Web developers who aspire to make it in the world of web development often find themselves at crossroads when they are asked to decide if they wish to learn PHP.
PHP 7 is one of the fastest and secure programming languages which can be used as a server-side language for web development. This optimized version of PHP 7 comes with less memory consumption which allows a small-sized server to handle large numbers of requests along with the opportunity for building micro services with PHP. It also offers easy syntax features which provide a better and easier way of writing optimized codes.
Industry giants like Facebook, Wikipedia, Slack, Mailchimp, etc., are using PHP to run their websites and servers. Different websites use different programming languages, but 79% of the websites are now using PHP, according to a recent survey. So, PHP’s future is still secure and will be secured as numerous websites depend on PHP. There are substantial job demands in PHP too. PHP also has massive community support.
We will now see how PHP can be helpful in 2021 for web development and its robust features:
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PHP + Cloud for Web Application Development
Due to COVID-19, as companies embrace remote work the reliance on cloud services to store data has increased manifold.79% of websites and applications are currently using a combination of PHP and cloud framework to maximize the benefits of web app development. Businesses, as we know it, are counting on virtual clouds. In 2020, we will see the evolution of cloud infrastructure.
As more and more players observe the multitude of benefits that using cloud computing and PHP web development tools promise, it will be adopted rapidly. PHP in combination with cloud computing allows better connectivity, scalability, flexibility and cost-effectiveness of web solutions.
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Chatbots in PHP Empowered Websites
Chatbots contribute to customer experience in brilliant ways, answering their queries and solving their problems promptly. There is no doubt that chatbots can help to manage queries very fast, and this is the reason for their massive popularity. Businesses save money through chatbot integration offering a 24/7 service to visitors, rather than hiring a full-time employee.
In 2020, an estimated 47% of organizations will implement chatbots for customer support services. According to the latest trends, PHP frameworks are also used to create chatbots because it is an open-source language that is easy to use for developers and helps to create the best chatbots in less time. PHP tools and frameworks are the best open-source tools to build chatbots, providing easy development and integration of chatbots in your website in less than 10 minutes. PHP also has various libraries which can be used along with different APIs to develop excellent conversational agents.
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IoT with PHP Tools
Popular frameworks like Symfony, Laravel, Codeigniter, etc., are better adapted for IoT development requirements, making it the best possible solution. PHP web development along with IoT together provides a great resource to any web developer to find better solutions to problems and provide the best experience to users.
Several IoT devices find their place in smart homes, and PHP provides all tools and frameworks required to develop apps to make a better user experience. PHP 7 has a feature to access asynchronous programming easily that can perform multiple tasks in a single script very fast and with sheer efficiency.
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PHP for Cybersecurity
As malicious attacks are increasing, a website’s security has become the main concern for any web developer. Web developers need to protect their websites from all types of attacks and data leaks. Frameworks like Yii framework, Phalcon, CakePHP, Laravel, and CodeIgniter, etc. are flawlessly helping in implementing security to any website. They come with integrated security methods that execute smoothly on websites and make websites more secure without worrying for asset management, security, caching and encryption.
With the latest trends of online shopping, the demands of eCommerce websites have also shown an increment. So, secure payment methods and proper security need to be implemented on websites to avoid malicious activities. All robust security methodologies can conveniently function using these frameworks, and a web developer need not worry about shielding websites and storing data securely. For instance, Paytm provides its payment gateway API, which has been developed in PHP to receive payments on your eCommerce websites.
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PHP for Avant-Garde User Experience Design
Web developers must keep in mind the different aspects that matter to companies which aim to succeed digitally. If a visitor visits a website and doesn’t understand how it works or is slow, they will likely abandon the page in a matter of seconds. For business, this means losing potential clients. The way a web developer works out the user interface (UI) of a website, i.e. the user experience a visitor has when visiting a website determines the conversion rates of the business.
PHP developers can create responsive websites with engaging effects, beautiful visual representations, and other features to impress users. Without a doubt, user interface is one of the aspects that PHP developers pay special attention to, to ensure that website users and potential customers have a great usage experience and keep returning to the website. In 2020, many PHP frameworks (such as CakePHP, Codeigniter, Symfony, etc.) will be used as they offer plenty of features to build creative solutions that engage users.
In the End
There’s no denying that there are several other technologies that compete neck-to-neck with PHP. But, PHP is here to stay and aspiring web developers should polish their web development skills to master PHP and pave the path for future improvements.
