Top 5 Best PHP Frameworks to Use in 2024

Recently, Devabit has gathered exciting facts about PHP framework usage for the previous year. It has found Laravel to be the most used framework, with 43.7% of the market share. Besides this, the other half a dozen PHP frameworks were found helpful in the industry.

This survey has inspired us to write about the most used and popular PHP frameworks by contemporary PHP developers in the modern web development industry. Let’s learn about those top PHP frameworks through a detailed study.

However, before delving into the details of the frameworks, we must know why we should use them and how to choose an appropriate one for our next PHP development project.

Why Should We Use the PHP Framework?

Indeed! PHP is a notorious programming language, especially when you want to do something significant with it. To be precise and quick, you must have an organized programming platform with appropriate tools, features, and functionality, and PHP frameworks can provide everything needed for it.

Other benefits of using the best PHP frameworks are below in a concise manner.

1. PHP frameworks let you do everything faster than you do without them. Frameworks offer tools and built-in libraries.

2. Frameworks let you do many things with minimum codes to write.

3. PHP frameworks are empowered with open-source libraries that have great functionality and excellent documentation.

4. Laravel, CodeIgniter, Symfony, etc., are considered the best PHP frameworks in the industry. These popular PHP frameworks have a vast community that supports users in multiple ways.

5. Most PHP frameworks are open-source and deliver all the benefits of the open-source frameworks to the PHP framework developers.

How To Choose the Right PHP Framework for You?

At iCommuneTech, our expert PHP framework developers are extending their helping hands to make the best selection for your next PHP project when you look for a PHP framework by applying the following criteria.

Simplicity or Sophistication of the PHP framework:

Our team helps you decide whether your project needs a simple framework or a sophisticated framework based on the complexities involved.

Technical Requirements:

The team at iCommuneTech decides the technical requirements of the project, such as the need for extensions, databases, third-party applications, and services. Based on that, they recommend specific PHP frameworks for your project.

Requirements of Features & Functionality:

Our team of PHP developers decides which PHP framework meets your feature and functionality requirements. Based on that, they make preferences for you because they know all the features and functions of all popular PHP frameworks available on the market.

Framework Support & Services:

Our team decides which framework will provide you with adequate support and after-sale services whenever you are in dire need.

Framework Maintainability:

We select the best PHP framework which is suitable for your project to offer maximum maintainability and regular updates to keep pace with technology advancements in the industry.

The most Popular And Top Frameworks to Use in 2024

Based on the above criteria, we have enlisted the following popular PHP frameworks to use in 2024.

#1 – Laravel PHP Framework

PHP Laravel is the most popular framework today. It enjoys 75.7K stars and 24.2K forks on GitHub. Its first release was in 2011.

Advantages of PHP Laravel Framework:

1. Laravel makes web applications more scalable.

2. It saves considerable time in the design and development process by reusing components from other frameworks.

3. It helps organize and manage resources by including namespaces and interfaces.

Main Tools in PHP Laravel Framework:

Composer:

It’s a tool that includes all dependencies and libraries. Composer lets PHP Laravel developers install third-party libraries easily.

Artisan:

It’s a command line interface. It provides a set of commands that assist a Laravel programmer in building small to enterprise-level web applications.

Notable Features of PHP Laravel Framework:

Modularity – Laravel provides 20 built-in libraries and modules to help in application enhancements. Each module is integrated with a dependency manager in Composer to ease updates.

Testability – Laravel allows testing through various test cases. Testing features in Laravel help maintain the code as per requirements.

Routing – The developer can define routes in the Laravel application. Thus, it can scale the application in a better way and enhance the performance.

Configuration Management – The Laravel application runs in different environments. Thus, it faces constant changes in configuration, and Laravel provides a consistent approach to manage configuration efficiently.

Query Builder – Laravel has a query builder for querying databases using simple chain methods.

ORM – Laravel incorporates ORM and ActiveRecord implementation, which is known as Eloquent.

Schema Builder – It maintains database definition and schema in the PHP code. During database migration, it also keeps track of changes.

Blade Template – It’s a lightweight template language to design hierarchical blocks and layouts for dynamic content.

Email Class – It assists in sending emails with rich content and attachments for the web application.

Authentication – Laravel has an advanced authentication system with improved features.

Redis – It helps in connecting existing sessions and general-purpose caches. Redis interacts with sessions directly.

Queue Service – They help in completing tasks more efficiently without waiting for previous task completion.

Event and Command Bus – It helps in executing commands and events in simple ways.

Why Should You Think of PHP Laravel?

1. Laravel is an easy-to-learn PHP framework for beginners.

2. It’s trendy among the PHP developer community.

3. It provides outstanding training documents.

4. It provides simple units for testing purposes.

#2 – CodeIgniter PHP Framework

CodeIgniter was released in 2006 as an MVC (Model-View-Controller architecture) framework for PHP application development. So, it categorizes applications into three interconnected parts to enhance code reuse, maintainability, and code organization.

CodeIgniter Features:

Other significant features are:

Security features – CodeIgniter has diverted in-built functionality for input & output filters. They list the encryption and decryption process. Thus, a developer can manage and control data during installation.

Simple configuration – The framework has a linear structure with a folder setup that the developer can use freely. Thus, it streamlines the PHP syntax and speeds up development.

Step-by-Step test – With this feature, a developer can examine the functions and their performance levels.

Easy-to-Use – It has a simple user interface that allows easy integration of many controllers and tools.

A Fewer Code – It needs fewer codes due to the lack of third-party library requirements.

Why Should You Run After CodeIgniter?

1. When you look for a PHP framework that needs minimum code.

2. If you value an exceptional performance from a framework.

3. Many developers prefer frameworks with multiple tools in a single package.

4. If you want to depend on built-in security tools.

#3 – Symfony PHP Framework

It’s another popular PHP framework that follows MVC architecture.

Essential Features of Symfony:

Symfony has a well-defined directory structure with the following main directories—app, bin, src, tests, vendor, and web.

It has a comprehensive set of 30 independent components, such as HttpFoundation, HttpKernel, form, validator, security, translation, console, Twig, etc.

It has a Composer for dependency management to manage installations and updates for the application.

Why Should You Look for Symfony?

1. Why do you need a feature-rich PHP framework for versatile application development such as web applications, APIs, Microservices, and Web Services?

2. Suppose you need extensive support from the developers. It has a large developer community.

3. It offers long-term support releases.

4. When you need an extensive bundle library.

5. When you look for extensive documentation and training, it provides official training and certifications.

#4 – Laminas (Zend) Framework

Laminas (La/l/inas), formerly known as the Zend framework with OOP notion, is famous for its reusable components and scalability. However, Laminas has three major verticals, such as:

1. Laminas Mezzio – To build middleware PHP applications.

2. Laminas Components & MVC – To build enterprise PHP applications.

3. Laminas API Tools – To create RESTful PHP applications.

Prominent Laminas Features

Event Driven – It is an event-driven PHP framework for scalable PHP development.

Extensive Databases – It supports multiple databases, including MySQL, MSSQL, Oracle, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, etc.

Multiple Components – It provides components for dependency injections, logging, routing, pagination, session management, diagnostic tests, event dispatchers, feed parsers, etc. Its components are modular and customizable.

It has a strong focus on security.

It offers comprehensive documentation.

Why Should You Go to Use Laminas PHP Framework?

1. If your developer needs excellent front-end support, then use Laminas.

2.It has a broad and active developer community that provides extensive support.

3. When you need seamless integration with third-party components.

4. If you need built-in support for AJAX functionality.

5. If your developer is familiar with Zend.

#5 – Yii 2

Yii 2 is a complete rewrite of Yii, one of the oldest and top PHP frameworks.

Outstanding Features of Yii 2:

Rapid Development – Yii has plenty of diverse tools to go fast in application development. For instance, it has ‘Gii’ as a web-based code scaffolding tool that lets developers instantly build templates for modules, controllers, form modules, and extensions.

Extensible Technologies – Yii 2 manages an OOP framework to leverage advanced technologies, such as static binding, SPL classes, interfaces, and anonymous functions.

Acceleration for Performance – Yii 2 has all cache components to accept which cache systems you want while using a standard API. It lets you use multiple components at once.

CRUD & Easy Form Validation – Yii 2 uses ‘Gii’ as a commonly used CRUD system to avoid code repetition and unwanted jQuery validation.

Testing – Yii 2 has a Codeception module. It cuts time for integrating the unit process during the testing phase. During automated testing, it creates an acceptance test. Thus, the Codeception module makes easy approaches to construct applications along with testing.

Why Should You Select Yii 2 as a Backend PHP Framework?

1. Yii 2 offers a lightweight code framework for PHP developers.

2. It uses less memory.

3. It has excellent security features.

4. It provides support for RESTful API development.

5. It gives high performance.

Takeaway:

With years of experience in PHP development using different frameworks, the team at iCommuneTech concluded that PHP Laravel is an excellent choice for most of the projects from our ambitious patrons. We offer highly competitive quotes free of charge and extensive post-development services to keep your application running smoothly for a long lifecycle.