PHP Nuke
Hosting
Install PHP Nuke in one click on our fast, reliable UK web hosting. Fully managed with free SSL, daily backups, and dedicated expert support.
What is PHP Nuke?
PHP-Nuke is one of the original PHP-based portal content management systems, first released in 2000 by Francisco Burzi. In its prime it powered tens of thousands of community sites, news portals, and forum-driven hubs. Modules covered news posting, forums, polls, downloads, web links, FAQ sections, and user profiles, all under one administrative roof.
The codebase has been forked many times over the years (PHP-Nuke Platinum, RavenNuke, Nuke-Evolution among them) as the original project's update cadence slowed. By 2026 the original PHP-Nuke is no longer actively developed, and even the most maintained forks see infrequent releases focused on PHP version compatibility and security patches rather than new features.
365i can host existing PHP-Nuke installations on PHP ' . PHP_VERSION_LATEST . ' with the right fork, but we don't recommend starting a new project on PHP-Nuke in 2026. The application has historic security baggage, the admin UX is two decades old, and the modern equivalents (WordPress with appropriate plugins, Drupal, or even a Discourse forum) are better in almost every measurable way.
365i’s editorial review of PHP Nuke
I'll be honest about PHP-Nuke because being honest with clients about ageing platforms saves everyone money. PHP-Nuke shaped a generation of community sites, including some I built myself in 2003 and 2004. It deserves credit for that. It does not deserve to be the platform you start a new project on in 2026.
The reasons are practical, not sentimental. The original codebase hasn't seen meaningful active development in years. The forks that do still get updates (RavenNuke being the most credible) are maintained by small volunteer teams patching for PHP 8 compatibility and security holes rather than building new features. The administrative experience is a relic of the early 2000s. The theming system predates responsive design. And the historic security record (SQL injection, XSS, file inclusion vulnerabilities) means an out-of-date install is a liability, not just an inconvenience.
"PHP-Nuke is the platform I'd use as a teaching example of why software ages. It was brilliant in 2002. The internet around it has changed completely. New users now expect mobile, expect HTTPS by default, expect search that works, expect comment moderation that handles AI spam. PHP-Nuke gives you none of that without significant custom work, at which point you might as well build on a modern CMS."
Mark McNeece, Founder, 365i Hosting
If you have an existing PHP-Nuke site and you're moving hosts, we'll happily host you. PHP ' . PHP_VERSION_LATEST . ', MySQL 8, free SSL, daily backups, all standard. A few clients have asked about migrating their old PHP-Nuke installs to us specifically because their previous host dropped support for the older PHP versions PHP-Nuke historically required. The newer forks fix the PHP 8 compatibility, so once you're on a maintained fork you can sit happily on PHP 8.3 alongside everything else.
What I'd push you to consider, though, is what your end goal is. If you want a community portal in 2026, the honest answer is WordPress with bbPress or BuddyPress, or Drupal with the right modules, or Discourse if it's primarily a forum. All of these are actively developed, have modern themes, integrate cleanly with modern auth systems, and give you a fighting chance against AI-driven spam. PHP-Nuke gives you nostalgia and a security audit checklist.
If you do choose to keep an existing site running, we'll help you. 7-day expert support, free migration, and we'll flag security advisories on the fork you're using. But please pick a maintained fork, not the ancient mainline release.
Why Host PHP Nuke with 365i?
Our web hosting is built for PHP applications like PHP Nuke. Every plan includes everything you need to launch and grow.
One-Click Installation
Install PHP Nuke with a single click from your control panel. No manual configuration, no FTP uploads, no database setup.
Free SSL Certificate
Every site gets a free SSL certificate, automatically configured and renewed. Keep your PHP Nuke installation secure from day one.
99.9%+ Uptime Track Record
Enterprise-grade data centres in the UK, US & Asia with redundant power, cooling, and network connectivity. Shared hosting runs on autoscaling cloud infrastructure with a 99.9%+ historical uptime record; Managed Cloud Servers carry a contractual 99.99% SLA.
Daily Backups
Automatic daily backups with easy one-click restore. Your PHP Nuke data is always safe and recoverable.
7-Day Expert Support
UK-based hosting specialists available 7 days a week including evenings, weekends, and bank holidays. Real people, real help.
SSD Storage
All plans run on fast SSD storage for snappy page loads and responsive admin panels. PHP Nuke performs at its best.
Where PHP Nuke Fits
Best for
Existing PHP-Nuke sites that need a reliable host with modern PHP versions and free SSL. Archive sites, legacy community portals that have a settled user base and don't need new features. Operators who understand the security trade-offs and have time to keep the install patched. Genuinely not for new projects.
Watch for
Active development on the original PHP-Nuke is effectively dormant. Even the maintained forks (RavenNuke, Platinum) ship infrequently. Historic security record is poor (multiple critical CVEs over the years). Admin UX is dated. No native mobile theme. Theme ecosystem is tiny and ageing. New plugins basically don't exist. AI spam handling in comments and forums needs custom work.
Web Hosting for PHP Nuke
Get PHP Nuke up and running in minutes with our fast, reliable web hosting. Every plan includes one-click installation, free SSL, UK, US & Asia data centres, and dedicated expert support.
- 1 website
- 10 GB SSD storage
- Free SSL certificate
- 80+ 1-click installs
- Unlimited LVE resources
- Autoscaling cloud platform
- UK, US & Asia data centres
- 5 websites
- Unlimited SSD storage
- Free SSL certificate
- 80+ 1-click installs
- CDN included
- Unlimited LVE resources
- Autoscaling cloud platform
- UK, US & Asia data centres
- 10 websites
- Unlimited SSD storage
- Free SSL certificate
- 80+ 1-click installs
- CDN included
- Timeline Backup/Restore
- Unlimited LVE resources
- Autoscaling cloud platform
- UK, US & Asia data centres
- Priority support
All prices exclude VAT. No contract, cancel any time.
Need More Power for PHP Nuke?
For high-traffic sites, large catalogues, or mission-critical deployments, our fully managed cloud servers give PHP Nuke dedicated resources and enterprise-grade performance.
- Dedicated CPU, RAM & SSD storage
- 99.99% uptime SLA
- Fully managed by our team
- Choose 365i, AWS, or Google Cloud
Servers
Servers
Servers
A PHP Nuke case from our books
A model railway enthusiast group in the North East came to us in 2024 with a 19-year-old PHP-Nuke site. About 1,400 registered members, 85,000 forum posts, and a custom downloads section with track plans they'd accumulated over two decades. Their previous host had stopped supporting PHP 7, which their old PHP-Nuke version required, and the site was throwing fatal errors.
We migrated them onto a £5.99 shared plan, upgraded the site to a maintained RavenNuke fork (which is PHP 8 compatible), patched two known security advisories from the previous five years that hadn't been applied, and ran a vulnerability scan on the install. Total downtime during migration was 90 minutes.
That site is still running today. The committee that runs it doesn't want a new platform; the regulars are comfortable, the search works for them, and the downloads section is the heart of the community. They pay £71.88 a year for hosting plus the volunteer time of one member who applies fork updates. For their scenario, this is the right call.
What we would tell anyone in the same spot: keeping a working community alive on its own platform is a valid choice. Just be deliberate about it and stay on a maintained fork.
Anonymised at the client's request. Industry, scale, and timeline preserved.
What we look for in cms hosting
A content management system is a long-term tenant on your hosting, not a quick install. We tune for what CMSs actually do day to day: an opcache configured to survive plugin and theme upgrades, PHP memory at 256MB or higher because page builders chew through it, daily backups that include the uploads directory and not just the database, and free SSL enforced from day one. We also keep an honest opinion about which CMS suits which site and will tell you when something would run better elsewhere.
PHP Nuke Hosting FAQ
Common questions we hear from people running PHP Nuke on our hosting.
Honestly, no. The platform shaped community sites in the 2000s but it hasn't kept pace with modern security expectations, mobile design, or active development. For a new project, look at WordPress with BuddyPress, Drupal, or Discourse, all of which are actively developed and better suited to modern community needs. We can install any of those for free as alternatives.
The mainline PHP-Nuke project (Burzi's original) has had no significant updates for years. The maintained forks, primarily RavenNuke and a few smaller community projects, ship occasional security patches and PHP version compatibility fixes. If you're running PHP-Nuke, you should be on a maintained fork, not the original. We'll help you identify which fork your install is on and whether it's still receiving updates.
The original mainline PHP-Nuke does not run on PHP 8 without modifications. The maintained forks (RavenNuke in particular) have been updated for PHP 8 compatibility and run on our PHP 8.5 default. If your install is older and stuck on PHP 5 or 7, we'll help you upgrade to a compatible fork as part of migration. There's usually some testing required, but most sites come through cleanly.
Stay on a maintained fork, apply patches promptly, use strong admin passwords with two-factor where the fork supports it, disable unused modules, and use a web application firewall. Our daily backups give you a recovery point if anything does go wrong. We can also run a vulnerability scan on your install during migration and flag anything that needs urgent attention.
For a content portal with news, members, and forums, WordPress plus BuddyPress and bbPress is the closest like-for-like, with vastly better security and theming. Drupal with the Forum module suits sites that need more granular content types. Discourse is the modern forum standard if discussion is the primary feature. Each has a one-click install on 365i.
Yes, this is something we do regularly. The data export side is straightforward (users, posts, articles can all be pulled from the database). The harder part is matching old URL structures to new ones so SEO doesn't suffer. We'll plan the redirect map with you and execute the migration with our 7-day expert support involved at every step. Genuinely complex migrations may need a paid scope, but we'll quote upfront.
Ready to Host PHP Nuke?
Get started with PHP Nuke on our fast UK web hosting. One-click installation, free SSL, and dedicated expert support included.