The top 10 PHP frameworks for web development have been chosen by us. Selecting the appropriate one for your project is important because each of them is distinct and meets various demands. These frameworks are all free to use. So, before choosing the best option, you might try any that catch your attention.
Why Use PHP Framework?
The open-source language PHP is the foundation of a PHP framework, which comes with built-in functionality to enhance your software development lifecycle. These features speed up development and enhance team performance by lightening your developers’ workload.
PHP frameworks help improve your software development process. These improvements include every aspect of your organization from security to productivity. Each framework has a varied focus; for example, some may be more concerned with development workflow than others with scalability. Excellent security is one benefit that each of these frameworks has to offer, which is essential for software development.
The Best PHP Frameworks
Here are the top PHP frameworks you can use for web development.
1. Laravel
Popular and comprehensive PHP framework Laravel is renowned for its beautiful syntax. It is a good tool for customizing complicated projects because it has a tonne of features and built-in capabilities. User authentication, session management, and caching are some of its features.
There are other packages available to enhance the framework. While Laravel-specific packages only function with Laravel, framework-independent packages work with all PHP frameworks.
The Laravel Debugbar, which adds a toolbar to the application that is helpful when debugging, is an illustration of a well-liked package.
As an alternative, you can find over 15,000 Laravel packages for your project in the Packalyst directory. You can make a request if you can’t find the appropriate package.
Another fantastic feature is Laravel Homestead. It is a pre-configured Vagrant box that offers a virtual computer and a local web development environment. With no need for a web server or local PHP installation, web developers can utilize this to create PHP web applications.
Related Article: Advantages of Laravel for Your Web Development
2. CodeIgniter
CodeIgniter is a compact PHP framework, with a total size of less than 1.2 MB. It guarantees quicker loading times and leaves your web server and apps with less trace.
Due to its flexibility, CodeIgniter offers both MVC and non-MVC design patterns. While smaller teams or single developers can code without using it, larger developer teams can accelerate the development process by using its MVC design.
Additionally, this framework has top-notch security features integrated right in. They include content security guidelines, context-sensitive escape, and scripting and cross-site request forgery protection.
Overall, the strong speed of CodeIgniter is ideal for light web applications that function effectively on cheap PHP web hosting. Its’ unique features made many web developers use it for web app development.
3. Symfony
Symfony is a modular component-based PHP framework that offers exceptional flexibility. For your project, you can pick from more than 50 reusable PHP components. Instead of relying on the entire library if you only need a little assistance, you may pick and choose which modules to employ.
Additionally, Twig, a quick template engine with a clear syntax, is used by Symfony. Your project will function as intended thanks to its integrated debugging tool.
The steep learning curve of Symfony is one of its drawbacks. Nevertheless, Symfony offers a wealth of beneficial learning materials, including documentation and guides that address more than 20 themes.
4. Laminas Project
The successor to the Zend PHP framework is Laminas. Due to its component-based structure, Laminas Projects is frequently referred to as a glue framework.
The object-oriented, MVC-based PHP framework from Laminas enables you to load only the components you require as standalone libraries. The MVC framework and its components also adhere to enterprise development best practices, making them appropriate for sophisticated web applications.
This method and the object-oriented architecture of the framework allow for extensive code reuse. In order to further expand the platform’s functionality, it is simple to integrate it with outside libraries.
Unfortunately, learning the software can be somewhat difficult and could be intimidating for new users. The transition from Laravel to Laminas Project might be fairly difficult.
5. Phalcon
The source code for the full-stack PHP framework Phalcon was created in the C programming language. The framework leverages PHP classes and namespaces, therefore using it doesn’t require knowledge of C.
One of the quickest PHP frameworks on the market is Phalcon. It has an MVC architecture and is quite light. Users can only add the modules and libraries they require after installation. This keeps the web development process organized and uncluttered.
Phalcon is a nice alternative, however, it’s important to note that it is not widely used. You may require additional resources to learn Phalcon because its documentation is less extensive than that provided by more well-known PHP frameworks like Laravel.
6. CakePHP
Despite being the first PHP MVC framework to be developed, CakePHP is presently among the best available.
This platform employs the convention over configuration methodology, therefore each user is required to adhere to a set of coding standards. Although learning these rules can take some time, they promote a more consistent coding environment for enhanced cooperation.
CakePHP has an extensive library collection with one of the largest collections of essential elements. If you need to integrate difficult-to-find functionality, it’s a fantastic choice.
If you need help, there are various support portals available. To get in touch with the CakePHP development community, use the support forum, the Slack channel, or Stack Overflow. At CakeDC, there is also premium help offered.
7. Yii
Yii is a PHP framework with a tonne of features that is also among the simplest to install because of its thorough documentation and easy setup instructions. This framework performs on par with Phalcon in terms of efficiency.
To hasten the creation of web applications, Yii provides a comprehensive set of functionality and supports several extensions. For instance, it facilitates the construction of modules, CRUD operations, and models using the Gii code generator.
Additionally, Yii offers built-in security measures like user-based authentication controls and prevention of SQL injection.
Yii’s only flaw is that it is not the most user-friendly framework on this list for beginners. However, its user community and documentation will aid in your understanding.
8. FuelPHP
In comparison to the other frameworks on this list, FuelPHP is a newer option. But it uses excellent practices to produce a strong tool with distinctive characteristics.
MVC is becoming a de facto norm in PHP frameworks, but FuelPHP goes a step further by offering complete Hierarchical Model View Controller (HMVC) support. It allows you to have more than one controller, which makes testing different components of web projects simpler and more efficient.
FuelPHP takes security precautions seriously and comes with seven security features. They consist of input filtering, the Query Builder, and output encoding, which will safeguard your outputs and stop cross-site scripting assaults.
If project security is your top priority, FuelPHP is a fantastic choice. FuelPHP is a relatively young framework, but it has excellent documentation and a supportive community.
9. Slim
Slim is a PHP micro-framework that, in contrast to the other PHP frameworks we’ve discussed thus far, is ideal for building straightforward web applications. Despite being simple, it has some fantastic features.
Handling HTTP requests is Slim’s primary concern. Its robust HTTP router associates particular HTTP request URIs and methods with callback routes. Additionally, it supports a variety of URL types, such as URLs based on patterns and parameters.
Middleware is another fantastic feature that enables PHP programmers to run code both before and after the Slim core application.
Around the main app, middleware adds layers that modify the HTTP request and response objects. It also safeguards against cross-site request forgery and verifies requests prior to running the program.
Overall, Slim is the ideal framework for creating RESTful APIs or building HTTP request applications. It’s simple to learn and comes with excellent documentation to make learning it quick. Additionally, there is a supportive community that you can contact if you have any questions.
10. PHPixie
PHPixie is an HMVC-based PHP framework that specializes in read-only internet web application development. PHPixie makes use of a bundle system that enables code reuse and sharing among the user base.
It is constructed utilizing independent, unit-tested, and minimally dependent components including auth, HTTP, ORM, and validate. Additionally, you can use them independently of the framework.
However, as compared to the other frameworks on our list, PHPixie has a few shortcomings. PHPixie is a less versatile framework because of the dearth of modules and the absence of support for components created independently of their dependencies.
However, PHPixie is an excellent option because it’s simple to get started with and takes fewer resources provided the supplied components are adequate for your project.
Conclusion of the Best PHP Frameworks
For server-side scripting, PHP remains one of the best programming languages. A PHP script can, however, take a long time to write. PHP frameworks offer a foundation for development so that programmers can concentrate on the creative parts of coding rather than performing tedious activities and rewriting code. Choosing the best PHP framework for your project might be difficult because there are so many well-known ones available and they are all different.