I just tried using the options for PHP 7.x (PHP 7.0, PHP 7.0: Single php.ini, and PHP 7.0: FastCGI). The plugin still does not activate from within WordPress console (same error message as before). What it does do if I use the HostMonster cPanel to force the activation is give the original error message when trying to get to the WordPress Administration page (unexpected T_FUNCTION…blah blah blah…line 474) instead of just the error 500. ??
I spoke with support to get the exact PHP version and build numbers that were available for testing. The information I was provided is as follows:
PHP 5.4
PHP 5.6
PHP 7.0.31
I was told that the versions 5.4 and 5.6 are more “compatibility” mode options rather than actual versions installed on the server. The version that is running on the server is version 7.0.31.
I also got the Apache and MySQL versions that are in use on the site:
Apache: 2.2.34
MySQL: 5.6.41-84.1