If you plan to build your application in PHP, selecting the proper framework is one of the challenging tasks. The landscape of PHP frameworks has grown significantly over the years, offering many options tailored to different development needs and styles. 

Selecting the wrong PHP framework can result in prolonged development cycles, increased maintenance efforts, and the need for costly rewrites. Therefore, for those embarking on the journey of PHP application development, gaining a solid grasp of the available framework choices is paramount to ensuring a smooth and cost-effective development process.

At Mallow, we recognise the significance of informed choices. We know that every decision made by our prospective clients plays a pivotal role in fostering the success of their businesses. With our understanding of PHP frameworks, we aim to provide valuable insights that empower businesses to make well-informed decisions, thereby paving the way for their sustained growth and prosperity.

After going through this article, you will emerge with a comprehensive understanding of the most popular PHP frameworks available for web application development. You will gain insights into the distinct features, advantages, and use cases of each framework, enabling you to make informed decisions aligned with your specific project requirements.

The decision to select a PHP framework should not be solely influenced by any single factor.  Making an informed decision involves weighing various aspects of the framework such as performance, scalability, community support, available features, and ease of learning. But, it should be a result of careful consideration of multiple factors in conjunction with the specific scope and requirements of your project.

Project requirements – Understand the specific needs of your project. Is it a small web application, a content management system, an e-commerce platform, or a complex enterprise solution? Different PHP frameworks cater to varying project sizes and complexities.

Easy to develop and scalable – Ensuring the chosen PHP framework enables efficient application development and can scale seamlessly as new features are consistently incorporated is of utmost importance. It should let you quickly create and improve features without making things too complicated. This way, it helps everyone work together smoothly and get things done faster.

Availability of developers – Opting for a framework for your application should involve considering the availability of developers in the market. This ensures that you have a sufficient pool of developers ready to address any uncertainties that may arise, whether at the project’s outset or during its progression.

Performance – Investigate the framework’s performance benchmarks. It should be able to deliver efficient and speedy applications. Consider factors like caching mechanisms and database query optimisation.

Ecosystem and libraries – Assess the availability of third-party libraries and packages that can accelerate development. A robust ecosystem reduces the need to build everything from scratch.

Longevity – Consider the framework’s history and how actively it’s being maintained. Frameworks that are regularly updated and adapted to new PHP versions are generally safer long-term bets.

API Support – If your application needs to provide APIs for third-party integrations or mobile applications, a framework that offers robust API support and tools can be advantageous.

Modern frontend integrations – In today’s digital landscape, there are a lot of modern frontend solutions like, WebSockets for real-time communications, Single Page applications for better and enhanced user experience etc. The framework you choose should accommodate what’s mentioned here well enough to match your application’s requirements.

The complete article was originally published at The 7 most popular PHP frameworks for web application development