PHP Web Development in 2022: Which Framework should you pick?

Here you’ll get to know about PHP as a considerable option for your backend development in your web project, with the top 3 frameworks that ease the process. Stuck in an endless loop, copy-pasting forms, and watching online tutorials to learn development? It’s time to break the chain. Try PHP to build your Web Development projects and grow your developer portfolio to open new career opportunities. Don’t copy-paste your career in 2021. Learn by building real projects and growing your career the right way.

Every single day new technologies compete and evolve to become users’ favorites. Backend developers have access to newer and web focussed languages. Choosing a perfect solution between many popular application development technologies such as PHP and Node JS might seem complicated. We’re going to compare powerful backend technologies – PHP and similar ones, to understand which ones would be the best fit, and for what purpose.

Facebook, Wikipedia, Tumblr, MailChimp, Slack, Etsy, Facebook, Yahoo, Wikipedia, WordPress, Flickr, Digg, iStockPhoto, Baidu, and WordPress are some of the most famous PHP users.

PHP Features: How does it factor in web development?

Let’s now go over the factors that make PHP preferable for backend development.

Factor 1:  Synchronous (Line by line execution of code) and Asynchronous (all at once) – PHP is synchronous due to which lines of codes have to wait for their execution to occur, and are executed only when the previous functions are executed. Here the JavaScript engine does not execute all the code at once and keeps waiting for the function to return.

Factor 2: Context Switches – Switching between various environments and languages is associated with poor code performance. By writing backend code in PHP users constantly switch between various languages and syntaxes. PHP is mainly used as part of the LAMP Stack including MySQL for databases and PHP for server-side code, Apache – HTTP server, and Linux.

Factor 3: Modules – It is a modern PHP approach to creating modular applications. PHP uses module-based installing technologies, packet systems to create API-wrapped backend functionality entirely in terms of components that are reusable and swappable. Developers can create a backend web app entirely based on modules that are installed into a skeleton application.

Factor 4:  Databases – PHP is used in collaboration with traditional relational databases, such as MySQL, MariaDB, Postgres SQL, and more.

Factor 5: It is interpreted – The respective code runs in various runtime environments and is suitable for both beginners and experts.

Factor 6: Web Requests – They run on the server and handle requests directed to them. It is suitable for processing dynamic web content, interactive websites, and data requests.

Factor 7: Compatibility – It is widely compatible with various operating systems including Linux, macOS, and Windows. It is highly adaptable and can be modified easily.

Most Popular PHP Frameworks Used in 2022

There is no definitive list of PHP frameworks. However, Wikipedia lists 38; there are many more to choose from.

• Laravel
• Symphony
• Slim
• CodeIgniter
• CakePHP
• Zend Framework (Laminus Project)
• Yii (Framework)
• FuelPHP
• Phalcon
• Fat-Free Framework

We’ll clip the discussion to the top 3 PHP Frameworks here. So let’s deep dive in!

Laravel (Features, Pros)

• It is a PHP framework developed for web artisans.
• It was developed considering the features that CodeIgniter didn’t have – user authentication. Laravel Homestead is easy to get started with.
• It is pre-packaged, and you do not require installing PHP.
• MAC users can use the Laravel Valet development environment as it supports Symphony, CakePHP 3, Zend, and WordPress.
• Laravel uses Blade Templating Engine.
• It makes you use PHP within Blade.
• Packagist is the main Composer repository, a collection of 15000+ Laravel packages that can be used in your projects.
• Laravel purifier provides a range of security features covering authorization, authentication, encryption, email verification, hashing, and password reset.
• It also enables force HTTPS, avoids raw SQL queries, and escapes content to prevent XSS. Laravel’s ORM, and query builder guard against SQL injection attacks, Cross-site Request Forgery protection, which uses a hidden CSRF form token.
• The artisan console command-line tool speeds up development, by allowing PHP developers to generate skeleton code and automate repetitive tasks.
• Laravel emerged as the fastest PHP framework in many PHP Benchmark testing.
• Laravel has several useful tools – Mix for compiling CSS and JS assets, and Socialite, for OAuth authentication.
• Laravel has a large community of developers like WordPress.

Here’s a list of sites that use Laravel

• Vogue archive – Fashion
• Explore Georgia – Tourism
• com – A search engine for restaurants
• Camping World RV and Outdoors – Retail
• Barchart – For stocks and shares
• Visit Maine – Tourism
• Fischer Homes – Construction
• Ascot – Racecourse

Laravel Technical Requirements

• Install PHP version >= 7.2.5 to use Laravel Homestead.
• Database support for PostgreSQL 9+, MySQL 5.6+, SQL Server 2017+ SQLite 3.8.8+

Symfony (Features, Pros)

• Symfony is suitable for PHP applications that can be scaled up.
• A modular component system enables you to select components that you need for your project.
• Symfony works on databases like Drizzle, Oracle, SQLite MySQL, SAP Sybase SQL Anywhere, PostgreSQL, and SQL Server. Doctrine ORM is used to interact with databases.
• Symfony is based on Twig templating engine, which is easy to learn, fast and secure.
• It lists over 4000 Symphony packages.
• Sensio Labs backs Symfony, which implies professional support is available.
• Over 600,000 active developers use Symfony.

Here’s a list of sites that use Symphony

• Nobel Peace Prize
• Sainsbury’s Magazine – Publishing
• Sabatier shop – Retail
• Intelius – Search for public data about people
• Foot District – Retail
• Sony VAIO UK Site – Retail

Symphony Technical Requirements

• Compatible with PHP version >=7.2.5
• Composer Installed

Codeigniter

• Codeigniter framework helps build web apps quickly as it has a minimal configuration.
• It speeds up web application development. It lets you add exactly the components you need.
• It is flexible.
• Built on MVC architecture, but can be used to build non-MVC-based apps too.
• It includes defenses against CSRF, and XSS attacks, plus context escaping techniques and content security policy.
• It backs up multiple methods of caching that make apps perform better.
• It has an easy learning curve and is quite extensive.
• It is popularly used to create a Slack Interface for your PHP applications.

Here’s a list of sites that use Codeigniter

• Buffer – technology
• Casio – Technology
• G-Shock – Retail
• WooBox – Marketing
• TestandTrack – Education
• Bike easy – Outdoors
• Barracuda – IT Security
• FuelCMS – Content Management System

Codeigniter Technical Requirements

• Compatible with PHP Version >=7.2
• Database support for PostgreSQL, SQL Server, MySQL

Conclusive: Looping Back to Our Nascent Question

To conclude it is all about the pros and cons of this great server-side language. To make the right choice PHP development companies leverage the knowledge, architecture, and ecosystem of this environment. Choosing a PHP framework depends upon the project requirements, development speed, and what type of application you want to build. To know which PHP framework is good for you, try learning about high-performing web applications, refer to relevant tutorials, and dig into real-life examples. Stay tuned for more updates.