eWay Corp The web development landscape saw several updates and changes in the year 2019. 2020 too has witnessed significant changes up to now and more updates are on the way. This landscape includes PHP web development, which, although isn’t a favorite of all, is still widely used.
PHP has always been criticized by developers, with some finding the framework to be backdated, mediocre, and crappy. Although all updates to PHP technology after the version 7 brought dramatic improvements, many developers don’t consider PHP to be at par with other programming languages.
Well, if you’re looking for the most modern or the best programming language, PHP might not fit your requirement. But this doesn’t reflect on its popularity, considering the PHP statistics.
Data by W3Tech states that 79.0% of all websites use PHP. Hence, around 8 among every 10 websites on the internet use PHP in some way.
The most popular CMS, WordPress, uses PHP. More than 34% of all websites housed by the internet are powered by WordPress, which means a lot of sites out there use PHP. Besides WordPress, there are a myriad of small and big websites which have used PHP for web development. For example, the software used by Wikipedia – MediaWiki – is built with PHP, with Joomla and Drupal banking heavily on PHP.
With all its advantages and disadvantages, PHP allows businesses to build efficient and interactive websites at moderate prices. Due to its huge demand, many development frameworks are founded on PHP for e-commerce and web development.
PHP in 2020 is going to be big, as per the predictions of the web development community. Let’s have a look at some of the latest trends in PHP development that are reigning in 2020.
PHP Trends 2020: What are the Latest Trends in PHP Development?
Information source: valuecoders.com
1. PHP Integration with Cloud
Businesses are investing a lot in building cloud infrastructure now. According to Canalys, the cloud infrastructure services market around the globe grew by 37% in 2019’s Q3, the valuation amounting to US $27.5 Billion.
Another survey reports that 78.9% of app development companies and websites employ the Cloud and PHP frameworks to leverage the advantages of both Cloud and PHP technologies. This is a proactive approach, which offers them a scalable, cost-effective, and flexible web solution.
2. Improved Cybersecurity of Websites with PHP
PHP development tools allow you to implement effective cybersecurity solutions that increase the security of your web applications and websites. The preference of people to shop online instead of buying from physical stores makes security even more important for websites and web applications.
If your website or web application is based on mobile commerce, integration of a payment gateway for online users is necessary. You can choose a suitable PHP framework, like Phalcon, which is well-known for security, asset management, and caching. Alternatively, you can choose CodeIgniter, a light PHP framework that lets you incorporate robust encryption features in your website.
3. PHP Tools & IoT Work Well
PHP development tools are a complex virtual structure of different technologies. IoT technology is a structure of three separate layers, which requires a dynamic language with the ability to improve the comprehensive coding structure. PHP frameworks like Laravel, CodeIgniter, and Symfony are better adapted to the requirements of IoT development.
PHP technologies and IoT together offer the best support to app developers because the combined technology can take the digital world to the next level for app users.
Image source: webmasters.googleblog.com
4. Use of Accelerated Mobile Pages
Google prefers sites that can be accessed easily through cell phones. Site designers are, therefore, leveraging Accelerated Mobile Pages so that their website pages can load faster and can be accessed through portable internet browsers.
When you’re employing PHP for your business site, focus on AMP rendition of the website for a high site positioning.
Popular online registries like Google, LinkedIn, and Yellow Pages support AMP website pages for easy accessibility to websites through cell phones.
5. Creation of Smart Chatbots
Chatbots have become enormously popular in recent years. One of the latest trends in PHP development is the creation of intelligent chatbots using PHP. PHP frameworks and tools are a great option to build chatbots since PHP is an open-source programming language, which can be easily used by developers. With PHP’s latest technology, you can create a smart chatbot for your site in less time.
Some chatbots developed with PHP frameworks offer such an authentic conversation experience that it’s difficult to determine whether you’re talking to a robot or a human being!
PHP 8 – A Breakthrough in PHP
The discussion on the latest trends in PHP development for 2020 will be incomplete without mentioning PHP 8. PHP 8 – a major new version of PHP technologies – is set to be launched on November 26, 2020. This version will introduce some significant changes with new features and ensure performance improvement.
As the new version brings major changes, you may need to incorporate some changes in your code so that it runs on PHP 8. If you’re already running on the updated latest release, upgrading will be easy.
With some major changes, there are also some nice new features coming with PHP 8, like attributes, union types, JIT compiler, and more. We’ll soon have another blog diving deep into these new features.
What are your PHP Goals in 2020?
Now that you know the latest trends in PHP development to dominate in 2020, what are the things you can do, as a business owner, that can benefit your business? Well, you can integrate your website with the cloud to provide incredible data access, try AMP version of your business website built with PHP to boost your site ranking. Or simply leverage the benefits of your site by incorporating cutting-edge security features on your website.
And if you’re wondering how to make the most of PHP development and trending PHP frameworks for your business, our team of expert PHP developers can suggest winning ways to do so!
eWay Corp is a premier IT services company based in Des Moines, Iowa. We offer 360-degree technology solutions including, but not limited to, web development, cloud services, hosting, and managed services. Leverage our technical expertise to boost your business!
