Despite the flak PHP often gets (which sometimes feels like it’s surpassed the number of internet cat videos), it is one of the most widely used server-side scripting languages out there. Yep, you heard it right. According to 3Techs, as of July 2023, PHP is used by a whopping 77.4% of all the websites whose server-side programming language we know. That’s no small potatoes!
PHP’s rise can largely be credited to its easy entry point. You could have a webpage up and interacting with a database before you could say “Hello, World!”. And let’s not forget about WordPress. Can you believe it powers more than 40% of the internet?
But despite these impressive stats, PHP often ends up being the butt of many a developer’s joke. Just Google “PHP hate” and you’ll find more burns than a summer BBQ.
Even its creator, Rasmus Lerdorf, famously stated, “I don’t know how to stop it, there was never any intent to write a programming language […] I have absolutely no idea how to write a programming language, I just kept adding the next logical step on the way.” Now, if that’s not the most inspiring origin story, I don’t know what is.
But let’s be fair, PHP isn’t all bad. In fact, it’s far from it. Just like a clumsy superhero, PHP has had its share of growing pains but it’s evolved, matured, and is ready to show you what it’s truly capable of.