9 Main Reasons Why PHP Is Not Dead

PHP is one of the top programming languages these days. According to W3Tech’s survey, 78% of websites use PHP as a back-end language. There are a ton of websites built on WordPress (a PHP-based CMS) – yet, even putting them aside, PHP is still used to build 54% of websites on the Internet.

PHP and JavaScript are still the languages employers seek the most in the market. PHP consistently has a spot as one of the top 10 widely used programming languages.

Yet, there’s a certain amount of backlash when it comes to discussing the relevance of PHP. There are dozens of Quora and forum users claiming the language to be either irrelevant or hands-down dead.

These remarks are extremely popular on the web right now. Yet, they are to be taken with the grain of salt. PHP is still relevant for many developers and one thing is certain – the language is here to stay.

Here are some key advantages of PHP that led us to the conclusion.

Reason #1. Flexibility

PHP scores over other languages when it comes to flexibility. Unlike C or a few other languages that take a lot of time to master, PHP is easy to pick up. This flexibility allows developers to change their code as they go. Also, a PHP code can be easily modified even after the code is written.

PHP is a fit when it comes to managing databases. You can connect your code to MySQL in no time.

Reason #2. The Constant Growth of Talent

It’s no secret that PHP is one of the most popular languages among freelancers. While it might not be good news for developers, business owners might benefit a lot from all the available talent.

Finding a web development company to update your website is not a problem. Another good news for business owners is that the PHP web developer salary is rather moderate. Statistically, you can find a PHP developer for a little over $25 000 dollars per year. We won’t go over all of the statistics but if you’re interested in hiring a PHP-development, continue reading this research.

Reason #3. Relatively Cheap Hosting

Building a website is one thing but choosing a hosting provider is another. It can be a huge budget line item for many digital business owners. In order to launch a website, you’d have, in most cases, to pay a fee for using a server as well as to set it all up. With PHP web design and development, on the other hand, all you need is a Linux server. This one is available for free – a business owner will have to pay no fees.

Reason #4. It’s Open-Source

Open-source architecture is the way of the future right now. This way it’s much easier to scale and reach gigantic proportions. While it might seem that open-source is not the most secure way of coding, in reality, it is pretty much the other way around. If there are security holes in the codes, these are the open-source technologies that can easily patch up the problem.

Speaking of the open-source technology, PHP is one of the best programming languages to implement such a paradigm. You can use an open-source Laravel framework without having to pay a fee.

Reason #5. Scalability

While some developers claim PHP is not created for high traffic websites, it is, in fact, the language that’s used by Facebook and Wikipedia, both extremely actively visited. So, with the use of Symfony vs Laravel, you can manage a complex website relatively easily. PHP can improve the website speed even if you’re managing a project with millions of monthly visitors.

Thanks to PHP tools, you can go as far as to implement PHP for desktop GUI app development. A code has to have a strong command of the language itself and know how to use Laravel to be able to manage a high-scale website.

Reason #6. PHP Is Object-Oriented

Looking at older StackOverflow threads, you might find dozens of users claiming PHP is a very bad language in terms of being object-oriented. However, all of that was true till the PHP 5.3. came out. After the release of the update, PHP has become one of the best languages for object-oriented programming.

Here are just a few features the developers added into the language to make it well-suited to object-oriented programming:

• PHP data object extension to manage databases;
• The language supports constructors and destructors extremely well;
• PHP frameworks like CakePHP encourage object-orientedness making it almost Java-like.

Reason #7. One of the Best Communities

Another reason to consider PHP for any web application and development activity is a strong community of coders the language has united. Regardless if you’re a developer who wants to gain the basics of the language or a business owner who wants to understand the basics of the language, it’s nice to have someone behind your back.

In terms of tutorials and materials dedicated to learning the language, PHP is a frontrunner. There’s a ton of materials – with over 80% being pretty solid. Bear in mind, however, that there are still the remaining 20% of rather bad tutorials – it’s the downside of PHP’s popularity.

Reason #8. Compatibility

Another virtue of PHP is the fact that the language can run on most platforms with the same efficiency rate. The language performs well on MacOS, Linux, and Microsoft. Also, PHP runs smoothly on most servers – including Microsoft IIS.

There is a wide range of different tools PHP works well with (take MongoDB as an example). Such a wide compatibility range makes PHP extremely convenient when it comes to PHP development.

Reason #9. Advanced Analytics

PHP is one of the fittest solutions to build a website thanks to the number of dedicated analytics tools that can be connected to the platform. Google Analytics is the most famous way to analyze metrics. It’s not the only one, however.

There’s a range of PHP-based dedicated sales tools that can be installed to track your website’s analytics.

Conclusions

• PHP had a corky past. Some say the language wasn’t designed much as it just happened. A lot of developers hate on it and call it irrelevant, yet statistics prove PHP is here to stay.
• There are a few reasons for PHP’s relevance – for one thing, it’s a flexible language. You can change the code as you write it.
• PHP is pretty easy to scale. You can use the language to manage a high-traffic website, just the way Wikipedia and Facebook do it.
• The language is an open-source language that allows developers to fix all holes and issues easier. Also, you wouldn’t have to pay tremendous hosting fees.
• After the release of PHP 7, the language has become extremely advanced scoring over competing languages in almost any feature. That’s exactly what makes the language so well-suited to a web development project.