If you have learned PHP and wondering what to do with it, I’ll try to help you in this article. Many people learn a programming language just for the sake of learning it. That’s not how we should approach programming.
We should learn something so that we can do something with it. Now, you might be asking what can you do with PHP? Well, PHP can be used for several applications and it is still a great language to learn and advance your career using it.
So in this article, we will have a look at the use cases of PHP and what are the next steps that you can do. Let’s dive right in.
Full Stack Web Application Development
If you have learned PHP, you might already know that PHP can be used for building web applications. If you want to build a full-stack web application, you can do that using HTML, CSS, and Javascript at the front-end and PHP at the back-end.
PHP is widely used for server-side scripting and communicating with the database. The main advantage of PHP is that it is very easy to learn and build web apps compared to other web development frameworks.
For a beginner, it would be easy to build a full-stack web app using PHP rather than using a back-end framework. The learning curve is not that high.
So if you learned PHP, just learn some front-end technologies so that you can become a full-stack web developer and build amazing web applications. You can then apply for jobs or look for freelance clients to earn money with your skills.
Freelancing is a great opportunity these days to work with time and location flexibility. You can sign up for online freelance platforms like Upwork, Freelancer, Fiverr, etc., and create an interesting profile that will attract clients.
Fix an hourly rate and look for some clients. Initially, it would be tough to get some clients, but once you get a few satisfied clients and good reviews, you can increase your rate and you’ll get more opportunities.
I would suggest you look for some local clients also. Go to your city or town and ask all the shop and business owners whether they want a website or not. There are high chances that you’ll get clients from there itself. Also, tell your friends and relatives about your work so that if they find someone who needs a website, they’ll recommend you to them.
If you are creative, you can also build your own web apps. If you can solve some problems people are facing or automate some tasks, you can earn a lot from that. You can even create a SaaS product.
So the opportunities are endless. Be creative and work hard. You’ll definitely get good results.
PHP Frameworks
If you like PHP and have decided to become an advanced PHP developer, then I would suggest you learn at least one PHP framework and become good at it. PHP frameworks will make the development process much simpler and you’ll be able to create complex web applications with many functionalities.
There are many PHP frameworks available for various purposes. Some of the popular PHP frameworks are Laravel, CodeIgniter, CakePHP, Symfony, Phalcon, etc. If you want to learn more, you can check out this article.
So pick any one of the PHP frameworks that you like and learn the technology. Once you have done some practice, it will be easy for you to build web apps using the framework.
WordPress Development
WordPress, a software that powers around 40% of all the websites on the Internet is developed using PHP. Most businesses use WordPress to build their websites. So there is a huge demand for WordPress developers who know PHP very well.
PHP is used to build tons of WordPress themes and plugins that the users can integrate on their websites. Companies always want PHP developers to maintain these websites, themes, and plugins, or to add new functionalities and updates to the software.
If you are good at PHP language, you can try WordPress development as a career option. Learn how to build WordPress themes and plugins and you’ll be able to find clients that will pay you for that.
I would suggest you do some research on WordPress development and find some good resources to become a pro in that.
Apart from WordPress, other content management systems like Joomla and Drupal are also powered by PHP.
Online Tutoring
Online tutoring is something that you can do to make some quick money using your skills. If you know the basics of PHP, that would be enough to get some clients.
Many people are looking for online tutors who can take one-to-one sessions on topics like programming and web development. If you know how to build web apps using PHP, you can be the mentor to some beginner who doesn’t know anything about the technology.
Clients often don’t want the experts or professors to who they can’t relate. Most times, for absolute beginners, you will be a great mentor as you can relate to their situation easily because you were in their place a few months ago.
Even though this is a great way to make money and advance your career, most people don’t use this opportunity. You can make use of online platforms like Wyzant, TeacherOn, TakeLessons, etc., to find clients. Also, you can try to find local clients in your area.
So if you are someone who is interested in teaching, then I would suggest you try this opportunity. I have written a complete guide on how to teach programming online and earn money. Click here to check it out.
Some Other Applications of PHP
PHP is used for various other applications as well. PHP can be used to build desktop GUI (graphical user interface) applications using PHP GTK or ZZEE PHP GUI. The language is also a good choice for building enterprise applications and eCommerce websites.
Creating Flash elements, data representation using tools like Image_Graph, etc., can be done using PHP. You can also integrate image processing libraries like GD library, Imagine, and ImageMagick in PHP applications.
If you know some other applications or use cases of PHP, let me know in the comments section.
Final Thoughts
Some people might say that PHP is an outdated language, but that’s not the actual truth. PHP is not going anywhere anytime soon and it is here to stay, especially when platforms like WordPress are using it.
So if you are interested in becoming a PHP developer, I hope this article will help you a little in finding out some new opportunities. Keep learning and building new applications and opportunities will come your way.
Thanks for reading. Happy coding!
