Debunking common PHP myths

Released in 1994, PHP used to be hailed as the dominant back end programming language for the web. However, due to certain challenges during version 6 and the concurrent development of a plethora of new technologies using the latest, most streamlined features and standards, it’s fallen out of favor with newer generations of developers, with many of them seeing PHP as an outdated language.

Yet this negative view of PHP is based on certain (mis)conceptions and features that may have held true for some older versions but have now been fixed and/or streamlined in the latest versions. In fact, PHP has evolved significantly from its early days, transforming into a mature, sophisticated language that’s optimized for modern web development.

In this post we’ll highlight and set the record straight on the most common of these misconceptions, demonstrating how PHP is still very much alive and fresh, in contrast with what some proponents of other languages and frameworks would have people believe.

1. PHP is outdated and uses outdated coding standards

Many developers that worked with old PHP versions were likely frustrated with its past inefficiencies and have stayed away from the language since then, left with a sour taste and retaining this negative conception of PHP.

However, PHP has dramatically improved since version 5, in terms of coding standards, performance and innovation. Even version 7 brought notable improvements, and then PHP 8 introduced changes which have completely opened up PHP’s current as well as future potential.

Most notably, JIT (just-in-time) compiling has brought significant improvements in terms of PHP’s performance, opening up possibilities for it to be used in much more CPU-intensive environments than previously and allowing it to branch out beyond websites and web applications in the future.

On top of everything, PHP’s active global community is still contributing to a rich ecosystem of plugins, libraries, and extensions, as well as providing continued help and support.

2. PHP is just “spaghetti code”

A major reason for PHP’s lack of popularity is the fact that a large percentage of websites with a PHP based framework ran on an outdated version of PHP which were naturally more likely to have issues with performance, security, etc.

This is especially the case with WordPress sites, since it is such a dominant content management system with a huge CMS market share. Inexperienced developers and content editors working on these numerous WordPress websites have often resorted to “hacking” due to their lack of experience, resulting in a lot of “spaghetti code” and significantly contributing to the bad reputation of PHP owing to WordPress’s huge market share.

3. PHP is slow

According to the performance testing of popular PHP-based frameworks done by Kinsta, it’s immediately evident that frameworks using PHP versions 7 and above perform significantly better compared to older versions; for example, version 7.3 can have 2 to 3 times the number of requests per second compared to version 5.6.

This increase in performance is even more evident with versions 8.x thanks largely to the introduction of JIT compiling mentioned above. In fact, each minor 8.x version has brought significant performance improvements, with PHP 8.3 being up to 52% more performant than PHP 8.2.

Importantly, Kinsta’s benchmarks only cover versions up to PHP 8.3, so it’s safe to assume that performance has only further improved with the release of version 8.4.

4. PHP is not secure

Security has been another common concern for PHP sceptics and critics. While poor security was also often the result of inexperienced “hacking” mentioned above, security in PHP overall has seen significant improvements in its latest versions.

Modern PHP emphasizes secure coding practices and offers robust security features, addressing vulnerabilities proactively to protect web applications against common threats.

This focus on security, coupled with its inherent versatility, makes PHP a powerful tool for everything from small websites to complex e-commerce platforms.

5. Nobody uses PHP

While custom-built PHP sites may have been more prevalent in the past, it doesn’t mean that PHP is not used on new websites anymore. There are still modern, enterprise websites being built today with CMS platforms such as Drupal and even WordPress. In addition, new innovative PHP frameworks such as Laravel are becoming increasingly popular and used by famous brands such as BBC, FedEx and Lenovo.

According to the latest data from W3Tech, nearly 75% of all websites with a known server-side programming language are based on PHP. While this likely includes a number of outdated sites that haven’t been regularly used or updated, we know for a fact that many of the world’s leading companies and organizations use a PHP-based content management system or framework.

For example, many of the most prestigious universities in the US and elsewhere (e.g. Stanford, Cambridge) have their websites run on Drupal, as do a lot of government institutions all over the world. In addition, Drupal is also used by well-known firms such as Mercedes-Benz and by some of the most renowned nonprofit organizations such as UNESCO.

Similarly, WordPress is used on a lot of high-end websites, including the US Government’s main websites and those of numerous media/publishing companies such as Forbes, CNN, Reuters, etc.

Taking this into account, we can see that millions of people rely on PHP-based websites to access information that’s either crucial to their day-to-day lives (e.g. accessing official government information) or helps them stay up to date with global events via leading news outlets.

6. A career in PHP doesn’t pay and you can’t progress in your career as a PHP developer

Because of all the above, the demand for PHP developers in fact continues to be very high. A lot of our own top developers at Agiledrop have progressed so much in their careers precisely because of their deep expertise with PHP.

However, it’s true that, due to PHP’s long tenure, there’s a greater abundance of skilled PHP developers as opposed to newer/more specific frameworks (e.g. Laravel), and so a PHP developer salary may be less competitive than that for an expert in a more specific and/or modern technology such as React or Laravel.

The great news is that modern platforms and frameworks tend to invest much more into a positive developer experience, and Laravel is a particularly great example here thanks to its high focus on developers, streamlined documentation, following programming best practices, etc.

What this means is that transitioning to a framework like Laravel for a PHP veteran will not only be rewarding career-wise, but also enjoyable in the context of the developer experience. At the same time, since it’s based on the programming language they’ve likely been familiar with for a long time, it won’t be like learning an entirely new technology.

7. Node.js and JavaScript can serve as a complete replacement of PHP

Since the earlier days of web development and PHP, JavaScript has evolved from a simple front-end scripting language into an ecosystem of technologies that can power the entire process of developing websites and applications.

Most importantly, the introduction of Node.js enabled the development of full-stack sites and applications in JavaScript without having to rely on a different language or environment for the back end. This not only facilitated more scalable applications, but also resulted in notable performance optimizations thanks to Node’s event-driven nature.

In addition to Node.js, front end frameworks and libraries such as React and Vue began to rise in popularity, allowing the smooth creation of high-level, interactive front-end experiences.

However, in that time, PHP also evolved beyond its boundaries of a back-end web development language. Just like in the JavaScript ecosystem, frameworks began to emerge and rise in popularity, a lot of them prioritizing performance and a great developer experience.

As already mentioned in the previous section, Laravel is the perfect example here. Launched in 2011 and now on version 12.3, Laravel has indisputably become the top PHP framework with a market share of over 43%.

It has a very active global community which has further innovated in the Laravel sphere with more specialized frameworks, such as Livewire and Filament PHP that enable full-stack development in a similar way to how Node.js has facilitated this for JavaScript development.

Other PHP frameworks such as Symfony and CodeIgniter have also maintained their popularity and are innovating steadily. The same goes for PHP-based content management platforms where WordPress still dominates. So, while websites can now indeed be built exclusively in JavaScript, PHP still provides some of the top frameworks for managing websites, especially for non-developer users.

Conclusion: modern PHP is more than just vanilla PHP

Considering everything we’ve discussed in this article, it’s very clear that modern PHP is much more than just vanilla or legacy PHP. The rich ecosystem of frameworks and the ever active global community have allowed the language to remain a backbone of web development technologies.

In a sense, Laravel is now becoming the React of PHP, keeping innovation fresh in the PHP ecosystem while offering new career opportunities for all generations of developers.

TALL – Tailwind CSS, Alpine.js, Laravel & Laravel Livewire – has become an appealing technology stack that developers enjoy working with both on personal projects as well as higher-end business websites and apps. All in all, it looks like innovation will keep taking place in PHP, and it is certainly not going away anytime soon as a key web technology.

In case you or a client are still on a legacy PHP website and are looking for smooth ways to refresh it, feel free to learn more about Agiledrop’s work with PHP, or reach out to us directly if you have more specific questions or requirements.