Contact us anytime to know more - Abhishek P., Founder & CFO CISIN
PHP comes in several versions. The eighth PHP version will be released in November 2020. The seventh version is by far the most popular. PHP launched 26 years ago.
PHP is implemented in many standard ways, including Zend Engine, HipHop Virtual Machine, Parrot, HipHop Virtual Machine, etc. PHP is used to create web servers. You can show the code in the terminal if you don't need it displayed in the browser. Therefore, PHP can run on the command line and in browsers.
What are the services offered by PHP developers?
PHP development services include:
- Create dynamic web pages that you can edit in real-time to include more information.
- Cookies are used to collect data.
- Controlling access to the website by incoming users.
- Develop bug-free software.
- Communication with Front-End Developers
The Main Functions of PHP
Before you start learning PHP, it is essential to understand its critical functions. PHP performs several primary functions.
- The server can perform multiple functions, such as creating, opening and reading files.
- You can easily send and receive cookies.
- This software can be used to encrypt user-sensitive data.
- This can generate dynamic content on a page that is easily updated.
- You can use it to restrict access.
- You can also collect data from the forms.
What are the advantages of using PHP?
Please take a moment to consider some of PHP's best qualities before diving deeper into its business benefits.
- PHP is cross-platform, meaning it runs on Windows, Linux and Unix. Mac OS X can also be used.
- Compatible with almost all modern servers, including Apache and IIS Apache, IIS, etc.)
- Open-source software is free and open to all.
- It is simple to understand and run/modulate PHP efficiently on the server side.
Use PHP for its Benefits
It is more interesting to see the impact on your business of PHP integration into server-side application development.
PHP is the best choice for developers because it saves time and money while providing flexibility to teams.
Benefits include:
PHP's Open Source Delivery Reduces Budget
Open-source languages are familiar to most developers in the 21st Century. Still, they offer a unique benefit to companies that want to increase their PHP development workflow.
No licensing or download fees are required. The large, active community created by this accessible distribution comes from its accessibility.
Open-source communities have been around for nearly 30 years. They are constantly improving functionality, and their pool of facilities and resources is growing.
Every year, hundreds of PHP-based out-of-the-box solutions are released.
PHP Development Saves time
PHP is a partial object-oriented programming language that makes the code as reusable as possible.
The use of reusable PHP components can save you hours in software development.
PHP frameworks such as Symfony, CodeIgniter, Laravel, and Joomla WordPress offer much functionality. They are also efficient, secure and easy to use. This reduces stress on everyone in the team.
PHP has been optimized to program various web applications since its inception. It includes HTML, URL scripts, and GET/POST functions.
This time saved by businesses translates into less busy work and an earlier return on investment.
PHP Code is Flexible and Integral
PHP is cross-platform, as we have already mentioned. PHP can be run on Windows, Unix, Linux and MacOS.
PHP's versatility on the server side is better.
PHP supports many servers, including Apache, Microsoft IIS and Netscape. It also includes over 20 databases, such as MySQL, MongoDB and PostgreSQL.
PHP allows businesses to build applications that are compatible with multiple platforms without having to worry about incompatibility.
Organizations can leverage their existing technology infrastructure for little or no cost.
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PHP's Lightning-fast performance helps to retain customers
Page loading speed plays a crucial role in retaining website visitors.
The human attention span is only 6-8 seconds. If the website's database is fast, visitors will leave the site quickly and have a positive impression.
On the other hand, PHP ensures rapid turnaround by using fast data processing, great customization possibilities, and effective integration with various custom management systems.
Why PHP?
Since 1995, PHP has been used in creating dynamic and responsive websites. Its secret is its many advantages over the years, including new features. This general-purpose scripting language has many advantages.
- Free-source: You can install PHP quickly and with no investment. It is, therefore, a 100 per cent open-source language, which allows you to access a wide range of PHP frameworks, including Symfony and Laravel. The developers can easily control the costs associated with web development.
- Strong community support: The community behind PHP is large and loyal. There are many tutorials and tips for developers to help them get the most out of the language.
- Database connection: Developers can connect quickly to different databases. Developers can choose the database that best suits their project requirements and needs.
- Code legacy: It is unnecessary to update and switch languages, as PHP's updates are available in many languages. All websites created using PHP can benefit from the updates without having to rewrite the code. Due to the long history of PHP, clients can easily find PHP developers with experience.
- PHP Easy to use and learn: PHP has been rated one of the most user-friendly programming languages. It is also easy for experienced developers to create interactive websites.
- PHP is versatile: As it supports the most popular browsers. It also allows developers to select from various operating systems and provides business flexibility and scalability.
- Security: It may surprise many, but PHP, even though it is a free language, has the same level of security as other programming languages. Therefore, it is possible to protect websites and servers from cyber-security attacks.
- A tested language: PHP has been thoroughly tested and proven by a large community of PHP developers. PHPUnit, an independent framework library, is used for unit testing PHP.
If you need PHP web development services for your business. You can contact CISIN or freelancers with experience in frameworks like Laravel, CodeIgniter, and Symfony? They should be knowledgeable, communicative, and able to deliver high-quality work on time and within budget.
PHP will be dead by 2023
Research shows that the percentage of PHP usage has stayed the same. PHP is used by 79% of websites as their server-side language. PHP is used by some of the most significant websites like WordPress or Wikipedia to maintain and develop their platform. PHP 7.3, the latest release of PHP (i.e. The performance of PHP 7.3 is significantly better than previous versions. This is why PHP has attracted the attention of many programmers.
Despite its flaws, PHP's language use has lasted almost three decades. This is why developers think PHP will not die. PHP developers claim that PHP has survived because many popular websites work smoothly and efficiently, despite PHP's known cons. PHP has been around since its creation, and experienced PHP developers learn how to create web pages without bugs.
Why do you need to hire a PHP company?
To maintain a PHP-based website, a PHP development company is essential. Although PHP-run websites don't require constant attention, keeping the site running smoothly is still a big task.
The following are the processes that a PHP developer will perform for their customers:
- Data collection for website analysis.
- Create PHP-based applications adapted to the client's needs.
- Find bugs, fix them and improve user experience.
- We are implementing data storage solutions.
- Test web pages and applications, and add backend features.
- Updates are necessary to improve performance.
- Response to integration requests from front-end developers.
PHP is a fast and flexible language anyone can use to create a website. Partnering with a PHP developer is likely beneficial in the end.
The Top 5 Tools for PHP Development
PHP's Integrated Development Environment is best known for its ability to integrate various backend applications. The PHP tools are used to create this IDE, and they contribute to the smooth functioning of it.
PHP is a popular language for web development.
1. Zend Studio
Zend Studio is a popular tool because of its high-speed performance. The developers do not have to exert much effort in order to create code. PHP 7 uses the Zend Debugger for checking PHP scripts.
2. PHPStorm
It has many functions to help you quickly build an application. For a better development experience, it also has code completion and Re-arranger. The IDE is also versatile and compatible with many PHP frameworks.
3. NetBeans
NetBeans, originally not designed for PHP but now widely used by PHP companies. The tool is lightweight and can be integrated with a wide range of PHP frameworks. The software supports a wide range of languages including Simplified Mandarin, Portuguese, English, and Russian.
4. Cloud9
Cloud9, an open-source IDE with workspaces that are already configured, is a free IDE. It can be used to build apps with features such as browser compatibility and live preview. Cloud9 makes it easy for developers to build serverless applications. Cloud9 is a good option for teams of developers as everyone can share the same environment.
5. NuSphere PhpED
NuSphere PhpED is a PHP-based IDE with a PHP debugger and editor. NuSphere makes development easier. PhpExpress is also housed in NuSphere, and acts as a speed-up accelerator for application creation.
Read More: How to Improve PHP Development in a web development company in 5 mins
The Best Websites that Use PHP
Did you know that 78.1% of websites with server-side programs use PHP only? The top 15 most popular and well-known websites using PHP are listed below:
1. WordPress
PHP is used to gain data from databases. It's the most comprehensive content management system in use. PHP extracts key elements from the database, and outputs the static HTML. Many active users are able to drag and drop UI components, create templates or even use them without any previous coding knowledge.
2. Etsy
This is among the top 10 most popular PHP retail websites in the US. It is the biggest e-commerce site created in PHP, with a number of buyers who have already exceeded 45 million. It optimizes the webpage performance using HHVM documentation. Phan, a static analysis tool that automatically detects incompatibilities of PHP5 and 7, has been introduced.
3. MailChimp
PHP is used by this email marketing giant. In 2014, it sent over 400 million emails.
4. Slack
Slack is a team communication app that was created in 2009. Slack uses PHP for its backend. Slack, with its 3 million users and valuation of 4 billion dollars, is maximizing the PHP benefits. This helps minimize program errors, speed up web requests, and optimize workflow efficiency.
5. Tumblr
Tumblr, also known as the "birthplace of memes", has more than 325,000,000 blogs and 555 million visitors per month. Tumblr has used PHP for its website since 2016. It has helped with performance improvements and new features. The return-type declarations and scalar types hints are some of the key features.
6. Wikipedia
PHP is the most widely used programming language on public websites. PHP helps them improve the loading speed of pages using HHVM and PHP databases.
7. Facebook
Facebook, the world's most popular social network with over 1.49 billion users active, was developed using PHP.
Since its inception in 2004, Facebook has used PHP to create dynamic content within seconds.
Both Zuckerberg and Moskowitz wrote the core code of Facebook's application in PHP at its conception. The PHP code was used by many tech companies today. Facebook launched HipHop (HPHPc), a transpiler or compiler, in 2010. It translates the source code to another language. HipHop converts PHP into C++, which is then translated and compiled to binary code for execution.
Eventually HipHop for PHP was discontinued in 2013 and replaced with the HipHop Virtual Machine. The performance was dramatically improved and the development and deployment process made easier.
8. Yahoo
Remember Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News or Yahoo Answers? The site started with PHP but is now in a transitional phase due to the low usage of Google's search engine. PHP offers Yahoo several key advantages, such as optimized account security and user-friendly emails templates. It also provides policy frameworks and an advanced user interface.
9. Photos by Flickr
Ace photographers use this website a lot. The web server was Nginx, which is a PHP-based system that allows for quick loading of pages on high traffic websites. Flickr has many great features, including photo streams, albums and galleries.
10. iStockPhoto
iStockPhoto, an international marketplace for stock content, uses PHP to serve its 160,000 contributors worldwide. Its popularity is largely due to its royalty-free photos, online searchable databases and instantly downloadable images.
11. Baidu
Baidu, the technical marketplace in China, uses PHP for its 665,000,000 monthly active users. Baidu's main features include drag-and-drop, full-page screenshots and opening previously-closed applications.
12. Canva
The templates are professionally designed and ready to use for graphic designers who have little or no experience. The company uses PHP for its global customer base of over 10 million users.
13. Digg
PHP is used by the American news aggregator to serve its online audience. The LAMP stack is used with PHP as its core functionality.
14. Flipkart
Flipkart, a popular e-commerce site built primarily on PHP is another good example. This popular online shopping website is currently ranked at the top of all marketplaces.
15. Fotolia
Adobe Stock, the leading online stock photo marketplace now uses PHP as its base development.
What are the advantages of using PHP?
PHP's key advantages include:
1. Cloud Server Compatibility
Deploying a PHP app on AWS Lambda is simple. Cloud-based PHP applications offer developers the opportunity to update to newer technology, without having to change their programming language. All PHP apps can therefore benefit from multiple functions and scalability.
2. Flexible Payments
PHP is cross-platform and can be used on any platform. It can also be combined with other languages. PHP is a flexible language that offers benefits to both professional and novice developers.
3. Embedded HTML programming
PHP has HTML embedded programming, which allows it to work in synergy. PHP applications do not interfere with HTML code but rather complete it. PHP tags are used before HTML tags, as the HTML code is difficult to read.
4. Cheap Hosting Services
The LAMP stack is one of PHP's main advantages. This stack is tried and tested and runs websites on Apache HTTP Web Server deployed on Linux systems and MySQL Database. The development time can be reduced significantly.
5. 100% Open-Source
The majority of PHP development tools are available for free. Additionally, the integration with frameworks allows you to create a website from start-to-finish. Drupal, CodeIgniter and Laravel are some of the most popular PHP frameworks. This free technology allows developers to take advantage of a programming language that is 100% open source.
6. Other Database Options
It is also compatible with MS-SQL and SQLite. It can also be used for non-relational database systems, such as MongoDB and Redis. Developers can select from different databases depending on their requirements.
7. Increased loading speed
The PHP language is faster than other languages on the market. It is also three times faster than its closest rival, Python. Businesses can boost their ranking in SEO by investing into websites that are created with PHP. These sites load quickly and therefore, customers like them.
8. A Plethora Of Documentation
It is easy to learn PHP because there are many tutorials and manuals available. This is one reason why learning PHP is so easy.
9. The Developer Community is a Large and Diverse Group
Based on their experience, PHP developers can be hired at a competitive price. There are two options: junior or professional developers.
What Are the Disadvantages of Using PHP
PHP, like any programming language, has limitations. Developers who use it should be aware of these. These key concerns include the following:
- PHP's popularity has declined over time due to more advanced and sophisticated programming languages. Python and other leading languages are challenging PHP's dominance. The cost and level of expertise remain the most important factors.
- PHP does not meet the modern requirements of website development. The current alternatives, such as Keras Theano Scikit-learn etc., are faster and more effective. Any business that wants to implement machine learning needs to find something other than PHP.
- PHP, being open source, is a powerful tool for combating modern security challenges. Unauthorized users can exploit the vulnerability to reveal the source code, and the fixed code that is used for database access. This concern applies to all open-source languages.
Read More: Node.js vs. PHP: Why Does The Two Environments Stack Up Against Each Other?
The pros and cons of PHP developers
Since its introduction in the early 1990s, PHP has played a significant role in web development. It was popular among web developers because:
- Web development is made easier by the simplicity of programming languages. It is therefore the best option for newbies.
- The software is compatible with a wide range of platforms, including Linux, Windows and Mac.
- You can download it and use it in your web design projects without paying a penny.
- The software is compatible with many servers, including Apache.
Many developers are deciding to abandon PHP despite its many advantages.
- PHP is a project that is open source, so it's not safe.
- The web application cannot process large amounts of content.
- Developers can change an application's behavior.
- Incorporating more tools in the framework will lead to poorer performance.
- The PHP language is not able to handle bugs efficiently and as a result, it struggles.
Alternatives to PHP
Top five PHP alternatives:
1. Java
This is a highly portable, cross-platform programming language.
2. Nods.js
This is one of only a few PHP alternatives that are fast enough to compete. The language is inherently event-driven, asynchronous and non-blocking.
3. Python
Like English, it is one of those programming languages which are simple to learn.
4. C#
The.Net Framework is the closest available logical programming language to this advanced language.
5. Ruby
This is an object-oriented programming language that has a dynamic memory management system.
Offshore PHP Development Companies
PHP development is a costly process. Many PHP companies are now looking at investing in development services overseas. Offshore PHP Development Companies have seen a demand for more affordable packages and are now offering them to clients. Companies increasingly approach development companies worldwide, particularly. Outsourcing work has many benefits.
- Infrastructure is not required. It does not require infrastructure.
- India is home to a huge number of developers with specialized skills. Businesses will therefore receive the highest quality services in PHP development when choosing to outsource the work.
- After completing this task, business owners can concentrate on more important business needs like marketing.
- Outsourcing development to companies offshore is a great way for your company to save money and get better services.
Clients who need budget-friendly services are attracted to PHP development companies located in India. Some PHP companies choose instead to hire Indians.
What to consider when hiring a PHP offshore development company
Outsourcing web development can be risky, as it is difficult to gauge the authenticity of the offshore company. It is important to check the following things before you partner with any new company.
- Check if the company is experienced in PHP. It would be beneficial to have developers who worked for other companies abroad.
- You should first search for third-party sites that rate the services of companies and only then make a decision. You can make an informed choice by asking for feedback from previous customers.
- You can determine whether the service fits the idea of the company by looking at its past work. The majority of developers are able to create in a variety of styles.
- Assure that your team communicates and shares information regularly. This will create an atmosphere of trust between your team and client.
- Visit the website to discuss plans and give feedback.
- Good development teams will ensure they are able to answer all the questions of their clients. Most companies offer post-development support for a small fee.
- Be sure to create a legal contract between your development team and client. Non-disclosure Agreements and other documents are essential to protect the products and ideas of a company.
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Wrapping up
PHP is used by more than 78 million websites today. This simple, but powerful programming language offers a great deal to both developers and end users. PHP is used by many globally-recognized websites for their advanced development. The future development of websites is vastly expanded by PHP. PHP's dynamic nature, with its upgraded versions available to all businesses, ensures they can maximize their benefits. If you are looking for a reliable web development company that can help you create a robust and scalable website. CISIN is a web development company that can handle all aspects of PHP web development, from front-end design to back-end programming and server configuration.
