 and your warning settings than any particular CMS. For now, I'd suggest you stick with the recommended 7.4

Answer 2

We run most of our CiviCRM sites on the latest WordPress (6.1) and PHP 8.0. That combination works absolutely fine for us and should work without issue for CiviCRM core without extensions.

As Aidan says, you may encounter compatibility issues with some less frequently updated CiviCRM extensions. The majority of the most popular CiviCRM extensions should be compatible with PHP 8.0 and there is a push to ensure the remaining few are updated.