PHP teams wire DeepSeek like any JSON HTTP API: key in a secret, model name in the body, tokens in the logs. Prefer deepseek-flash for cost and vision; use deepseek-v4-pro when evals demand it. Consumer chat stays free for humans per the 17 September 2026 pricing page; cron jobs use the pay-per-token API. Recheck platform.deepseek.com.
PHP client basics
Use cURL or a PSR-18 client to POST chat completions to DeepSeek’s documented base URL with a Bearer token. Read the key from environment or a secrets plugin—never hard-code. Pin deepseek-flash or deepseek-v4-pro. Handle timeouts and 429s with backoff. Log usage fields if the response includes them. Follow platform.deepseek.com examples when headers change; blog snippets rot faster than PHP releases. Treat every rate and limit as a dated snapshot from DeepSeek or the other vendor docs linked in sources, not as a permanent contract price. Recheck platform.deepseek.com for Flash and Pro cards, and confirm peak
WordPress and queue workers
For WordPress, push DeepSeek work to Action Scheduler or a real queue so page loads stay fast. Summarize posts, suggest tags, or draft alt text asynchronously. Watch token spend: Flash peak $0.30/$1.20 per million (off-peak half) on the 17 September 2026 page. Peak hours are described as weekdays 01:00–04:00 and 06:00–10:00 UTC; India daytime often falls outside—confirm the clock. Free chat in a browser is fine for editors; the site itself should use the API. Treat every rate and limit as a dated snapshot from DeepSeek or the other vendor docs linked in sources, not as a permanent contract price.
Cost and safety checklist
Cap max tokens, strip PII before sending user content, and keep an allowlist of who can trigger expensive jobs. Prefer cached-friendly system prompts for repeated site tone. Pro costs more and lacks vision—do not send screenshots to Pro. If you also use Cursor or Copilot locally, that spend is separate from the PHP server’s DeepSeek bill. Recheck platform.deepseek.com before launching a high-traffic feature. Treat every rate and limit as a dated snapshot from DeepSeek or the other vendor docs linked in sources, not as a permanent contract price. Recheck platform.deepseek.com for Flash and Pro cards,
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Frequently asked questions
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Is there an official PHP SDK?
Follow whatever DeepSeek documents on platform.deepseek.com. A thin HTTP client is enough if no first-party PHP SDK is listed. Prefer official examples over abandoned packages. Confirm live details on the vendor docs linked in this brief before you quote a client or ship production traffic. Attribute DeepSeek Flash and Pro figures to the 17 September 2026 pricing page when you reuse them, then recheck platform.deepseek.com.
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Can WordPress use free DeepSeek chat?
Editors can use free chat manually. The WordPress runtime should call the API with a key. Free chat is not a server integration path. Confirm live details on the vendor docs linked in this brief before you quote a client or ship production traffic. Attribute DeepSeek Flash and Pro figures to the 17 September 2026 pricing page when you reuse them, then recheck platform.deepseek.com.
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Flash or Pro for content sites?
Default Flash for cost, vision, and higher concurrency. Move to Pro only after evals. Confirm rates on the 17 September 2026 card and recheck live. Confirm live details on the vendor docs linked in this brief before you quote a client or ship production traffic. Attribute DeepSeek Flash and Pro figures to the 17 September 2026 pricing page when you reuse them, then recheck platform.deepseek.com.
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How do I avoid huge bills on cron?
Limit concurrency, cap tokens, schedule off-peak when appropriate, and alert on daily spend. Cached input helps repeated system prompts. Recheck DeepSeek’s pricing page. Confirm live details on the vendor docs linked in this brief before you quote a client or ship production traffic. Attribute DeepSeek Flash and Pro figures to the 17 September 2026 pricing page when you reuse them, then recheck platform.deepseek.com.
Sources
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