The Hidden PHP Version Trap on Shared Hosting: Control Panel vs. CLI

Deploying modern frameworks like Laravel 13 to shared hosting reveals a critical disconnect: the PHP version displayed in control panels often differs from what SSH commands see, causing dependency managers like Composer to fail. Understanding how shared hosts isolate multiple PHP versions in separate binary paths is essential for successful deployments. This knowledge prevents hours of wasted troubleshooting and enables seamless integration of contemporary frameworks on shared infrastructure.