PHP is a widely used scripting language with various frameworks. Around 83% of websites across the world are created on PHP. Recognized as the king of programming languages, PHP is being continuously improved since its establishment in 1994 by Rasmus Leadoff. PHP was called a personal home page in the beginning, but now it is known as hypertext preprocessor and is used by biggest brands like Facebook. Developers are continuously working to make PHP better; the latest version of PHP aims to optimize PHP performance by refactoring the Zend engine.
PHP frameworks are easy to use, and they aim to eliminate the need to write lengthy codes again and again. Hence, choosing the right PHP framework is very important for speedy web development. Web development projects require skilled developers and expertise, you should consider hiring a PHP development company for the major projects. Proper research has been done in selecting these top frameworks to use in 2023, let’s dive in:
Table of Contents
Top reasons to use a PHP framework
• Easy to organize codes and files
• Offers various automated tools and libraries to help you with validation, database abstraction, input/output handling and managing emails
• PHP frameworks require less coding which eventually leads to a speedy development
• PHP frameworks offer input and output filtering functions for improved security
• Working in a team becomes easier with the PHP frameworks
• Developers get cooperation from the PHP community; everyone helps each other in solving doubts and queries.
A list of the top PHP frameworks to use in 2023
• Laravel
• Symfony
• YII 2.0
• CakePHP
• CodeIgniter
• Phalcon
• Zend
• Fat-free
• Aura
Now, let’s begin with why these are the top PHP frameworks in 2023
1. Laravel: The most favored PHP framework
It is a widely used PHP framework. It offers great features like MVC architecture support while being an open-source framework, and it has an in-built template engine, Laravel fully supports quicker web development. So if you want to go for Laravel solution for your project then you opt for the best laravel development company wisely.
Why choose Laravel?
• Faster development
• Abstract layout building using a template engine
• Supports MVC architecture
2. Symfony: High performance, Best for large scale projects
It is a PHP app framework; it consists of a collection of reusable PHP components/ libraries. This framework offers many incredible features like flexibility, elaborated documentation, massive community support, etc. Symfony is faster than any other PHP frameworks if used wisely, and is mostly preferred by website development companies for bigger projects.
Why choose Symfony?
• Offers advanced features
• Highly flexible and supports bigger projects like Drupal
• Comes with unique HTTP and HTTP cache for an incredible performance
• Offers massive community support
3. YII 2.0 Framework: Easy installation, Robust security
YII 2.0 is the upgraded named of a PHP framework that aged well. Say yes to this incredible framework that offers many amazing features, and supports all types of web apps. This framework is the best suited to be used in eCommerce projects. A massive community of experts and developers contributes to improving YII.
Why choose YII 2.0?
• Simple to use and evolutionary
• Massive support community
• Offers modern technologies
• Reduced development time
Related Blog: Top Web Development Trends to Look for in 2023
4. CakePHP Framework: Builds visually impressive websites
It is an open-source framework with backward compatibility. CakePHP is mostly used when you are looking forward to creating a truly feature-rich website. Hire CakePHP developer if you plan on using CakePHP for full-scale projects, as knowledge of core PHP would be required to move ahead in the right direction.
Cake PHP is a free framework, it offers amazing features along with flexibility in the way you code. Some of the key features of these frameworks are input validation, cross-site scripting, code generation, and fast and flexible templating. With its unbeatable features, it is one of the best frameworks for web development.
Why choose CAKE PHP?
• Active and friendly community
• Powerful scaffolding and easy to build applications
• Excellent performance
• Supports code reusability
Read Also: Top Reasons to Choose CakePHP Framework
5. CodeIgniter Framework: Rapid development, used to create Dynamic websites
It is a lightweight framework that comes with easy installation, making it ideal for budding PHP developers. This framework requires a small footprint and it offers exceptional performance, even after being such a small package. The framework is faster than other frameworks, but isn’t the first choice for highly sensitive projects, due to security being a bit lax.
Why choose CodeIgniter?
• Offers free and simple documentation
• Exceptional performance
• Offers a full package of libraries
6. Phalcon framework: Easy to use, High performance
Phalcon is a performance oriented PHP framework, it is very easy to install the framework, it is used to create highly configurable web applications. With a superlative performance, the framework offers features like great execution speed, top-notch security, and a universal autoloader.
Why choose Phalcon?
• Phalcon is easy to install
• Highly extensible
• It offers incredible features like asset management, translation, etc.
• Suitable for making highly configurable web applications aligned with an organization’s development guidelines
7. Zend framework: Open source framework
The next framework is ZEND, it offers an array of features like cryptographic coding tools, drag, drop editor and instant online debugging tools. The framework is best for complex websites and it has different configuration options. Zend is SEO friendly and it offers multilingual features. The framework is delivered as a C-extension, so you don’t need to learn the C programming language.
Why choose Zend framework?
• Perfect for building a complex website
• Offers features like MVC components, data encryption
• Comes with a good documentation
8. Fat-free Framework: High speed, Powerful apps
Fat-free is a strong PHP framework, known for its high speed and easy documentation. Whether you are a novice or expert PHP programmer, building an application is easy with the Fat-free framework, as it requires less code and is easy to use. Fat-free is recognized for creating powerful apps at a high speed, prefer this amazing framework for building strong applications.
Why choose Fat-free Framework?
• Great for creating powerful apps
• Requires lesser amount of code to work
• Extremely lightweight framework
9. Aura Framework: Dynamic websites
It is used for building dynamic and flexible websites. The framework is open source and consists of a standard set of libraries for PHP. It offers independent libraries, meaning it can incorporate into any project. The framework offers features like tag-based layout, controllers, CSS, static resources and many other features.
Why choose Aura Framework?
• Lightweight Framework
• Offers flexibility to choose libraries
• A community of experts for support
• Open source PHP framework
Conclusion
Selecting a PHP framework can be tricky, and it very much dependent on the type of project and preferred functionalities. You should hire PHP developer from a PHP web development company in case you are planning to create a large-scale web development project. Make sure you do proper research before you choose the framework, as it will lead to smoother and speedy web development.
