Introduction

The Internationalization (Intl) PHP extension is essential for many WordPress themes and plugins, as it provides functionality for international language support and character encoding. If you encounter an error related to the Intl PHP extension not being installed or enabled in the php.ini file, this blog post will guide you through the steps to resolve the issue on an Ubuntu server running PHP 7.4.

Step 1: Install the Intl PHP Extension

First, ensure that your server’s package list is up to date by running the following command:

sudo apt-get update

Next, install the Intl PHP extension for PHP 7.4 with the following command:

sudo apt-get install php7.4-intl

This command will install the Intl extension and any necessary dependencies.

Step 2: Enable the Intl PHP Extension

After installing the extension, you’ll need to enable it by updating your php.ini file. To locate the correct php.ini file for your installation, run the following command:

php --ini

This command will display the location of the active php.ini file. Open the file with your preferred text editor, such as nano:

sudo nano /etc/php/7.4/cli/php.ini

Replace “/etc/php/7.4/cli/php.ini” with the location of your php.ini file if it differs from the example above.

Search for the “extension=intl” line in the file. If the line is commented out (prefixed with a semicolon), remove the semicolon to enable the extension:

extension=intl

If the line is not present in the file, add it to the end of the “Dynamic Extensions” section.

Save the changes and exit the text editor.

Step 3: Restart the Web Server

To apply the changes, restart your web server. If you’re using Apache, run the following command:

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 4: Verify the Intl PHP Extension is Enabled

To confirm that the Intl PHP extension is now enabled, run the following command:

php -m | grep intl

If the extension is enabled, the command will return “intl” as the output. If the output is empty, double-check the previous steps to ensure the extension has been properly installed and enabled in the php.ini file.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we’ve guided you through the process of installing and enabling the Intl PHP extension for PHP 7.4 on an Ubuntu server. This should resolve any issues you’ve encountered in WordPress related to the missing Intl PHP extension. With the extension enabled, your WordPress site will be better equipped to handle internationalization features and provide a more seamless experience for users worldwide.