PHP’s Future: Top Trends for 2024
Sophia Tondon
Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, E-Commerce, and Digital Transformation.
The year 2020 brought numerous updates and changes within the web development arena. The scope of PHP web development remains vast, signifying its long-term relevance (considering PHP powers over 50% of websites globally).
PHP has often been criticized by skilled developers, with some labeling it as outdated, mediocre, or subpar. Despite significant enhancements since PHP version 7, many developers still doubt its ability to compete with other programming languages.
Similarly, PHP web development has faced stagnation, making it evident that it is due for a major overhaul.
Major companies like PayTM Mall, Swiggy, CureFit, Zomato, Byju, PolicyBazaar, and Dream11 have seen tremendous growth using PHP frameworks. But what did 2020 hold? What were the anticipated changes in PHP development moving forward?
PHP Web Development Trends
1. PHP and Cloud Integration for Web Apps
Companies are investing more in cloud infrastructure than ever. According to Canalys, the global cloud infrastructure services market surged by 37% in Q3 2019, reaching a value of US $27.5 Billion.
Another survey reveals that 78.9% of websites utilize PHP server-side programming and Cloud to harness the benefits of both. This proactive strategy offers cost-effective, scalable, and adaptable web solutions.
2. User Interface Trends in PHP Web Development
Responsive web design is a crucial PHP web development trend for enhancing user interfaces. Social networks like Twitter, Facebook, and e-commerce giants such as Amazon and eBay are some of the most visited sites on mobile devices. To ensure the best user experience, website owners must guarantee responsive design.
With a plethora of PHP development tools and frameworks available, creating diverse applications and websites tailored to specific needs is straightforward. Popular PHP frameworks like Codeigniter, Cake PHP and Symfony are excellent choices for web development.
Infographics, online presentations, and visual effects are also growing trends that keep users engaged with your website. Flash is used for creating 3D interactions, such as games or banner ads. Parallax scrolling, which provides images and banners with a 3D effect, is another trend in reshaping web design.
Also Read: 16 Top PHP Frameworks For Startups | 2022
3. PHP Development Tools and IoT: A Perfect Match
PHP development tools constitute a complex virtual structure, and IoT technology is built on three distinct layers that require a dynamic language to improve overall coding architecture. PHP frameworks such as Laravel, Symfony, and Codeigniter are well-suited for IoT development, making them the ideal choice.
Combining PHP web development with IoT provides robust support for app developers, creating new ways for users to explore the digital world.
The latest PHP 7 enables asynchronous programming, allowing PHP code to perform multiple tasks within a single script. For business applications tailored to your needs, hire PHP developers who can deliver optimal results.
4. Enhancing Website Cybersecurity with PHP
With PHP development tools, robust cybersecurity measures can be implemented to safeguard your website and web applications. The shift towards online shopping has been notable, with consumers increasingly favoring e-commerce over traditional retail. This trend has driven the need for secure payment methods, such as credit/debit cards and mobile wallets.
Popular mobile wallets like Google Wallet, Amazon Pay, and PayPal are widely used. If your business operates on an e-commerce model, integrating a payment gateway for online users is essential.
Choose the appropriate PHP framework, such as Phalcon, which offers comprehensive documentation for asset management, security, and caching, or Codeigniter, a lightweight PHP framework that adds top-notch encryption features to your site.
Also Read: Why Laravel Is The Best PHP Framework
5. Building Smart Chatbots with PHP
Chatbots, powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence, have gained significant traction in recent years. PHP tools and frameworks are ideal for chatbot development, as PHP is an open-source language that is user-friendly for dedicated software developers.
PHP offers innovative tools to quickly create efficient chatbots for your website. It excels at developing “Conversation Agents” thanks to its scripting language, with numerous libraries and APIs available for your use.
Example of PHP Coding
<?php
$botman->hears(‘Hello BotMan!’, function($bot) {
$bot->reply(‘Hello!’);
$bot->ask(‘Whats your name?’, function($answer, $bot) {
$bot->say(‘Welcome ‘.$answer->getText());
});
});
$botman->listen();
Output
Hello BotMan!?
领英推荐
Hello!?
What’s your name??
A few chatbots built using PHP frameworks offer such a lifelike conversation experience that it can be challenging to distinguish between interacting with a human or a robot.
Famous PHP Frameworks for Web Development
From the list of popular PHP frameworks below, these are the ones widely adopted by developers for web app development.
Laravel
Laravel-Framework
Laravel is among the most popular PHP frameworks today. It allows developers to focus on core fundamentals using PHP’s server-side programming capabilities, offering benefits like scaling and rapid code development.
Laravel Key Features
Codeigniter
Codeigniter
Codeigniter is a complete collection of libraries, tools, and components. This PHP MVC-based framework is widely used for rapid web app development, offering out-of-the-box libraries for database connections, file uploads, email handling, session management, and more.
Key Features of Codeigniter
Cake PHP
Cake PHP Framework
Cake PHP provides an exceptional set of libraries with helpful components. As a modern open-source framework, it facilitates a fast application development process. Cake PHP enables businesses to create highly tailored and potent websites through a streamlined procedure.
Cake PHP Key Features
Yii
Yii-framework
Yii is another strong contender in the PHP framework arena, allowing developers to build fully-fledged web apps swiftly. Yii supports CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete) efficiently.
Yii Key Features
Growing Outsourcing of PHP Web Development
The global IT outsourcing market is expected to grow significantly in the future. The primary reason is cost-effectiveness, so many American and European companies outsource PHP development to regions offering more affordable services. The substantial rate differences have driven this trend.
Conclusion
PHP web development trends are highly dynamic, enabling developers to create dynamic websites effortlessly. Threads are another advantage provided by PHP tools and frameworks. For businesses to stay competitive, they must stay informed about the latest advancements and technology updates.
To achieve a strong web presence, consider adopting the latest PHP web development trends. No matter your business vertical, these valuable tips will not be missed. If you’re looking to hire PHP developers, consider an agency like ValueCoders, a leading software development company. They offer:
Reference blog: Latest PHP Web Development Trends That Will Dominate In 2024