Since the introduction of PHP in the 1990s, it has been the most popular and favored server-side scripting language for creating websites and web applications. PHP is considered the best technology among web development companies and businesses due to its cost effectiveness, flexibility, improved visibility, shorter web development time, support for a wide range of frameworks, web development tools, simple syntax, support of a large community and a large set of libraries. PHP powers nearly 83 percent of active websites which counts up to nearly 40 million websites. This also means that around 8 out of 10 websites you visit on the Internet are built using this programming language.
But with the enormous popularity of the language and its widespread use, it may not be that easy. hire php developers have all the necessary skills and abilities.
These are the most important skills to look for in order to choose an expert and trustworthy PHP developer for your next project.
With millions of websites and web applications being developed in this programming language, the demand for PHP is expected to increase further in the coming years as well. Business owners who want to get a custom, dynamic, simple, high-performance, browser-friendly and secure website built for their business should look for some essential skills and abilities when choosing PHP developers for their projects.
Experience and technical competence in working with PHP:
The first and foremost thing you need to consider is the programmer’s experience in this field. It is essential to filter out developers with less experience in PHP development. After all, you definitely want to have a competitive website built for your business. And for this, you need to look for someone who has hands-on experience in using the languages and their features.
Also, make sure you choose a PHP developer with adequate technical knowledge and proficiency. Since PHP is frequently updated, the programmer must be familiar with and aware of the latest PHP web development tools and technologies. Also, the developer should have experience working with all PHP frameworks like Zend, Symfony, Yii, CodeIgniter, Laravel, CakePHP and more to ensure smooth, efficient and well-organized coding with PHP.
Knowledge of other related programming languages:
Knowledge of PHP coding is not enough to build a competitive website. A strong understanding of other programming languages such as Java, Javascript, HTML, and CSS is also required. In addition, the programmer must have adequate knowledge of MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle and database management.
Hands-on experience in PHP best practices and UI design patterns:
Knowledge of design patterns in PHP development is required. Knowing design patterns can help speed up the web development process by providing repeatable solutions to all web design problems and challenges. Some of the commonly used PHP design patterns are Strategy, Factory, Singleton, etc. Using these design patterns can also save developers a lot of time and effort.
Also, following PHP development best practices can ensure efficient and effective web development and can help developers end up with a highly competitive website that overcomes all complexities and challenges. Knowing PHP best practices and tips can also help developers avoid common mistakes, make the best use of the programming language’s built-in classes, functions, libraries, and other features. These practices and tips can also help improve the readability and quality of your code.
Experience using PHP Composer, PHPUnit and PSR:
These are some PHP web development tools that developers should know about. Composer is the dependency manager that takes care of PHP classes, libraries, and functions and allows programmers to easily install and use different versions of these depending on project requirements. A Composer also checks for the availability of new versions of libraries and classes and also helps update existing ones used in the project.
The PSR or PHP Standard Recommendation is a PHP language specification, which is designed to standardize PHP programming concepts and improve integration and interoperability of PHP frameworks and components. Currently, there are 13 accepted PSR standards. Every PHP programmer must learn them to reduce all the unwanted variations in PHP codes.
In addition to these, developers should also be aware of PHPUnit, a tool that enables effortless unit testing, i.e. it automates the testing of smaller sections or units of code against desired results.
Adaptability:
PHP is often updated and comes with new features and improvements. A PHP programmer must have adaptability skills and must be able to adapt these new and improved features to ensure modern and up-to-date website development using the up-to-date technologies. In other words, the professional must always be willing to learn all the new features of PHP and other related technologies.
It is extremely important to measure and monitor the skills, expertise, and experience of a PHP developer while you choose, as competition is high on the web and only a seasoned professional can ensure that you build a ready-to-go website making the best use of PHP, its features, frameworks, and the PHP development tools. And the points discussed above can help you to choose the right PHP developer for your website development.
