Programming is among the most in-demand job skills out there. There are tens of millions of software developers, and there are a variety of different languages you can learn. One of the most popular is PHP. PHP (which stands for Hypertext Preprocessor) is a server-side open-source language that is primarily used to create web apps.

While this isn’t always the case, many programmers will utilize frameworks when coding with PHP or a variety of other languages. PHP frameworks are platforms that help people simplify the process of coding, which allows them to create their apps quickly and effectively. Of course, issues and problems can still arise within your PHP application, so be sure to utilize good logging practices to be able to identify these issues (You can read more details about this subject here).

In general, there are many different PHP frameworks developers can choose from, and this blog post is going to look at 12 of the best.

Codeigniter

If developing your apps as quickly as possible is your aim, Codeigniter is a great option for you. It is a very lightweight framework and is quite easy to use and doesn’t come with a large footprint. It has been around since 2006 and it comes with modules that are pre-built to make everything simple and more streamlined. Installation is also incredibly simple, which is a huge bonus. It is very user-friendly and while it is great for beginners, advanced users can utilize it as well.

CakePHP

If you are a beginner and looking to work with a framework, CakePHP is a logical one to consider. Founded in 2005, CakePHP is an open-source CRUD platform (create, read, update and delete). This means it is very easy to learn and understand. Because of its scaffolding and code generation functionalities, it allows apps to be built not only quickly, but also reliably with high levels of scalability. Another great thing about this framework is that it has great security thanks to features like CSRF and XSS.

Laravel

Introduced back in 2011, Laravel is without a doubt one of the most popular frameworks on this list, and for a good reason. It is capable of creating incredibly complex and robust web applications, without being incredibly difficult to use. It simplifies some tasks and offers helpful features like automatic code management, query management and a high level of security. It has a wide user-base, so if you ever have issues with it, a simpler search online should be able to help you out. Also, there are many different customization options within Laravel. This includes data migration, security and many more.

Symfony

Created back in 2005, Symphony is one of the first PHP frameworks to exist. Because of the near two-decades of history, Symfony is incredibly reliable and loved by its users. It is incredibly flexible and can be installed and used on a variety of different platforms. Large organizations and open source projects alike love Symfony for its comprehensive documentation, reliability and high quality and consistent performance. It also takes up very little memory and offers fast development in addition to it’s a long list of features.

Zend

If you are in the market for a more object-minded framework, Zend is an obvious place to start. It is very extendable, which will allow develops to add various functionalities into the framework which will have benefits for their projects. It is quite reliable and offers proper security and scalability as well. It is important to keep in mind that Zend is mostly for enterprise-level apps, and may not be the best candidate for rapid app development and the processes that go along with it.

Yii

Founded back in 2008, Yii is a lightweight backend development framework that is suitable for a variety of different web apps. It features interoperability with many other frameworks, fast loading time and high speed and performance. Yii also offers high-end security, which makes it a preferred choice among those looking to develop an e-commerce application or a content management system. However, if your goal is to create a very complex web application, you might want to consider looking elsewhere.

Phalcon

Released back in 2012, Phalcon is a full-stack framework that is a popular choice among developers and is only expected to get even more popular. Phalcon was written in C and C++ and has a C-extension structure. This means that Phalcon works incredibly quickly and doesn’t force you to have knowledge of the C programming language. In addition to speed, Phalcon uses low memory and possess unique features such as MVC architecture, caching and auto-loading components.

PHPixie

Another relatively new addition to space is PHPixie. This framework is modular and lightweight and is mainly used for read-only sites. Because of this, it is one of the best and most popular frameworks for building social networking sites and apps, as well as web app development services. It features a variety of handy tools including cryptography and support for MongoDB. In addition to its high performance, the learning curve within the framework is small.

Fuel PHP

Released back in 2011, Fuel PHP supports both MVC and HMVC architecture. This means that apps can show more than one page at a time, which eliminates the need for duplicate content on different pages. It is powerful, lightweight and offers great security, which makes it a no brainer for those who require maximum security. This framework is consistently being upgraded, so look for it continue to improve in 2019 and beyond.  

Slim

Slim is a micro-framework that was inspired by Sinatra from Ruby. It is a micro-framework that lets developers of all kinds create apps and APIs. It was incredibly simple documentation and is best used for small web apps that don’t require a full-stack framework. You can learn it at lightning speed, and it is ideal for beginners. Some of the features the framework includes are URL routing, client-side HTTP caching and some other add-ons.

Fat-Free

As you might be able to gather from the name of this framework, it is free from all the “fat” or extras that many frameworks might contain. It is a micro framework that features some different cutting-edge tools for developing web apps quickly and easily. It features data validation, unit testing, image processing and more. Also, because this framework supports both SQL and NoSQL databases, the development process as a whole can be enhanced.

Aura

Aura is unique as it is a set of libraries that can be used for developing apps that are fairly basic. The self-contained libraries can easily be added to any project and used in any codebase. These libraries also have no dependencies at all and are flexible and well-documented. It can save developers a lot of time, and each library has only things necessary to its core purpose included.

In conclusion, hopefully, this article has helped you decide which PHP development frameworks are great to use in 2019 and beyond.