Sep 24, 2020
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PHP has remained one of the most trending scripting languages for many years already. Fair enough, it has great flexibility and works equally well both for complex projects and basic web solutions.
Yet despite the beauty and the obvious benefits of PHP, the coding process may get as monotonous as in other languages. Engineers are forced to do the same thing over and over instead of focusing on the creative part. This takes too much time and resources.
Fortunately, a variety of PHP frameworks help to solve such a problem. PHP database frameworks, PHP CMS frameworks, and other subcategories of PHP web frameworks effectively optimize web development. They supply developers with pre-written collections of PHP code that can be immediately used to build software applications.
Along with PHP language, the chosen framework is the foundation of the future product that determines the specifics of the software development process. Therefore, you must choose PHP frameworks carefully. To help you out, we’ve completed a PHP frameworks comparison with top solutions for different needs.
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A PHP framework is a cohesive set of library code that simplifies programming in PHP. It’s a shortcut to speed up coding with ready-made elements and enhance the web app with additional capabilities.
In 2020, Laravel has won 10th place in the ranking of the most loved web frameworks. What is Laravel? It’s one of the top PHP frameworks that is usually associated with the PHP language itself. Created in 2011 Laravel is a free, open-source framework suitable for launching web applications based on MVC architecture.
Why is it one of the most popular PHP frameworks? Laravel is super easy to use and has a shallow learning curve. At the same time, it lets developers do some serious work and build web applications of different complexity. Besides, Laravel supports rapid application development and numerous built-in features, including the templating engine (Blade), Eloquent Object Relational Mapping, and a command-line tool (Artisan).
Reasons to use PHP frameworks: Laravel
Although Symfony framework was launched in 2005, it is still highly demanded because of its maturity and stability. It works well for large-scale projects and is mostly intended for tech specialists with substantial programming experience. Therefore, if you decide to leverage Symfony framework for your next PHP project, make sure the engineering team already has the necessary skills. Symfony is recommended for enterprise-level applications with advanced features, such as Askeet and Yahoo!
Reasons to use PHP-based frameworks: Symfony
This open-source, ultra-light framework is a new project of Taylor Otwell, the creator of Laravel. Lumen doesn’t replace Laravel. Its main goal is to facilitate building Laravel based microservices and optimize web application development. It’s a simplified version of Laravel that doesn’t include the capabilities for building full-featured websites and focuses on microservices and API essentials instead.
Hence, the decision about whether to use Lumen or look for other PHP frameworks mainly depends on the complexity of your projects. If you’re working on microservices or API, Lumen may be the best option.
Reasons to use PHP frameworks: Lumen
Laminas Project is another option on our PHP frameworks list that is largely used for complex enterprise-level projects. Laminas is a popular solution for the banking industry and healthcare systems. Like the Symfony framework, it has a steep learning curve and may be too challenging for beginners. Yet if you’re looking for efficient solutions to help you handle big data and large workloads, Laminas is definitely an option to consider.
Reasons to use PHP web frameworks: Laminas
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Phalcon is a relatively young web MVC PHP framework released in 2012 as an open-source technology with the BSD License. Andrés Gutiérrez and collaborators were looking for a solution that would outpace traditional PHP frameworks. Well, they managed to do what they planned. Built as a web server C extension, Phalcon is indeed the fastest PHP framework. This makes it a common choice for high-performance websites.
Note that to use Phalcon, you will need to set up root access to the server and complete manual configurations. So get ready to do some preparatory work before you will be able to start coding. Phalcon may be quite challenging to master.
Reasons to use PHP frameworks: Phalcon
CakePHP is another open-source MVC framework that largely follows the principles of Ruby on Rails (e.i., model–view–controller, convention over configuration, active record, association data mapping). Such an approach additionally optimizes the work of software developers and helps them create clean code with minimum effort. Besides, CakePHP is easy to master, which makes her a great choice for beginners. Generally, CakePHP is one of the PHP web frameworks that are suitable for creating highly-specialized websites with multiple features at an affordable cost.
Reasons to use PHP MVC frameworks: CakePHP
Yii or “Yes It is” is an object-oriented, open-source MVC framework. Even though Yii is considered a universal PHP framework, it is particularly good for web applications with high traffic (e.g., forums, portals, and e-commerce websites). Besides, many engineers opt for Yii when they need powerful caching support and rapid software development in easily maintainable web apps.
Yii is often compared to the Symfony framework as they have lots of similarities, but the learning curve of Yii is much easier.
Reasons to use PHP frameworks: Yii
For complex web applications with familiar and simple administration panels, CMS software can be integrated with PHP frameworks. Such a solution helps to align web application and web design projects to provide consistent customer experience across multiple products and expand their capabilities. For example, Magento, the most powerful e-commerce platform in the market, relies heavily on Zend Framework, that is now called Laminas. Joomla, a mobile-ready and user-friendly web publishing tool, as well as Drupal, open-source CMS for creating community-based sites, are developed on top of the Symfony Framework. Such content management systems as October and Pyro are based on the Laravel web application framework.
Leobit is a software development service provider that offers web and mobile software engineering for customers located in the US, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Norway, the UK, Switzerland, and many other countries. We have launched over 150 web and mobile applications with a sleek design and reliable backend for both large enterprises and budding startups that sought a reliable software development partner.
Leobit has used the latest PHP frameworks available on this PHP frameworks list for several projects. A real estate portal based on WordPress and Symfony is one of them. We’ve refactored code, redesigned the website, and integrated the PHP-based platform with MLS platforms, Zendesk, Chatbot system, Amazon SES, and Google Maps for the US real estate agency. Leobit continues the cooperation with this customer to keep enhancing and optimizing the product. Visit this page, to view the case study.
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