Plug vetted, specialist PHP developers into your squad, flexibly!

PHP was created clearly early on in the history of web programming, initially launched in 1994. The language went through several iterations and naming conventions until 2004 with the release of PHP 5 which was a major update and is still the basis of later versions.  The current version is PHP 8 and with continual development assured into the future it will not be the last.

Even as early as 2004 the PHP development team included developers working on both the main project and supporting projects, as well as documentation. This has led to the development of a whole underlying infrastructure on hundreds of web servers all over the world.

The latest W3techs figures show that around 78% of the top 10 million websites globally use PHP, with over 20% still on version 5 and 70 percent on version 7. This shows clearly that there are a huge number of businesses and organisations whose online presence relies on PHP and PHP developers.

Some of the most recognisable websites using PHP in some part as their back end technology are; 

• Facebook.com.
• Wikipedia.org
• Indeed.com
• CoinMarketCap.com.
• Etsy.
• Mailchimp
• BBC.co.uk 
• Bloomberg.com

There is a list of 26 billion+ websites known to use PHP on the BuiltWith website (source) which shows just how prevalent PHP as a back end technology on the web is in 2022 and beyond.

As indicated above PHP is extremely popular and long-lived.  When a technology lasts a long time in a fast paced environment (like the internet) there is usually a good reason.  PHP is almost 30 years old and has been in continual development for all that time. 

This maturity means that today’s PHP developers reap the benefit of multitudes of simple pre-existing PHP based solutions that are tried and tested as well as the continuing release of new resources and ready made functionalities.

Simplicity

PHP is widely used and fantastically documented.  Once mastered, the language becomes simple to use and is friendly for beginners while being powerful enough for professional developers to create complex, dynamic and powerful websites and applications or simple interactive web pages with the same programming skills.

Flexibility

PHP can be used with any operating system, multiple servers and databases, as well as being able to integrate with other programming languages.  Creating dynamic interactive web pages from existing static HTML content is possible by just the addition of PHP within the page.

PHP can handle images, and provides optimised images to users depending on the device they use. It can also  manage forms, serve dynamic web pages, send email, assist cookie control and encrypt services, making it a super-flexible programming language.

Compatibility with all servers

When deploying on cloud servers like AWS and traditional web hosting servers running Linux, Apache, IIS etc, PHP is compatible by design. It runs efficiently no matter what server-side technology is in use.

Database Compatibility

Whether MySQL, MongoDB, MariaDB or any other database, PHP connects easily.  Regardless of whether a database is relational or non-relational, PHP speedily connects almost instantaneously.

100% Open Source

Open Source brings cost benefits to a project and is budget friendly. The open-source model is tried and tested with large communities of developers providing enhancements in functionality and resources on a continual basis.

The PHP community is extremely active and mature, having been around for such a long time. This helps ensure that PHP remains stable and secure in a way that proprietary products and services cannot hope to achieve.

Speed

An often cited benefit of PHP for web users is speed, google for instance places great value on website speed and web users continually say that slow websites are one of their pet peeves.  Since turning visitors into customers and retaining customers is one of the key aims of most websites, speed is extremely important.

PHP is quick, it has super fast data processing and its tight integration with other back end and front end technologies ensures lightning fast turnaround times.  Most surveys show that PHP handles up to 4000 requests per second, this of course will be dependent upon the application being tested and the servers used. However, it is important to note that if PHP is built badly, like any platform, it can be slow.

Whether a project is as extensive as the WordPress content management system or a fully dynamic financial trading board pulling data from around the web and instantly transforming it for browsers and viewers, PHP has it covered.

PHP powers a large part of the web, within that arena there are an equally vast number of different applications being powered by it. PHP developers create and maintain software and applications for the web and other environments.

This leads to PHP developers developing specialties within the language itself.  For instance, there are multiple content management systems (CMS) available for businesses to use as the base of their web presence and most of the biggest names are based on PHP.  CMS’s such as…

• WordPress – Blogging and website creation platform with extensibility.
• Magento – Full CMS with a focus on eCommerce.
• Adobe Commerce - Proprietary eCommerce CMS.
• Drupal – Website platform used by many Government and nonprofit organisations.
• Joomla – CMS Particularly popular in education settings and learning.

There are PHP developers who specialise in these platforms as well as many other PHP based products. For many of these PHP based products, there are now whole separate communities of developers specialized in these PHP based CMSs. A quick search for “WordPress developers” or “Magento developers” shows just how specialised the marketplace can be.

A vetted and accredited PHP developer, whether focused on a single product or not, is fluent in the language. This expertise adds value to projects ensuring an efficient development workflow focused on the desired outcome.  They have experience of any integrations and understand how the programming language works across multiple platforms.

PHP developers can help with planning projects too. Every language has its nuances, their knowledge and insights of challenges and roadblocks, specific to using PHP, are invaluable to the successful delivery of projects.  Having knowledge of the ready-made modules available can save both time and money over the span of a build.