PHP Courses for Beginners to Learn Web Development

Looking to unlock golden opportunities in PHP development? These PHP courses can help you elevate your career to new heights. PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a powerful server-side scripting language widely used in web development. Whether you're aiming to build dynamic websites, create web applications, or develop eCommerce platforms, mastering PHP can open up a world of possibilities in your web development journey.

10 Best PHP Courses to Kickstart Your Career

With so many PHP courses available online, it can be challenging to determine which one is the best fit for your skill level. That's why we've compiled a list of the top PHP courses to help you get started. These courses offer comprehensive coverage of PHP fundamentals and beyond, so you can find the perfect course to kickstart your web development journey.

PHP for Beginners: How to Build an E-commerce Store

If you want to undertake a PHP project, this course is for you. This is one of the PHP courses, that is created by Edwin Diaz. It is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to building an ECommerce store from scratch using PHP.

This 19.5-hour long course offers a function-based, secure approach to building an eCommerce website. In addition to learning new techniques, you will also gain an understanding of better code organization and how to upload your final application to the web.

PHP Unit Testing with PHPUnit

As a PHP developer, it's crucial to know about writing unit tests for your PHP code. This is especially important for beginners who want to start on the right foot. PHPUnit is the most widely used library for unit testing in PHP, similar to JUnit in Java. With PHPUnit, you can write tests that help you identify bugs early on and improve the quality of your code.

In this course, you will learn the following skills:

• Writing automated tests for your functions and classes
• Writing better code with fewer bugs in less time
• Developing code using test-driven development
• Ensuring that the code you write works as intended
• Improving documentation for your code

If you are a PHP developer seeking to improve your code quality and write more reliable code, learning how to write unit tests is essential.

PHP for Beginners: Become a PHP Master - CMS Project

This PHP course is designed for beginners who want to learn PHP and are new to this field. It covers all the basics of PHP programming, including variables, data types, loops, functions, and more. The course is taught by Edwin Diaz, a professional PHP developer, and instructor with over 8,00,000 students enrolled.

One of the biggest PHP courses includes over 336 lectures and 37 hours of video content. It is designed with step-by-step easy-to-follow instructions and practical examples. You’ll learn all the fundamentals of Procedural PHP, MYSQLi, Object-Oriented PHP, and building a CMS system similar to WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal. By the end of this course, you will be able to create a complete web application using PHP.

PHP Fundamentals

If you're interested in starting your career with PHP, then one of the best PHP courses for you on Pluralsight is "PHP Fundamentals". This course, created by Jill Gundersen, teaches the basics of PHP programming on the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP).

This beginner-friendly course covers the syntax of the PHP language, including data types such as integers and floats, using functions to make your code easy to understand, working with classes and objects, and web programming. You will also learn how to persist data across web pages and connect to a database.

Learn PHP

Learn PHP is one of the interactive online PHP courses that cover everything from basic syntax to more advanced topics like working with databases, creating web applications, and using PHP frameworks.

Throughout the course, you are introduced to real-world examples and exercises that help you apply your newly acquired skills in practical ways. The course is divided into several modules, with each module building on the previous one, allowing learners to gradually increase their understanding and expertise.

You can get hands-on practice with writing code and receive immediate feedback on your work, which helps you to identify areas for improvement and solidify your understanding of the material.

Web Applications for Everybody Specialization

The University of Michigan offers a comprehensive certification program on Coursera called "Web Applications for Everybody". This program is designed to teach PHP programming and guide you in building web applications from the ground up, beginning with a fundamental understanding of web application architecture.

This specialization has 4 PHP courses that include a variety of topics:

• Building Web Applications in PHP
• Introduction to Structured Query Language (SQL)
• Building Database Applications in PHP
• JavaScript, jQuery, and JSON

Throughout the course, you will build multiple web applications that can be added to your developer portfolio. Even those with little to no programming or technology experience can benefit from this course and be prepared for entry-level web developer jobs in PHP.

The Beginners Guide to PHP Mastery

The Beginners Guide to PHP Mastery on Skillshare is an ideal course for beginners who want to learn PHP from scratch. The course is created by John Morris, a web development expert with 12 years of experience who is passionate about sharing his knowledge with others. The course has a completion time of approx 8 hours and is designed to cover all the fundamentals of PHP programming and web development.

It starts with the basics of PHP syntax and gradually moves on to more complex topics such as working with different databases, sending emails, uploading files, building contact forms, and more. This is one the most helpful PHP courses as John explains the reasoning behind each concept and technique so that learners can truly understand the process.

Build a Social Network from Scratch - JavaScript PHP + MySQL

The Udemy course "Build a Social Network from Scratch" is an excellent opportunity to learn PHP through practical projects. Created by Reece Kenney, this PHP course takes you through the process of creating a social network from start to finish.

You will learn:

• how to set up the development environment
• create a login form
• build the website
• create newsfeed-style posts and user profile pages,
• add notifications and account settings, and much more.

Over 13,000 students have already enrolled in this course, with an average rating of 4.4 out of 5 from over 2800 participants, providing ample social proof of its quality.

PHP with Laravel for beginners - Become a Master in Laravel

If you're interested in learning Laravel, a PHP framework for building secure and efficient web applications, then this course is one of the best PHP courses on Udemy.

Created by Edwin Diaz, the same instructor who developed the first course on this list, this course covers a wide range of topics, from data types to connecting with SQL databases, security, and sending emails.

Laravel is one of the most popular PHP frameworks for web application development. By taking this course, you'll gain a comprehensive understanding of its libraries and features, including encryption, working with databases, CRUD operations, and the login and sign-up system.

By the end of the course, you'll be able to create a wide range of web applications, such as e-commerce sites, photo-sharing apps, employee management systems, and much more.

Object-Oriented PHP & MVC

This course is designed for developers who want to learn Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) with PHP and the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern. The course is created by Brad Traversy, a professional PHP developer, and instructor with over 400,000 students enrolled.

This course is designed to help you learn how to build web applications using a PHP framework with a runtime of 6.5 hours.

FAQs

Q1. What is the duration of the PHP course?

Some PHP courses may be designed to be completed in a few weeks, while others may last several months. The duration of a PHP course can vary depending on the level of the course, the intensity of the training, and the pace at which it is taught. A beginner's PHP course may typically take around 6-60 hours to complete, while an intermediate or advanced level course may take around 80-120 hours.

Additionally, some courses may offer flexible scheduling options, allowing students to complete the course at their own pace, while others may have a fixed schedule and require students to attend classes regularly.

Q2. Which PHP course is best?

For beginners, PHP courses like PHP for Beginners: How to Build an E-commerce Store by Edwin Diaz are highly recommended. It provides a solid foundation in PHP programming and teaches you how to create dynamic web pages and web applications. If you're interested in advanced, PHP concepts courses such as Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) and the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern, Object Oriented PHP & MVC by Brad Traversy is a great option.

For those interested in testing their PHP code, PHP Unit Testing with PHPUnit is an excellent course that focuses specifically on writing unit tests for PHP code. Furthermore, if you're looking for a free option to learn PHP, Learn PHP from Scratch by Educative is a comprehensive course that covers the basics of PHP programming and teaches you how to create basic web applications.

Q3. Can I learn PHP by myself?

Yes, you can learn PHP by yourself! There are many resources available online that can help you get started with PHP, including tutorials, documentation, and online PHP courses. To begin learning PHP, you should first ensure that you have a basic understanding of programming concepts such as variables, functions, and control structures. Further, you can start learning PHP syntax, data types, and other basic concepts by following online tutorials and practicing coding exercises.

Once you have a good understanding of the basics, you can start exploring more advanced PHP courses such as Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), web application development with frameworks like Laravel, and testing with PHPUnit. To aid in your learning process, it's also important to have access to a PHP development environment – such as a local server like XAMPP, where you can practice writing and testing your PHP code.