3 hours/week
Build small scripts and form-processing exercises.
Programming language guide
Learn PHP
Learn PHP through a practical sequence of fundamentals, projects, debugging, and career-ready skills.
Best for
- Server-rendered websites and web applications
- Backend APIs and business applications
- WordPress, Laravel, and existing PHP systems
Prerequisites
- Basic HTML is useful for web projects
- Basic programming logic helps but is not required
- A local PHP runtime and code editor
Learning sequence
Recommended Learning Order
- 1
Stage 1
Syntax, variables, arrays, conditions, loops, and functions
- 2
Stage 2
Forms, request data, sessions, files, and errors
- 3
Stage 3
Object-oriented PHP, namespaces, Composer, and autoloading
- 4
Stage 4
Databases with PDO and prepared statements
- 5
Stage 5
HTTP, security, testing, and a framework such as Laravel
Study Timeline
6 hours/week
Add database work, OOP, Composer, and testing.
10 hours/week
Build a complete PHP application and then move into Laravel.
Project Progression
Beginner: validated contact form
Intermediate: CRUD application using PDO and prepared statements
Portfolio: authenticated application with tests, authorization, and deployment configuration
Common Mistakes
- Concatenating user input into SQL instead of using prepared statements
- Mixing database, validation, and presentation logic in one file
- Ignoring output escaping and CSRF protection
- Skipping Composer and modern autoloading conventions
Job-Ready Skills
- Modern PHP syntax and OOP
- HTTP and forms
- SQL and PDO
- Composer
- Testing
- Security and framework fundamentals
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I learn PHP before Laravel?
Yes. Understand PHP syntax, functions, OOP, HTTP requests, Composer, and database access before relying on Laravel abstractions.
Is PHP only for websites?
No. PHP is heavily used for web backends, but it also supports command-line scripts, queues, scheduled jobs, and API services.