MySQL 5.7 End-of-Life: What WooCommerce Store Owners Need to Know

MySQL 5.7 End-of-Life is fast approaching. Find out what you need to do as a WooCommerce store owner.

What is MySQL?

MySQL is the database management system responsible for storing and managing the vast amounts of data that WordPress processes. So it is worth noting that the version most widely used right now (MySQL 5.7), is approaching its end-of-life in October 2023. We recommend upgrading the current stable version which is MySQL 8.0 which also introduces features and key improvements to meet modern database requirements and security standards.

What Does This Mean for WooCommerce Store Owners?

For WooCommerce Store owners, the impending end-of-life for MySQL 5.7 has significant implications as this version will no longer receive updates or security patches beyond its end-of-life date. Continuing to use it poses potential risks to website security and performance. Most hosting service providers are also set to upgrade their servers within the near future. This can introduce compatibility issues leading to the disruption of regular website functions.

What You Can Do?

To avoid website functionality from being disrupted, WooCommerce store owners must take steps to ensure that the upgrade proceeds smoothly. It is ideal to test your current websites under a MySQL 8.0 environment to check for and fix any issues found. In our own tests, some websites encountered issues stemming from conflicts within plugins, themes or custom code while a few did not have any issues at all.

Please contact your hosting if they provide any means to be able to perform this testing. Here’s how to do this in WPEngine.

Enlisting the assistance of experienced developers will make this entire process easier. You may contact us here if you’d like us to look into this for you.

As the end-of-life for MySQL 5.7 approaches, WooCommerce store owners must act to ensure a seamless transition process. And by upgrading to the latest version of MySQL, website owners can take advantage of new features, improved performance, and enhanced security for their websites.

Please remember to perform backups and follow industry best practices in your testing. If you have any further questions, let us know here.