PHP Developers

We are specialist PHP Programmers. PHP is a powerful server-side scripting language especially suited to web development. With PHP's wide acceptance internationally, it is easy to find resources and support for your websites and applications.

This server-side scripting language is widely adopted in the industry due to its ability to be embedded directly within HTML code, its compatibility with various databases and operating systems, and its extensive suite of automation tools for tasks such as content management and e-commerce systems. Additionally, PHP's open-source nature means that it is continuously updated and improved by a global community of developers, ensuring that it remains on the cutting edge of technology.

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Benefits of PHP

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Established

PHP was initially developed in 1995 by Rasmus Lerdorf. Now, PHP powers a broad array of websites across different domains, serving as the backbone of the world's digital landscape.

Depending on the source of the statistics, it is believed that up to 80% of the world's websites are powered by PHP. This stunning figure speaks volumes about PHP's widespread usage and popularity. Notably, PHP's suitability for various scales of projects, from small-scale websites to complex web applications, has contributed to this dominance.

High-profile platforms like Facebook and Wikipedia stand as testaments to PHP's scalability and versatility. Facebook, one of the most heavily trafficked websites globally, uses a derivative of PHP known as "Hack". Despite being a massive web project with a high degree of complexity and heavy traffic, PHP's versatility and reliability have proven essential to its operations. Similarly, Wikipedia, the world's largest free-content encyclopedia, runs on MediaWiki, PHP-based software. These massive web projects underscore PHP's capabilities and its substantial role in shaping the modern web. This dynamic and powerful scripting language, thus, has left an indelible mark on the landscape of web development.

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Web Specific

PHP has been purposefully crafted to cater to the demands of building dynamic websites and web applications. With its extensive range of features and capabilities, PHP stands out as a reliable and efficient tool for developers.

One of the key strengths of PHP lies in its seamless integration with popular web servers, enabling developers to harness its potential on a fast and stable platform. By plugging directly into web servers like Apache and Nginx, PHP facilitates efficient processing of web requests, resulting in enhanced performance and optimized response times.

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Constantly Evolving

PHP is under continuous enhancement and evolution led by a sizable global community of dedicated developers.

PHP is evolving to be more structured. Its syntax and conventions are becoming more refined, fostering more readable and maintainable code. This structure aims to promote a more coherent, standardized coding style that aids both individuals and teams in crafting superior PHP applications.

Additionally, the PHP core is becoming richer with built-in functionalities. Historically, developers often had to rely on external plugins to augment PHP's capabilities. However, the focus has shifted toward integrating more tools directly into the core of the language. This approach not only makes PHP a more standalone and robust language but also alleviates the necessity for external dependencies, thereby improving the overall stability and reliability of PHP applications.

Read more about PHP's evolution
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Fast

PHP is fast. Even though PHP is a scripting language, it runs very fast.

With each iteration, PHP is significantly increasing in speed. This acceleration is not merely a byproduct of the ongoing improvements, but rather a deliberate endeavor to optimize its performance, reducing latency and ensuring that applications developed with PHP run more efficiently and responsively.

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Productive

PHP has long been a productive programming language, primarily due to its inherent simplicity and efficiency, especially in web development. One of its main features is its embedding capability within HTML code, which eliminates the need for programmers to call external files for data output, thereby reducing the number of operations and increasing the processing speed.

PHP also includes a broad set of built-in functions and libraries for various tasks, such as image processing, database connectivity, and file handling, which considerably lessens the amount of code a developer has to write from scratch. The language's syntax is comparatively easier to understand, with a forgiving learning curve for beginners, making PHP an ideal entry point for many developers into the world of web programming.

php is opensource

Open Source

PHP is open-source, which means its source code is available to the public for use and modification. This allows a wide range of developers to contribute to its development and evolution. It also gives users the ability to modify the source code to fit their specific needs.

PHP is free to use, reducing the upfront costs of development. This makes it an excellent choice for startups and businesses on a tight budget. There are no ongoing licensing costs or subscriptions associated with PHP. This can lead to significant long-term savings, particularly for larger applications and businesses.

Read more about open source software
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Well Supported

PHP's extensive community support means there is a vast repository of scripts, libraries, frameworks, and extensions available for use. This enables rapid development and prototyping, reducing time-to-market for web-based applications.

If you encounter a problem while developing in PHP, chances are someone else has already faced and solved the same issue. The PHP community is always ready to help, with numerous forums, blogs, online tutorials, and Q&A platforms available.

no vendor lock in

No Lock In

Using PHP for development means you are not tied to a specific vendor, developer, or company for the ongoing support and development of your applications. If you need to switch developers or teams, you can easily do so since PHP is a universally recognized and commonly used language.

Without vendor lock-in, you are free to deploy your applications on virtually any server or platform that supports PHP. This includes shared hosting, VPS, dedicated servers, and cloud platforms.

Read more on software ownership and licensing
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Flexible

Although PHP was designed as a web language, it works great as a scripting language and for creating APIS.

PHP's compatibility with various operating systems and databases further expands its utility. Whether deployed on Linux, Windows, macOS, or other platforms, PHP effortlessly integrates with different environments, making it a versatile choice for web development projects. Additionally, its compatibility with popular databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB enables seamless data management and manipulation.

PHP's inherent flexibility empowers developers to create interactive and dynamic web experiences. With its wide array of functions and libraries, PHP facilitates the effortless handling of diverse tasks such as form processing, database interactions, file management, and more. This versatility allows developers to build complex web applications that can adapt and respond to user inputs in real time.

Why we specialise in PHP programming?

We believe in picking a platform and becoming experts, rather than dabbling in many platforms.

Programmers can get into philosophical debates about the merits of one software development platform over another. We have not chosen PHP for philosophical reasons. There are other powerful, well supported programming languages and platforms available.

Often software companies in New Zealand will build applications in a range of programming languages and software development platforms. A broader range of programming languages makes it possible to take on business from more customers, which is great from the software companies point of view. It is not so good from the customers point of view, as the developers will have less specialised skill.

We decided from day one to specialise in PHP, not because it is the only choice, but by making a choice to specialise we can offer customers the most expertise in a narrow field rather than being jacks of all trades. By specialising we deliver code faster, with less bugs, than companies that offer a broad range of programming languages.

What does PHP stand for?

PHP is a self referencing acronym:
PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor
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zend certified php developers

Zend PHP Certification

maffey.com PHP Programmers are Zend certified.

Unfortunately, the software development industry has a lack of formal qualifications and certifications which customers can rely on when choosing a software development company.

Zend, the company at the centre of PHP's development, offer an exam and certification for PHP developers. All of our developers are Zend certified which provides a level of reassurance to our customers.

Want to talk about your PHP project?