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why-php.md

Why PHP?

Notes about building out the "Why PHP?" page.

Targets

There are two groups I think we should target, with two distinct sets of interests and who may require two separate treatments.

First group:

  • Non-technical decision makers at companies considering PHP
  • Technical high-level decision makers at companies considering PHP
  • Decision makers at schools, bootcamps, universities

Second group:

  • Newcomers to tech?
  • Existing programmers?

Myths to dispel/concerns to address

  • PHP is old
  • PHP is slow
  • PHP doesn't scale
  • Nothing important runs on PHP
  • It would be hard to hire PHP developers
  • It's not what most AI tooling is written

Points to make

Two separate pages or sections: one addressing decision-makers and one addressing learners.

So let's look at each separately:

Points to make to decision makers

  • Show big brands using PHP
  • Make a few points about what PHP offers above and beyond just dispelling criticisms
  • Dispel common myths (maybe a link to this section from the top for those looking?)

Points to make to learners

  • Show something about job opportunities in PHP
  • Show syntax and link to learning resources
  • Show something about how quickly and powerfully you can build your apps in PHP
@mattstauffer
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mattstauffer commented May 20, 2025

I have been stuck on getting this written. It's so easy to come up with the broader ideas but getting actual pen to paper (figuratively) has been miserable. As a person who's written a 500+ page book, and hundreds of blog posts, this is a big surprise.

So.. I'm gonna cave, and use ChatGPT to get something started. But I'll be fully honest with what it generates.

I fed all my notes and reference sites into ChatGPT, and it outputted this structure. I re-wrote about 5% of this after its output, but this is all mainly ChatGPT. I'm going to walk away and come back to it later and see how I want to iterate on it.

Why PHP?

PHP is a modern, powerful, and accessible language that runs the majority of the web. Whether you're a business leader looking for proven technologies, or an educator preparing the next generation of developers, or a new developer at the beginning of your career, PHP is a smart, pragmatic choice.

Trusted by the Web

PHP powers over 75% of the web, including major platforms like WordPress, Wikipedia, and Facebook. From startups to Fortune 500 companies, PHP has earned its place as a reliable, scalable foundation for web applications of all sizes.

  • Proven at Scale: Billions of users interact with PHP-driven sites daily.
  • Secure and Stable: Actively maintained by a dedicated core team and supported by a vibrant open-source community.
  • Open and Free: PHP is open source and free to use, with no licensing fees.

Fast, Modern, and Developer-Friendly

PHP today is a far cry from the scripting language of the early 2000s. It's fast, expressive, and designed for developer productivity.

  • Modern Features: Strong typing, attributes, named arguments, first-class functions, enums, and more.
  • Great Tooling: Composer for dependency management, PHPUnit for testing, and a rich ecosystem of frameworks like Laravel, Symfony, Drupal, and WordPress.
  • Blazing Fast: PHP 8+ includes a Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler and continual performance improvements.

Simple to Learn, Powerful to Master

PHP is accessible for beginners and rewarding for experienced developers.

  • Easy Start: With a low barrier to entry, PHP is ideal for teaching programming and web development fundamentals.
  • Scales with You: Start with a simple script, grow into complex applications, services, and APIs.
  • Readable and Intuitive: PHP is known for code that looks like what it does, making it easy to teach and maintain.

Vibrant Ecosystem

The PHP ecosystem is filled with libraries, tools, tutorials, and a global community ready to support you.

  • Active Community: Conferences, meetups, podcasts, forums, and vibrant online groups.
  • Rich Libraries: Thousands of packages available via Packagist.
  • Frameworks and Platforms: Laravel, Symfony, Drupal, Magento, WordPress, and many more.

Built for the Web

Unlike general-purpose languages retrofitted for the web, PHP was built for it from day one.

  • Web First: Native support for HTTP, HTML output, and fast request handling.
  • Deploy Anywhere: Runs on nearly every web server and operating system.
  • Seamless Access to External Systems: Great support for databases, APIs, AI tools, and more.

Why Businesses and Organizations Choose PHP

  • Speed to Market: Rapid development tools and frameworks.
  • Huge Talent Pool: Millions of developers worldwide.
  • Long-Term Viability: Decades of stability, regular releases, and a clear roadmap.

Why Educators and Students Choose PHP

  • Beginner-Friendly: Easy to install, easy to learn.
  • Real-World Skills: Used by companies of all sizes.
  • Relevant Curriculum: Web development fundamentals, programming logic, and backend architecture.

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mattstauffer commented Aug 12, 2025

Next steps:

  • Look at sexy inspirations from more modern frameworks/etc. (less for the content and more for the design)
  • Wireframe a reasonable layout
  • Start building!

@damiani
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damiani commented Aug 26, 2025

Modern techy sites:

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