If you encounter the error message “your PHP installation appears to be missing the MySQL extension which is required by WordPress,” it means that your server is missing the MySQL extension for PHP, which is needed by WordPress to connect to and interact with a MySQL database.
To resolve this issue, you will need to install the MySQL extension for PHP on your server. Here are the steps you can follow:
Check your PHP version
First, check which version of PHP your server is running. You can do this by creating a PHP file with the following code:
<?php phpinfo(); ?>
Save the file as “info.php” and upload it to your server. Then, open the file in your web browser (e.g., http://yourdomain.com/info.php) to view the PHP information. Look for the PHP version number, which should be listed near the top of the page.
Install the MySQL extension
Once you know your PHP version, you can install the MySQL extension. The exact steps for installing the extension will depend on your server’s operating system and package manager. Here are some examples:
- For Ubuntu/Debian: Run the following command in your terminal:
sudo apt-get install php-mysql - For CentOS/Fedora: Run the following command in your terminal:
sudo yum install php-mysql - For macOS (with Homebrew): Run the following command in your terminal:
brew install php@7.4-mysql
Restart your web server
After installing the MySQL extension, you will need to restart your web server for the changes to take effect. The command for restarting the server will depend on your server software. For example:
- For Apache: Run the following command in your terminal:
sudo service apache2 restart - For Nginx: Run the following command in your terminal:
sudo service nginx restart
Once you have completed these steps, try accessing your WordPress site again. The error message should no longer appear, and your site should be able to connect to your MySQL database without any issues.