PHP Frameworks Guide & Top 5 Best PHP Framework 2022

What is PHP Framework?

PHP or Hypertext Preprocessor is an open-source scripting language used for web development. Due to its flexibility, and easy-to-use features, PHP is the world's most popular scripting language. But sometimes coding in PHP becomes tedious or repetitive. Here PHP Framework can help.

PHP framework provides a pre-built structure that is used for accelerating the development of website applications written in PHP. The framework is mostly used for Rapid Application Development(RAD) which helps you to develop more stable applications with less repetitive code and less amount of time. Frameworks allow you to spend more time in actual development instead of writing the code.

The working of the PHP Framework is generally based on the Model View Controller(MVC). MVC is used for constructing or organizing the code. The main idea behind using MVC is that each section of code in your program has specific functionality and purpose some data is responsible for the functionality of the app, some data make the appearance of our app innovative and some part contains data of the app.

Why you should use PHP Framework?

Developers should use PHP Framework for developing agile applications. Reusing code for various projects will not only save the developer's time & effort, but it will also speed up the development process.

Since PHP does not detect minor errors, there are chances that beginners may write bad code without even knowing about it. This may be a threat to your application. So you must tie up your code properly.

Various extensive PHP Frameworks are available from which you can choose. If you don't want to use a framework, you can create your own framework according to your needs. But most developers prefer to choose a pre-built framework, because of its popularity, support, and for communicating with others using the same service.

When to use PHP Framework?

Not only beginners, the PHP framework is also useful for experienced programmers. PHP framework provides great stability & pre-built structure which helps in reducing bad or wrong code. So using the PHP framework is always a good solution.

On the other hand, if you are working on a project with tight deadlines then you also you can use PHP Framework for speeding up the coding process. If you are working on a project with repetitive code, then also you can use the Framework to make the project less exhausting.

What to look for in PHP Framework?

A long list of PHP Frameworks is available to choose from, or you can also create your own framework if you are an expert. Before choosing a framework best suited, you must who will be using it for designing web applications. Choosing a popular framework is a good idea if many people will use it. But if you want to build an application for your personal use, then you can choose a framework that is more comfortable for you.

Each framework has some advantages and disadvantages, so you must try all the useable frameworks to find out which one is best suitable for you. There are some factors also that you must look for in the Framework like ease to use, popularity, flexibility, rapid performance, and strong features.

Best PHP Frameworks?

PHP has evolved as a scripting language in the last few years. It provides integrated modules to the developers for robust and quick web applications. Here we have got a list of 5 top PHP Frameworks used widely.

Laravel Framework

Currently, Laravel is one of the most used PHP frameworks. It works on MVC Architecture for quickly building web applications. Laravel provides powerful tools needed for robust application development. One of the most important features of this framework is that it has many pre-installed Object-Oriented Libraries. It contains a built-in tool Artisan which allows the user to avoid repetitive and tedious programming manually. It uses a salted and encrypted password, for security purposes which means that the password will never be saved as plain text in the database. The bcrypt hashing algorithm is used by Laravel to generate encrypted passwords. Here are the security features offered by Laravel:-

CodeIgniter Framework

Another famous PHP Framework with a small footprint. It provides a simple and elegant toolkit for developing full-featured web applications. It provides libraries for connecting to the database and performing various other operations like sending emails, uploading files, etc. It is an extendable framework which means that you can easily add your own library or you can create new libraries. MVC Architecture is also supported by CodeIgniter for separating the data, business logic, and presentation.

Symfony Framework

It is an open-source PHP framework that also has MVC architecture. Basically used for developing high-performance complex web applications. The main reason behind developing the Symphony framework is to speed up the development process. Components and Bundles are the two unique and rich features of this framework. Symphony allows users to build user-friendly web applications according to their needs.

Yii Framework

Yii is another famous PHP framework that is based on OOP's Framework. It is mostly used for developing robust and flexible web 2.0 applications. DRY or Do Not Repeat Yourself encoding concept is used in Yii which provides a clean and logical code base. Since it is built into jQuery and contains AJAX features, it can be used for front-end development. Gigi is the powerful class-code generator of the Yii framework which provides a web-based interface for generating code.

CakePHP Framework

The CakePHP framework is best suitable for beginners and learners. It has scaffolding and code generation functionality for fastening the process of web application development. The configuration of this framework is also easy as you don't have to configure complicated XML and YAML files. CakePHP allows you to differentiate the parts of the code as it is built on MVC Architecture. The code generated using CakePHP can be reused in various other projects also.

The salary of a PHP developer depends on the skills & experience of the developer. Payscale defines the salary of each developer according to the knowledge level as follows:-

Average Monthly Cost:-

Average Hourly Cost:-

The key factor for setting the fixed salary/hourly rate is a range of the skills. PHP, JavaScript, MySQL, HTML and jQuery are considered as a basic knowledge base for productive PHP development. Every extra skill will mean the addition to the salary: Drupal +10%, Magento +3%, ASP +3%, AngularJS +3%, Symfony +3%, .NET + 3%, ColdFusion +3%, Ajax +3%,  DHTML +3%.  

Conclusion

PHP Frameworks are great options for speeding up the development process by removing code repetition. Most experienced programmers do not use frameworks but they are a great advantage for rapid web application development under tight deadlines.

PHP Frameworks can enhance the learning process for beginners and intermediate programmers. It not only accelerates the development process but also increases the security of your application.

There are various frameworks available for building a web application. But you can also create your own framework according to your needs. PHP Frameworks are the future of scripting language for developing robust and rapid web applications.