According to reports by W3Techs, PHP is used by 77.5% of all websites using a server-side scripting language, compared to other programming languages. It is, specifically, the most advanced frontend and backend programming language. Interesting, isn't it? Still, wondering which programming language you should rely on?

What is a PHP Framework?

First, we need to understand and get a hold of a PHP framework even before moving on to the names of the best PHP frameworks. A PHP framework is a set of libraries and tools to build web applications more efficiently.

To be precise, PHP is a popular server-side scripting language, it has been around for a long time, and its frameworks have been used for decades. Plus, as mentioned before, PHP is used 77.5% of all the websites, look at the diagram for clarity.

Not to overlook the fact that the frameworks have taken different forms, but the primary purpose of these frameworks has stayed the same. Are you wondering what purpose has remained the same?

Think? Think harder?

Well, let me help you! PHP's primary priority is to assist PHP developers by offering collections of frequently used features and requiring the usage of the best coding techniques. To understand it better, consider PHP a skeleton that gives you a running system to embed your code without going through every detail from scratch. It must have given you an idea or an insight into a PHP framework, right? Do you want insight into the tips for hiring PHP developers? Refer to our blog and get an understanding of the same. Now let us unleash the most crucial aspect, i.e., the leading PHP frameworks.

Most Popular PHP Frameworks in 2024

When it comes to deciding which PHP framework one should use for web development solutions, it should be an easy task. We have compiled a list of top PHP frameworks you can choose from depending on your project type. So, without further ado, let's dive into the PHP frameworks list.

1. Laravel

Laravel is one of the most popular PHP frameworks. It is relatively young but is packed with several features. As an open-source PHP web application framework, PHP facilitates the development of cutting-edge, reliable online applications. Laravel is also known as a leading PHP front-end framework.

Furthermore, it is built on several Symfony components, providing tools and conventions for organizations and creating PHP code. By offering a set of best practices and a built-in testing system, this framework promises to make it simple for developers to produce clean, maintainable code. Radixweb, can help you with Laravel development services as a leading brand name in this niche, and 22+ years of experience.

Key Features of Laravel

• Its robust routing mechanism makes it simple for developers to build routes and manage HTTP requests.
• It offers an innovative template engine allowing developers to create a dynamic website.
• It supports MVC architecture and provides a faster web development process. While using MVC, one programmer can work on the view while the other creates the business logic for the web application in the controller.

2. Symfony

It is an extensive PHP MVC framework for building web applications, APIs, and microservices. It is one of the favorites and best PHP frameworks for developers. Plus, it is the sole framework that follows the legacy of PHP completely.

A PHP backend framework is a perfect choice for websites and apps that need to be scalable as a PHP API framework. The modular system of the symphony is flexible, and it lets you choose the components you might need for your project.

Key Features of Symphony

• It is a high-performance PHP framework.
• It has a model-view-controller-based system.
• It supports a vast and active community.
• It offers security against cross-site requests, forgery, and other attacks.

3. CodeIgniter

It is an open-source PHP web application framework. CodeIgniter is used to build dynamic websites. The framework is designed to be lightweight and easy to use, with a small footprint and minimal requirements for installation, as it is the most accessible PHP framework.

It is designed for programmers that require a straightforward and sophisticated toolbox to produce fully functional web apps. As a leading company in this niche, Radixweb can help you with CodeIgniter development services.

Key Features of CodeIgniter

• Being a simple, intuitive interface, the framework makes it easy for the developers to start quickly.
• The feature of multiple caching allows for faster deployment.
• It offers an extensive library for "helper" functions.

4. Yii 2

Yii 2 is an open-source, object-oriented, and component-based MVC PHP web framework. The framework is high-performance and component-based for developing large-scale web applications rapidly.

The framework allows for the most reuse in web programming and can greatly speed up the creation of your online applications.

Key Features of Yii 2

• It shortens the development time. As it offers a few tools to guide you, you allocate less time to those tasks. Plus, it helps you reserve more time to revise your application to suit your clients' wishes.
• Security is an important factor for web application development. Hence, Yii 2 offers robust security features for developers. Yii 2 assists you in creating a more secure application through the features of the security application component.
• It is highly extensible and uses modern technologies. It is popular with its capabilities to be tailored per one's need, and every framework component is virtually extensible.

5. Slim

It is a PHP micro framework that enables you to create web apps and APIs quickly and easily. The framework has minimal installation needs and is made to be quick, easy, and simple to use.

It is a fantastic option for developers searching for a lightweight framework for creating web apps and APIs, particularly those who wish to create RESTful APIs and services. The framework is mostly used for developing compact, narrowly focused applications and is well known for its simplicity and usability.

Key Features of Slim

• The developers can get going right away because of the interface's simplicity and intuitiveness.
• It has practical classes for managing requests, responses, cookies, etc.
• It uses an easy concept for its middleware.
• It offers a powerful routing system allowing developers to define routes and handle HTTP requests easily.

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6. Phalcon

Phalcon is an open-source PHP framework for developing high-performance web applications. It is intended to be open source, quick, and secure.

It is a fantastic option for developers that want to create quick and secure applications. The framework focuses on security and flexibility, using several features to ensure better performance and scalability. Moreover, it is usually used by open-source developers because of its overall features and flexible options.

Key Features of Phalcon

• It is an object-oriented framework.
• It uses the concept of dependency injection in the design.
• It uses the MVC pattern for developing web applications with three layers Model, View, and Controller.
• It supports various functions such as template inheritance, and its basic template originated from Zend Framework 2, thus making it easy to learn.

7. Laminas

Laminas is an open-source, PHP rest API framework implemented in PHP 7 licensed under the new BSD license.

It works on the concept of code-splitting that allows for building modular and responsive websites. The framework has a robust MVC architecture, enabling developers to create the application in one day easily.

The framework is ideal for people looking to create top-notch web apps.

Key Features of Laminas

• It uses modern PHP components, i.e., OSGi profiler, the popular template engine, and a custom PHP namespace.
• It allows the developers to easily handle the security requirements of the applications by providing a solid PHP sandbox.
• The framework offers multiple components that let you add what you need when required.
• It is a modular architecture framework which means it is designed with separate modules/libs that you can use and don't use while building your application.

8. Cake PHP

It is a free and open-source PHP framework. It is one of the most popular PHP frameworks which provides rapid application development (RAD). It allows the developers to create an app quickly and hence saves time.

The framework is designed to be used by non-developers, even without prior development experience. It has created a wide range of extensions that helps with various automated tasks, thus requiring less time from the developers. A leading Cake PHP Development company, Radixweb, can help you with this framework.

Key Features of Cake PHP

• The framework helps in enabling consistency among different parts of your application, resulting in better code quality.
• The development process is sped considerably by the framework's rapid application development (RAD) capabilities.
• The framework offers easy and flexible configuration options for developers to develop their desired applications.
• It includes several applications to help you start your new application quickly.

9. PHPixie

It is a microframework for building fast, secure, scalable web applications. It is made to be extremely quick and simple to use.

The framework aims at delivering high performance for even small applications. Phpixie provides a few essential web development tools to help you build a great web application in no time.

It offers you a variety of features that help you handle your application fast and effectively, such as template inheritance, security, caching, and more.

Key Features of PHPixie Framework

• The framework allows you to develop simple applications quickly.
• It uses an MVC pattern for developing applications with Model, View, and Controller layers.
• It uses inversion of control (IoC) for efficiently handling classes and dependencies.
• It provides tools for maintaining and deploying PHPixie applications through a command line interface (CLI).

10. Fuel PHP

It is an open-source framework for PHP web applications that may be used to create microservices, APIs, and online applications. The framework is based on the hierarchical-model-view-controller (HMVC) architectural pattern. Plus, it is designed to be flexible, extensible, and secure.

For developers looking for a flexible, extendable, and secure framework for creating web applications, a framework is a great option. Moreover, it is known for its robust set of features and a strong emphasis on scalability and performance.

Key Features of Fuel PHP

• It provides a robust routing system that makes it simple for developers to build routes and manage HTTP requests.
• A built-in ORM that simplifies the database interactions and supports several database systems.
• For routine web development activities like form validation and session management, Fuel PHP provides tools and libraries.
• Tools for managing user authentication and permission are available through Fuel PHP's security management system.

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Why Use a PHP Framework?

There are numerous benefits to utilizing PHP over other programming frameworks that developers should consider. Let's examine a few of the causes to comprehend the situation better.

1. It Offers Faster Development

One of the foremost reasons for opting PHP framework is that it offers faster development than other frameworks. The reason behind the same is that it has in-built libraries and tools, ensuring minimal time for the product.

For instance, the CakePHP framework includes the Bake command-line tool, which makes it simple to construct whatever skeleton code your application quickly requires. Plus, several PHP frameworks have libraries integrated for easy testing.

2. It Requires Less Code to Write

While other frameworks in the market are flexible and can be used for a more sophisticated application, PHP is the only one that uses less code than the others. To get an idea of this, take the example of a Facebook app. The maximum code will have to be written for a WordPress blog. But when it comes to the Facebook app, it has minimum code snippets to be written to get things done. It is because of its flexible nature and robust framework. Do you want to get a better understanding of Python vs. PHP? Here's our detailed comparison to help you make the best decision for your business.

3. The Community is Huge and is Always Open to Help

The PHP community is enormous and is always open to help. It can be attributed to the fact that there are several groups of developers available who are always ready to answer PHP questions. A developer can even download other people's open-source codes and use them when needed, thereby saving the time taken for the development.

4. It Offers Great Open-Source Libraries

PHP features some of the best open-source libraries, which offer great functionality and excellent documentation for easy understanding. For example, Laravel has in-built payment processing libraries, which are unique in the market. It helps to handle payments in apps that should have such features.

5. Open Source of the PHP Framework

The Open-Source codes also help improve and develop new features like other frameworks. When you download its open-source code, you can access other developers' codes and use them per your requirements. It has already opened many doors for budding developers and is one of the reasons why more people are opting for PHP than any other programming language.

6. The Community is Observant

If there's anything that sets apart a good community from a bad one, it's observance. The observant PHP community will always assist you with your development requirements. Even if you are not a member of any forum, you can still join the same and get access.

For instance, consider the popular WordPress plugin known as "Yoast SEO." It has over 8.5k active installations on the official WordPress website. All of these are owing to its excellent feature, which enables users to optimize the website for search engines so that it can rank highly in search engines.

Similarly, you will find numerous WordPress plugins and themes on the site, offered by third-party developers and offering excellent features and functionality.

These are a few reasons to consider opting for a PHP framework. Are you an enthusiast and would like to learn about the most popular backend frameworks for web development? Refer to our blog and learn more about it.

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Things to Look for in a PHP Framework

When looking at the potential PHP frameworks, you should consider a few factors, and now you must be wondering what factors you should look at, right? You'll find a list of factors that cannot be missed while looking for PHP frameworks.

1. Simplicity

Take a close look at your undertaking and gauge its complexity first. You must understand that a simple PHP framework can help you in the best possible ways for small and simple projects. Again, sophisticated PHP frameworks can be reliable and robust on the latter. But you should only consider them if you need that complexity or are sure you'd want to expand the project's scope later.

2. Technical Requirements

You could require a framework that manages specific PHP extensions and databases, depending on your project. Ensure you opt for the PHP framework compatible with all the external tools required for your project needs.

3. Features

Like technical requirements, ensure that the PHP framework has certain features you might need for your project to work out. Ensure you review what each framework offers and then check if it meets all your requirements.

4. Support and Community

The most optimal framework will always have a large community you can rely on and robust backing from its designers. Ensure that the community is large and knowledgeable. It should be enough to help the new devs with common errors when they start.

How to Choose the Best PHP Frameworks for Your Business?

When it comes down to choosing the best PHP framework for your business or PHP frameworks for web development, there are certain things you should not miss out on. Are you wondering what those things are? Let us help you discover the same so that you make an informed decision for the PHP frameworks when it comes down to choosing the same for your business.

1. Popularity

You need to understand that popularity has nothing to do with quality. Yet again, having several developers using the same framework ensures that it is stable and has a vibrant community. These are a few excellent points to pick up the frameworks for your project. Keep insight into the aspect of popularity when comparing the PHP frameworks.

2. Features

Picking up the most suitable framework for your project can be daunting, depending on the project you are pursuing. Yet again, having more features will make the framework helpful for a broader range of projects. Check the framework's features and how well they suit your particular use case if your project has specific requirements.

Are you an enthusiast about frameworks and would love to read about Node.JS vs. PHP? Here's a detailed comparison for your backend development.

3. Maintainability

The frameworks that have lately been maintained will typically be better equipped for the difficulties and demands of contemporary web standards. Nevertheless, you can also use older frameworks that have not been updated recently but remember that you do the same at the cost of reliability and security.

These are a few factors that you will have to investigate when it comes down to choosing a framework for your business.

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ConclusionPHP frameworks are made to make the development process simpler and easier while also requiring less work to produce attractive apps. They also ensure that your applications are well-structured, secure, and scalable.For working with web technology and building websites quickly, PHP frameworks help you out a lot. Nowadays, many developers prefer using such frameworks to improve their development skills as well as to make better web apps in a faster way. Radixweb, a leading PHP development company, can help you choose the most appropriate PHP framework to develop web applications.Our experienced backend developers have understood clients' complex needs by mastering the different aspects of developing web apps. We have creative and professional PHP developers who can interpret your ideas and provide a unique solution. Curious to know more? Contact us, and let's discuss how we can help you!