Learn PHP: Courses To Jumpstart Your Programming Career

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a popular server-side scripting language that is widely used for developing web-based software applications. It runs many large websites on the internet, such as Wikipedia and Facebook. Powering 80% of the top 10 million websites, PHP is the most dominant server-side programming language on the web. Therefore, the power of PHP cannot be ignored. 

Out of all server-side scripting languages, such as R, Java, ASP.NET, and Ruby, PHP is considered the best programming language to learn. It is a must for freshers and working professionals to become great Software Engineers.

If you are planning to learn PHP, you have come to the right place. Here we have compiled the list of best PHP courses for beginners, intermediate learners, and experts. This post includes both paid and free courses that will help you learn PHP and become an expert. 

What is PHP?

PHP is a server-side scripting language that is typically used to develop static websites, dynamic websites, and web applications. It has gained popularity due to its flexibility and open-source nature. It is very simple to understand and learn for beginners and offers many advanced features to professional programmers. 

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Benefits of PHP

1. Open Source

It means that PHP is not proprietary and it can be modified in a manner that is open to the public. Moreover, it is free to use and offers unrestricted access to many information libraries and discussion forums where various developers can connect and work to enhance features for extended functionalities. 

2. Easy to Learn

Compared to other server-side scripting languages, it is considered the easiest to learn. Why? Because it does not require intensive studying. The syntax of the PHP language is logical and well-organized. The command functions of PHP are easy to understand and allow developers to easily build and optimize applications.

Also Read: What is Coding: Difference Between Coding And Programming 

3. Flexible

PHP offers great flexibility to the users. It allows them to make changes while building a project as well as after its completion. You will not have to write the entire code while making a change to the project. Also, PHP is a cross-platform language that lets you use any primary operating system, such as Windows, Linux, and macOS to perform the coding. 

4. Cost-Efficient

Since PHP is an open-source web language, it is completely free. Thus, you will not have to buy licenses or software and you can easily build a website at a minimal cost. 

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5. Efficient

PHP is scalable, which means that you can enhance the performance of the website built in PHP. It is not only scalable while writing codes but can also be used to create a large number of applications. 

Also Read: PHP Interview Questions and Answers

Online Courses To Learn PHP

Here are some of the top courses that will help you to learn PHP and jumpstart your programming career. 

High Performance PHP on Pluralsight

This 2-hour course will enable you to develop well-optimized and fast PHP applications. You will gain an understanding of web server, database, core PHP optimizations as well as some tips and tricks to speed up your PHP applications.

Duration: 1.5 Hours

Course Content

• Optimizing PHP Code
• Choosing and Configuring a Web Server
• Database Optimization
• Performance and Load Testing
• Investigating Performance Tradeoffs of PHP Frameworks
• Investigating Performance Tradeoffs of PHP Frameworks

Building Web Applications using PHP on Coursera

This course will help you understand the basic structure of a web application and how a web browser interacts with a web server. 

Duration: 30 Hours 

Course Content

• Introduction to Dynamic Web Content 
• HyperText Markup Language
• Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
• Introduction to PHP
• PHP Arrays and Functions

Building Database Applications in PHP on Coursera

In this course, you will get familiarized with the object-oriented patterns available in PHP. It will teach you how to connect to MySQL using the Portable Data Objects (PDO) library and issue SQL commands in the PHP language. 

Duration: 24 Hours 

Course Content

• PHP Objects
• Connecting PHP and MySQL
• PHP Cookies and Sessions
• PHP Redirect, Routing, and Authentication
• Building a CRUD Application

PHP & MySQL Training by IIT Bombay

By the end of this course, you will learn basic as well as advanced concepts of PHP and MS SQL Server Administration through real-life case studies and examples. 

Also Read: Top Core Java Interview Questions and Answers

Ending Note

PHP is one of the simplest web languages that anyone can pick up. It is easy to learn and at the same time, it gives you endless web development opportunities! With the knowledge of PHP, you can build websites, build applications, and even become a WordPress developer. This is what makes PHP the most dominant web language in the industry today. Moreover, PHP Certification has become a key skill that employers constantly look out for.

Whether you are a beginner or someone with some programming experience, learning PHP will certainly enhance your developer skills.