1&1 vs. Hostway 2021

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environment. Hostway is running PHP version 7.0.33+ (debug version) which is very outdated. It’s been lagging behind for some time, but everything’s stayed relatively stable. An outdated PHP means a less secure environment, which is a major concern.
WP and WC are on the verge of new updates that will push everyone into PHP v8 and above. As long as nothing is updated on the back end, his site will stay up and running; however, plugin developers will soon stop supporting older PHP and require updates for their software to remain functional. If updates are based on PHP v7.4 or higher requirements, which will no doubt be the case, it’ll effectively bring his whole site down.
According to Hostway, they’re running the latest PHP version they support. I ask every week or so when the warning pops up. It’s extremely frustrating to get the same “we’re working on it” response every single time.
Also, Hostway's server is very slow, with a TTFB of over 3 seconds and a fully loaded time of over 8 seconds. Considering the tiny size of my client’s website (~12 pages), this is an abysmal byte rate. Potential customers will click off long before 8 seconds have elapsed. I’ve tried to optimize the site as much as I can (e.g., reducing image sizes, removing older posts, etc.), but I can't speed up the TTFB since it’s reliant on the server specs. I’ve talked to Hostway about this, too, with no resolution.
Just for laughs I pinged a friend and had him plug the site into his servers just like it comes from Hostway without any optimization or caching configured. The normal TTFB on his servers is around 300-400 MS, as a comparison. Just abysmal all the way around, but I can’t get my client to switch and I refuse to use Hostway’s web developer, which will only add to my client’s ~$400 annual hosting fees.