Is PHP Still A Good Option to Create Web Apps in 2021

There are thousands of new web applications that are launched every day, and the trend does not seem to stop. But have you ever thought about how all these web applications are developed?

When it comes to choosing a programming language, it can be challenging to make a choice. There are so many options on the market that you can feel like a kid in a candy store.

Still, programmers are used to choosing one or two languages to stay focused. Admit it, it's better to be an expert in one technology than to know several but be at a beginner's level. For example, we chose PHP as our main technology. "Why PHP?" you might ask. We answer it in this blog.

What are the main advantages of PHP?

As you know, PHP is the most widely used programming language. Imagine that more than 88% of all websites are built in PHP!

Interesting fact: PHP originally stood for personal homepage. Now the meaning has changed to hypertext preprocessor.

Open Source

The first thing you should know about PHP is that the technology is accessible in every sense of the word. The main point of open source technology is that there is a large community of developers using it.

Not only do they use PHP daily, but they also bring new and positive changes and improvements. Programmers can learn faster and implement the most advanced solutions as quickly as possible.

Moreover, PHP has its support, unlike many other programming languages. All these factors have led to the arrival of new frameworks, components, and other tools that make PHP even better. It's no wonder PHP is so popular.

Scalability

When building a website or a web application, the creator should expect the project to grow. Therefore, scalability is essential, as the website must grow and handle the growing traffic. A website built with PHP can easily be scaled up by adding more servers as needed. More users = more servers. That's it.

High Speed

Since PHP uses its memory, the workload and loading time are reduced. As a result, the processing speed is quite high, which is good for the developers and for their customers as they can get the product faster.

Security

Some people claim that PHP is not secure enough because it is open source. But the truth is that every programming language is vulnerable, it's just a matter of how they are used.

The level of security depends on the developer's expertise and practices. For example, one way to prevent security vulnerabilities is to test software. By the way, this is an important milestone in every project our team completes.

Cost-effective

Since PHP is open source, no additional expensive software is needed to make it work. You don't have to pay additional license fees or royalties; there are no restrictions. Since there are multiple integration options, using PHP is free, which reduces development costs.

Custom Development

Server-side PHP is the best tool for creating custom websites, as customization options do not limit it. Developers can therefore create PHP-based web platforms that perfectly meet the needs of their customers. For example, when combined with JavaScript, the development team can build a fully functional and at the same time good-looking website.

PHP is still good

In the past, PHP was considered to be a straightforward and "light" solution. This was due to its ease of implementation and fast development to release cycle.

Your projects could be completed quickly, even by inexperienced programmers. Today, this's still a potent advantage of PHP. Nevertheless, since PHP version 7.4 is much more potent than its predecessor (PHP8 will be released later this year), the number and variety of features has increased significantly. Why and how did this happen?

Some updates are trivial and usually make incremental changes. Others, however, can reshape an entire product. This happened with PHP when most of the new frameworks enabled PHP to do increasingly larger things. Some of them were Laravel, Symfony, Yii, Lamina, Cake, Code Igniter, etc.

We use and love Yii. We use and love Yii. It is our personal choice, and since we appreciate it so much, we can recommend you to go for this framework (contact us).

The framework comes with packages and products such as administration panel CRM, web socket server, profiler, payment integration, queue manager, and so on. They create a sort of ecosystem that allows PHP to do more, faster and easier.

This is made possible by the rapid evolution of the web with more interactive features, sophisticated designs, and richer functionality. You can go beyond a content management system like WordPress and do almost anything by combining the library of your choice with the framework best suited to the task.

If we compare PHP5 and PHP7, it is worth mentioning that the performance (speed) increases by 2 to 3 times. This means that the PHP developer community behind it takes criticism seriously and uses it to improve.

Improvements in PHP

The quality of some programming languages has declined over time. With PHP, the opposite is true as the demand continues to grow. New challenges require improvements, and annual updates bring those improvements.

Using PHP for the backend today is more than just adding a database to the frontend development. There are many different tasks such as data collection, redirection, integration with mobile, etc., that can be done with PHP.

Considering all this, it can be said that PHP has become more efficient and can handle more different tasks while remaining user friendly and affordable. For commercial projects, PHP is the best choice because of its lightweight syntax and fast installation time.

What else can be said about PHP? Its simplicity is both a disadvantage and an advantage. For example, it is not suitable for developing some complex systems for academic research systems. But all commercial projects are equal, and what may be problematic from a marketing point of view is relatively easy to handle from a programming point of view.

This is why many people claim that PHP is the best programming language for commercial use. Combined with Javascript, PHP programming language can be used to make any project successfully published without any problems. It is like the English language of programming languages. Everyone knows it and it can be quickly adapted and used for an infinite number of purposes.

Faster and easier

What more can be said about the usability of PHP? On average, it takes less time to deliver a project in PHP than it does to choose another programming language to complete the task at hand. Less time means that your project will be delivered faster. The market situation is constantly changing.

Therefore, developing your product's MVP in PHP will make it more likely that your product will still reach your target audience promptly, be relevant and leave your competitors behind in time. When using PHP as your programming language of choice, the time to market is significantly reduced.

It is also much easier to find programmers with knowledge of PHP than other programming languages. Therefore, with more options available, you won't be without qualified experts. As we explored earlier, PHP is very simple and easy compared to other programming languages.

It is cheaper

PHP developers also earn 15% less per hour than Python or Ruby developers. Therefore, developers are easier to find and cheaper to hire. Isn't that great?

We specialize in custom development, but if you need to integrate third-party CMS solutions like WordPress or Wix, it can be done quickly with PHP. Depending on what functionality your business model requires, you can do part of your project in PHP or implement it entirely in PHP.

Conclusion

Overall, choosing a development language is a trade-off between the pros and cons of the available options. PHP is a great programming language that is widely used to create any website in 2021, from landing pages and simple WordPress sites to complex web platforms like Facebook.

Flexibility, numerous integration options, native nature, and high speed are some of the main reasons why we use PHP in web projects of many PHP development companies in India.

Hey dude I am IT consultant 1 year experience in It services and digital marketing.