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PHP

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Filed underBackendSoftware Engineering

In brief · quick answer

PHP is a server-side scripting language designed for web development. It powers a massive portion of the web, including WordPress, and has modernized significantly since PHP 7 with JIT compilation and typed properties.

§ 1 Definition

PHP (originally Personal Home Page, now PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) was created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1993. It is a server-side scripting language that runs on virtually every web host, embeds directly into HTML, and connects easily to databases. PHP powers about 75% of websites that use a known server-side language, largely through WordPress (43% of all websites). The language went through a modernization renaissance starting with PHP 7.0 (2015), which doubled performance. PHP 8.0 (2020) introduced the JIT compiler, named arguments, attributes (annotations), constructor property promotion, and union types. PHP 8.3 (2023) and 8.4 (2024) continued with readonly properties, typed class constants, and property hooks. PHP is not just WordPress. Modern PHP with frameworks like Laravel and Symfony is a capable, typed, and performant platform for building web applications and APIs.

§ 2 Modern PHP: Not Your Father's Language

If you last looked at PHP in 2010, you have not seen modern PHP. PHP 8.x is a different language. The JIT compiler makes numeric-heavy code 2-3x faster. Named arguments eliminate positional parameter confusion. Attributes replace PHPDoc annotations with first-class metadata. Constructor property promotion collapses boilerplate. Enums are real language constructs. Property hooks (8.4) give computed properties without getter/setter noise. Static analysis tools like PHPStan and Psalm catch type errors at analysis time. PHP today is as typed and tooled as any modern backend language.

§ 3 Ecosystem: Laravel, Symfony, and WordPress

PHP has three major ecosystems. Laravel is the dominant modern framework, offering elegant syntax, Eloquent ORM, Blade templating, queues, broadcasting, and the Artisan CLI. Symfony is the enterprise framework with reusable components that underpin Laravel and Drupal. WordPress is the content management system that powers 43% of the web. While WordPress is written in PHP, modern WordPress development uses Composer for dependency management, Timber for Twig templating, and advanced custom fields for structured content. PHP's package manager is Composer, and Packagist is its package repository.

§ 4 Use Cases and Tradeoffs

PHP excels at server-rendered web applications, content management systems, and e-commerce platforms. It integrates natively with MySQL/MariaDB, has mature session management, and deploys easily almost anywhere. PHP's shared-nothing architecture (each request is isolated) makes horizontal scaling straightforward. The tradeoffs: PHP is not typically used for real-time applications or long-running processes (though Laravel Octane and ReactPHP address this). It is not the first choice for CPU-intensive backends. But for building web applications, PHP's developer experience and ecosystem are among the best in the industry.

§ 5 Note

Common misunderstanding: PHP is dead or dying. This is incorrect. PHP powers 75% of known server-side websites. WordPress alone runs 43% of the web. Laravel is one of the fastest-growing backend frameworks. The perception that PHP is dying comes from comparing it to newer languages, not from market reality. Another misconception: PHP is insecure by design. Modern PHP with typed properties, prepared statements, password_hash/bcrypt, CSRF protection, and strict typing is as secure as any backend language when written correctly. The insecurity historically came from bad tutorials and legacy code, not the language itself.

§ 6 In code

```php
<?php

// Modern PHP 8.4 with property hooks
class User
{
    public function __construct(
        private string $firstName,
        private string $lastName,
    ) {}

    public string $fullName {
        get => "{$this->firstName} {$this->lastName}";
    }
}

$user = new User('Jane', 'Doe');
echo $user->fullName; // 'Jane Doe'
```

§ 7 Common questions

Q. Is PHP worth learning in 2026?: A. Yes, if you work with or plan to work with WordPress, Laravel, or e-commerce platforms. It remains one of the most employable backend languages.
Q. Laravel vs Symfony: which should I choose?: A. Laravel for faster development, convention over configuration, and a more opinionated experience. Symfony for enterprise applications that need customization and long-term maintainability.
Q. Is PHP good for APIs?: A. Yes. Laravel has first-class API support with Sanctum (token auth) and API resources. Symfony's API Platform is purpose-built for REST and GraphQL APIs.

Key takeaways

PHP powers 75%+ of known server-side websites, primarily through WordPress.
PHP 8.x is a modern, typed, JIT-compiled language far removed from the PHP of 2010.
Laravel is the dominant modern PHP framework; Symfony is the enterprise choice.
Modern PHP with proper tooling (PHPStan, Composer, typed properties) is production-grade.

How Atomic Glue helps

Atomic Glue builds and maintains PHP applications, particularly on Laravel and WordPress. Whether you need a custom Laravel backend, a high-performance WordPress site, or API integration between PHP and modern front-ends, our team has deep PHP expertise. We also modernize legacy PHP codebases with PHP 8.x upgrades, static analysis, and dependency modernization. PHP remains a core part of our Web Development services for projects where its ecosystem delivers the best results. Get in touch to discuss your PHP project.

Get in touch

# PHP

Category: Backend (also: Software Engineering)

Author: Atomic Glue Development Team

## Definition

## Modern PHP: Not Your Father's Language

## Ecosystem: Laravel, Symfony, and WordPress

## Use Cases and Tradeoffs

## Note

## In code

## Common questions
Q: Is PHP worth learning in 2026?
A: Yes, if you work with or plan to work with WordPress, Laravel, or e-commerce platforms. It remains one of the most employable backend languages.
Q: Laravel vs Symfony: which should I choose?
A: Laravel for faster development, convention over configuration, and a more opinionated experience. Symfony for enterprise applications that need customization and long-term maintainability.
Q: Is PHP good for APIs?
A: Yes. Laravel has first-class API support with Sanctum (token auth) and API resources. Symfony's API Platform is purpose-built for REST and GraphQL APIs.

## Key takeaways

PHP powers 75%+ of known server-side websites, primarily through WordPress.
PHP 8.x is a modern, typed, JIT-compiled language far removed from the PHP of 2010.
Laravel is the dominant modern PHP framework; Symfony is the enterprise choice.
Modern PHP with proper tooling (PHPStan, Composer, typed properties) is production-grade.

## Related entries

Last updated June 2026. Permalink: atomicglue.co/glossary/php