Satya Prakash SharmaPHP is a popular backend programming language empowering the web since it first appeared in 1995. Today, 77.4% of all websites use PHP as the server-side programming language. You are in good company as a PHP developer as millions of backend developers use the programming language in their tech stack.
This toolkit will list the ultimate resources to be a skilled and job-ready PHP developer.
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript: In addition to PHP, a developer is also expected to have a working knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. PHP is combined with frontend technologies to create web applications as a backend language. To fully utilize the benefits PHP offers as a general-purpose server-side scripting language, developers must be proficient in writing quality JavaScript code with HTML and CSS.
Advanced PHP Concepts: Any PHP project developed for web services uses many third-party web applications. A competent PHP developer should be familiar with advanced concepts, most importantly, parsing JSON, handling HTTP requests, using XML, and working with package installers like the composer.
Composer is an important concept to learn as it helps PHP developers to manage dependencies like classes, functions, and libraries conveniently. Also, developers can effortlessly switch between different versions of PHP using composer.
PSR (PHP Standard Recommendation), issued by PHP-FIG, is a PHP specification that developers should know. Knowledge of PSR is essential to standardize PHP code that enhances the interoperability of PHP components and frameworks.
Laravel: PHP developers seldom work on raw PHP code when building web applications. You will be utilizing PHP frameworks like Laravel to increase the productivity and accuracy of your code. While there are several PHP frameworks such as CodeIgniter, Symphony, and CakePHP, Laravel is the most widely used. Over 67% of PHP developers use Laravel for building web applications.
Databases: Web applications use several databases depending on the nature and type of data they deal with. PHP developers use PHP code to create, update and maintain databases in web applications. MySQL, MariaDB, and MongoDB are the three most widely used databases for PHP applications. Companies hiring PHP developers expect programmers to be skilled in one of these databases.
Web servers: PHP is primarily a server-side scripting language, and knowledge of web servers will help PHP developers with full-stack programming. Employers prefer PHP developers who know web servers as they can create faster and more scalable web applications.
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Essential Interview Questions For Backend Developers With 1-3 Years Of Experience
Official Resources
Online Courses & Tutorials
KillerPHP is an excellent resource for PHP developers that have been around since 2010. The site has insightful blogs, videos, and short tutorials.
PHPtherightway.com is the best PHP documentation; some developers find it more comprehensive than official PHP documentation.
Packagist.org is a resource that every PHP developer should bookmark. The website has information on every open-source composer package. The website also integrates with GitHub well, so developers can easily install, create, and publish new packages.
Learn PHP with Codeacademy is a free resource that teaches PHP coding from scratch without being distracting. The lessons are interactive sessions, rather than just video or text tutorials. It is a self-guided PHP college course with articles, quizzes, and freeform projects.
Build a Social Network from Scratch is a Udemy course to learn the features and concepts of PHP through a project-based approach. Developers build a social networking site in PHP, JavaScript, and MySQL in this course.
PHP with Laravel for beginners is another quality Udemy online course to learn the Laravel framework. It teaches the best practice of creating PHP web applications using Laravel.
Object-Oriented PHP & MVC by Brad Traversy is a course for advanced learners as it dives deeper into PHP concepts. This course teaches you to create a basic framework using PHP, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. Then you build an application based on that framework.
Books for PHP Developers
The Joy of PHP Programming: A Beginner’s Guide – by Alan Forbes
PHP & MySQL Novice to Ninja – by Kevin Yank
Headfirst PHP & MySQL (A Brain-friendly Guide)
PHP for the Web: Visual QuickStart Guide
Modern PHP: New Features and Good Practices
Online Communities for PHP Developers
Laracasts- Official Laravel Community
Podcasts for PHP Developers
PHP Podcasts | The voice of the elePHPant
Soft skills for PHP Developers
Good Communication Skills: Communication is the key to projects’ success, and PHP is no exception. Basic communication etiquettes are a must for PHP developers, whether they work solo or as a team. It would be best to learn to communicate like a professional to land jobs easily.
Project Management: Managing programming projects is an essential skill that PHP developers should nurture to independently track and complete PHP tasks. Leadership, delegation, risk management, and quality management are part of project management skills.
Critical Thinking: Developers who are critical thinkers are better at application planning and design. They are also more efficient in debugging project code as they can critically analyze it. Furthermore, critical thinking makes PHP developers adapt to innovations and technologies quickly.
There is more to explore; here are some soft skill development resources from Talent500:
How soft skills transitioned to become the new power skills
6 soft skills that still impress employers in 2022
7 Most valuable soft skills of exceptional software engineers
Conclusion
PHP is a popular language for building web applications that over 80% of websites utilize. From creating custom websites to entire Content Management Systems, you can achieve a lot with PHP if you have the right skills. This PHP toolkit is the ultimate resource guide to learning and upskilling as a PHP developer.
Talent500 has the pool of elite PHP developers that global companies hire to build their remote teams. Join our platform today to find career-redefining opportunities.
Avni Bohra
Afreen Khalfe
Neel Vithlani
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