Website development companies have been around since the early days of the internet when the focus was primarily on getting companies online as quickly as possible and making it easy to update the content going forward. Website design and development have come a long way since then, with many aspects of the process becoming more automated and streamlined. One key element that allows this to happen is PHP, an essential part of any modern website development company’s toolkit. Here’s what you need to know about this scripting language. Its place in web development, and how it affects your website today.
How PHP Works
Before getting into why you should use PHP for web development, let’s dive into what exactly it is. Simply put, a server-side scripting language. Like PHP, takes an input of code (anywhere from basic to complex) and manipulates or organizes data. It processes that data in response to an outside call—usually initiated through a request over HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)—and returns relevant results back to that requestor.
In other words, PHP allows you to organize information on a website based on user requests. A simple example would be using PHP to display today’s date on a website; when someone accesses that site, their browser sends a request for information about today’s date and gets back HTML (hypertext markup language) with that date displayed as text.
The fact that PHP can interpret and return any type of information makes it especially useful for website development, where you need to quickly produce specific types of content. For example, if a user submits an order form on your website, you could have PHP run through each field in that form and pull out specific bits of information—like name, address, and email address—to create a database entry. You could then send back to them an email confirming their order with all pertinent details included.
How to Use PHP
The programming language known as PHP, or Hypertext Preprocessor, is one of the two main languages used in website development. While CSS helps to provide a website with an attractive layout and fonts, PHP provides a framework for creating dynamic content such as shopping carts, database-driven searches, and social media feeds. For web developers who are looking to build a business that caters to existing clients or attracts new customers through an online storefront, a knowledge of these essential programming languages will be critical.
When hiring website developers, look for those who can demonstrate their expertise by creating a demo site or portfolio—and check out some PHP tutorials before you do so. These professionals should also have experience working with different CMS (content management system) platforms like WordPress, Joomla!, and Drupal; they’ll be able to help you choose which platform best suits your needs. Additionally, they should have experience with security features like password protection and SSL encryption.
The Importance of PHP for Website Development
One of today’s most popular and flexible web programming languages, PHP (hypertext preprocessor) supports all major operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, etc. Since its initial release in 1995 by Belgian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf as a free open-source system for generating dynamic HTML content with server-side interactivity, it has gone on to be widely adopted by website development companies because of its powerful functionality. In fact, many tools used today to build websites use variations of PHP language. It’s also relatively easy to learn; compared to other coding languages like C++ or Java, learning PHP takes much less time and effort.
Other Tools For Web Development
Although PHP’s importance in web development will never wane, a number of other tools have been introduced over recent years that can also make website creation easier for non-developers. Many of these are open-source, which means they’re free to use—making them appealing from a cost perspective. Some popular examples include WordPress (for content management), Joomla (for website creation), Drupal (for content management), and Magento (for e-commerce).
If you’re looking to build a website but don’t know where to start. One of these platforms might be just what you need. And if you want to work with an agency on your project. You should consider asking about their skillset with each platform before signing on. You may even want to see some example sites they’ve created using these tools so you can get a feel for how well they understand each platform’s strengths and weaknesses. For example, many agencies claim to be experts at using PHP; however, many haven’t touched it in years because more efficient technologies have emerged since then.
Conclusion
PHP is one of two technologies that allow you to easily build a website. It stands for Hypertext Preprocessor, which might make you think it’s about creating text, but really—it’s about coding. The other technology used in website creation is HTML (Hypertext Markup Language). Even if you know nothing about computers or programming, you can use these languages to code a web page. You just need someone who knows how to code using these languages to help you.
This is where website development companies come into play. They are able to create websites from scratch with your input and design ideas. As well as provide maintenance services when needed. If you have an idea for a website, there are numerous options available to get it up and running quickly. However, hiring a company that specializes in website development will ensure you get exactly what you want out of your site without having to worry about any technical issues getting in the way.
