Top 10 PHP Frameworks To Use In 2021
Introduction
Over the years, websites have evolved to become a strong tool for marketing. Today, there are different types of websites and apps available in the digital world, and a lot of effort is required in making such websites. Website development is a complicated process and therefore it is always advisable to reach out to a professional website development company and get it done.
A website is built with two basic components, server-side and client-side. The client-side is what users see and the server-side is what goes behind the display. For both front-end and back-end development, developers use various tools, technologies, and programming languages. Some widely used languages are JavaScript, HTML, PHP, and so on. All languages have some unique features or the other. If you have heard about languages, you must have definitely come across PHP as well. PHP is one of the most popular and widely used languages to develop websites as well as web apps.
In the last few years, PHP has gained immense popularity among both developers and users, with its open-source framework. With time, PHP got some powerful frameworks to make development easy and fast. Today, Laravel, CakePHP, CodeIgniter, etc., are some renowned frameworks that are used by most PHP web development companies to develop highly intuitive websites and web apps in no time. This language has a specific framework for specific kinds of problems. For example, for eCommerce web development we have Magento and Joomla, while we have Laravel and CI for creating scalable and robust websites. In this article today, we are going to talk about some of the most popular PHP frameworks that one must choose in 2021. But before that, let’s spare a little time in knowing more about PHP.
What Is PHP?
PHP, an acronym for Hypertext Preprocessor, is a server-side scripting language. Are you new to the word ‘scripting’? We can help you. Scripting refers to languages such as PHP, Ruby, JavaScript, in which you do not have to code step-by-step, rather the workflow is fully automated and this is the main reason why there is still such high demand for PHP development services in the market.
WordPress, a prominent website builder, is built on PHP. Functionalities of PHP play a crucial role when it comes to development. Custom themes and plugins that you see on WordPress are present because of PHP. Here, what PHP does is, it interacts with the WordPress server and displays the requested content on the user’s screen. If you want to build your own plugin, you need to be good with PHP development. Some big names that are using PHP are Wikipedia, Yahoo, MailChimp, and Twitter. According to the statistics related to PHP, PHP covers 82 percent of websites on the internet.
With time, website complexity has increased, making development more arduous. For complex web apps, some extra functionality is needed. Every time a developer needs to write some kind of code from scratch, thus consuming a lot of time. Here come the role and significance of the PHP frameworks. A PHP Web developer uses building blocks for tough web development practices. These frameworks are more utilized and customized with additional codes.
Now that you know about PHP, let's move on to the top PHP frameworks.
Top 10 PHP Frameworks to Use in 2021
A framework is a tool that allows the use of a reusable user-written code. The PHP frameworks offer a well-organized and smooth reusable code. The framework is great for beginners as well as pro-developers. We have ample PHP frameworks these days for a specific development. To make the most use, you need to land on a framework that best suits your needs. If you are confused or are about to research, you can save your time by going through the list below.
Here, is the list of the top 10 PHP frameworks you can use in 2021.
- Laravel
Laravel was released back in 2011 and is an open-source framework under MIT license. Taylor Otwell is the developer of Laravel. Laravel has elegant syntax used for developing web applications. It is one of the most widely used frameworks today. It is a feature-packed framework, offering high performance. Laravel framework suits all kinds of businesses ranging from small to enterprise level. You can take the help of its blogs, forums, and experts for hassle-free coding. You can create great layouts using Laravel’s inbuilt lightweight templates. It supports the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture, which helps to increase performance and enhance the security of applications.
Do you want to use Laravel in your upcoming project? Do you need any kind of help regarding Laravel usage? There is a huge Laravel developer’s community, which is a pro for PHP developers. Developers can write database queries with PHP syntax, instead of preferring SQL code. Laravel uses the Bcrypt Hashing Algorithm to strengthen the security of applications. The framework helps to automate most of the repetitive programming tasks using Artisan. Artisan is an in-built command-line tool in Laravel. Using this tool, you can create your own commands as well. Going for the Laravel development services is a good choice if you have developers who have a good knowledge of the laravel framework.
One of the unique features of Laravel, when compared to the rest of the PHP frameworks, is its pre-installed object-oriented libraries. You can expand your application database structure without recreation code. It offers unit testing which allows developers to know about the effect of new changes on the application. The web apps are also highly stable as it knows about its failures. Laravel development helps businesses build highly engaging web apps.
2. CodeIgniter
It is an open-source platform developed by EllisLab. CodeIgniter is widely used to rapidly develop web applications using PHP. A responsive and fast website or web app not only helps in better ranking but also holds customers. CodeIgniter takes even less than 1 second to load content. It is easy to maintain and upgrade sites built using CodeIgniter. The huge popularity and the loyal customer base have given rise to reliable Codeigniter development companies.
CodeIgniter is a lightweight, MVC based system. MVC helps to categorize logic and presentation parts. It usually needs small libraries, but if you want you can add more as per your needs. SEO is the deciding factor when it comes to online traffic. CodeIgniter helps to generate SEO-friendly URLs. Although the framework is easy to use and leverages the development of fine-tuned web apps, but still for professional projects, you must render the task on CodeIgniter Development Company.
3. CakePHP
CakePHP is an open-source framework released fifteen years ago in 2005. CakePHP is supported on PHP 5.6 or above versions. CakePHP aims to make the entire process of web development, which includes developing, deploying, and maintaining, a lot easier. It is widely embraced by developers due to its seamless configurations. CakePHP allows writing reusable codes. Thus, code written once can be used again. Developers use CakePHP to develop multi-featured and highly-specialized, robust, dynamic, and cost-effective websites. You do not have to spend time on configuration for using CakePHP. All you have to do is take care of database settings.
CakePHP automates this step by auto-detecting. CakePHP has a great inbuilt Object Relational Mapping (ORM). ORM is a technique through which data is converted between an incompatible system using an object-oriented programming language. CakePHP helps developers in easy management of data through the entire developing process. This framework can help you to identify the fragile and critical points of your application. Are you thinking of using CakePHP in your web app? CakePHP development services can be a good choice with easier integration and deployment.
4. Symfony
In terms of the popularity of PHP frameworks, Symfony is placed at the second position below Laravel. According to Symfony’s official site,‘‘Symfony is a set of PHP Components, a Web Application framework, a philosophy and a community — all working together in harmony.’’Symfony is a highly flexible framework packed with great features. It offers customization to its users. You can customize the site as you please using Symfony. Symfony allows the use of MVC architecture so that the room can be categorized into a Model, View, and Controller. Web development solutions play an important role in helping businesses upscale.
5. Zend Framework
It is one of the most popular open-source frameworks, prominently being used to develop modern web applications. It is simple, flexible, and productive. Some renowned names using the Zend framework are Magento, IBM, and McAfee. Zend framework Version 3 is very fast and can optimize web apps easily. You can also test the Zend framework using PHPUnit. For demanding web development solutions, the Zend framework is the best to make a powerful online presence.
6. Phalcon
Phalcon was initially released on November 14, 2012, but has been actively used only since May 2020. Among the list of reliable PHP development frameworks, Phalcon is the most recent and powerful framework. The Phalcon framework is equipped with great features and can be used to develop websites and applications for different platforms such as Unix, Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows. It is an open-source framework developed by Andres Gutierrez and his group of collaborators. Phalcon has been written using PHP and C. Phalcon is one of the best PHP frameworks to build custom web applications. If you want to build a business website on a large scale, Phalcon could fit requirements.
Phalcon has a low-level architecture. This means you can experience the fast execution of web components. It offers good speed and consumes less memory. Phalcon is considered the fastest framework of PHP. You only need to define web applications once to be able to use it wherever you want. Phalcon is a full-stack open-source framework, thus you need less code to benefit from several components.
If a developer is well-versed in MVC and ORM, it is easy to work with Phalcon. Phalcon supports relational as well as non-relational databases. Developers can use Phalcon to design a variety of projects. Phalcon offers high performance and is best suited for medium projects. The full stack and fastest web development framework must be utilized the most. This is possible only when you choose to hire professional and proficient PHP developers.
7. Yii Framework
Yii is an open-source PHP framework used for building modern web applications. You can develop all kinds of web applications using PHP. Yii framework supports rapid development and is clean and easy to install. This PHP framework is great for building large scale applications. Yii version 1.1 and 2.0 are currently being used. Though version 1.1 is a bit old and needs remodeling, version 2.0 is packed with great features. Version 2.0 is written using the latest technologies and protocols. Yii2.0 is good at encountering errors and handling PHP warnings. This version is going to be the main base framework in 2021. Yii offers tools that help to develop projects in less time. You can quickly code for templates using the Yii tool. It avoids unnecessary validations and repetitive coding.
The internet is revolutionizing the industry. With the increasing use of the internet, cyber threats are also increasing. Thus, we need to pay undivided attention to secure our work and data. Safety has grown to be the first and foremost requirement of web applications. You must hire a PHP developer who has enough working experience with a secured environment and who is capable of solving your data-stealing concern. Yii framework helps the developers build more secure applications. Yii is well recognized for its ability to be customized as per your needs. Yii offers this flexibility by using PHP advanced features like SPL classes, interfaces, Static binding, etc.
Time is precious. We are always looking for ways to save time and utilize it for other works. Yii framework saves developers time by allowing easy installation. This framework has many tools that help to optimize websites. Speed of the website is one of the most crucial aspects to hold users, on which all PHP development service frameworks are built. Users have plenty of options at their disposal, so you get only a few seconds to impress them. If those few seconds are used up just to load your webpage, how are you going to build up traffic? Slow websites annoy visitors. Yii offers different kinds of tools to optimize your website. Yii framework is growth-friendly and inspires testing. In this era, social media is of great help for businesses to grow. Yii allows easy integration on social platforms.
8. Slim Framework
The Slim framework works on PHP 5.5 and beyond. Slim has a high learning curve embedded with numerous new features. Slim allows easier third-party access to current functions. Though website development companies are using Slim for fewer projects, still the Slim has not disappeared from the market.
9. FuelPHP
You might have heard about MVC in most PHP frameworks, but this framework implements HMVC (Hierarchical Model View Controller Framework Pattern), which is based on an object-oriented approach. It allows developers to divide applications into modules. You can replace or extend any content without even having to write again a single line of code.
It has a huge community with more than 300 contributors. FuelPHP aims to offer flexible and easy solutions to develop web applications. HMVC is popular for web apps and amateur developers to are inclined towards the familiar development approach. Website development companies who deal with other frameworks such as Java, .Net are likely to see many developers learning FuelPHP.
10. Flight
Flight is one of the best micro-frameworks of PHP that is simple and fast. Besides, it is easy to learn and is extensible. The framework is suited well for small-scale web projects and has simple documentation. Flight is an open-source framework, hence can be used by anyone free of cost. Flight is preferred by start-ups and small companies, therefore almost every PHP development company offers Flight development services.
Flight was launched under the MIT License and is being hosted on GitHub. Most developers on a lookout for a micro-framework, often choose Flight due to its super lite weight and class loading feature. You can quickly develop RESTful applications using Flight. To build a website using Flight, you need to have PHP 5.3 or greater.
Wrapping Up
PHP allows users to develop web applications either using pure PHP or other frameworks. Frameworks make development a lot easier and better. If you are thinking of developing a web application, you can get in touch with any PHP development company regardless of the preferred framework. Here, we have listed the top 10 PHP frameworks to use in 2021. We hope this article helps with your next project and saves your research time!
