10 Best PHP Courses

Do you want to be a great web developer with various customers? If so, I strongly recommend you master the Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) language.

Whether you are a seasoned veteran or a newcomer in PHP programming, there’s something on this list that will fit your skill level. Starting enjoying online PHP courses is a well-chosen first step toward a great career.

In this review, I will highlight the top ten PHP courses on the market right now. So, without further ado, here are my top picks.

1. Learn PHP: Introduction

Learn PHP: Introduction

Specifications

  • Difficulty: Beginner.
  • Duration: 3 Hours.
  • Price: $19.99 a month for the Pro plan.
  • Provider: Codecademy.

Course highlights

This course will teach you how PHP is utilized in modern web development to make dynamic web applications. You will have a robust foundation in PHP to build an understanding of more complex programming concepts.

There are no prerequisites for taking this course, making it great for any newcomer. But you should learn HTML before you begin.

Enroll Here: https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-php-introduction

Pros

  • No prerequisites.
  • Short duration.
  • Beginner-friendly.
  • Earn a certificate of completion with Pro.

Cons

  • Very basic knowledge.

2. Learn PHP

Learn PHP

Specifications

  • Difficulty: Beginner.
  • Duration: 25 hours.
  • Price: $19.99 a month for the Pro plan.
  • Provider: Codecademy.

Course highlights

PHP is a widely used programming language that has grown rapidly and strongly recently. It works great with HTML and databases, making it an excellent language for those interested in building dynamic web applications.

By the end of this course, you can expect to master fundamental programming concepts in PHP. Before taking the course, it would be helpful if you had some basics of HTML.

Enroll Here: https://www.codecademy.com/learn/paths/php-skill

Pros

  • Earn a certificate of completion.
  • Simple prerequisites.
  • Takes little time to complete.
  • Lectures are well structured.

Cons

Not for advanced learners.

3. The Beginner’s Guide to PHP Mastery

The Beginner’s Guide to PHP Mastery

Specifications

  • Difficulty: Beginner.
  • Duration: 38 Lessons (8h 49m).
  • Price: $2,00/month after the free trial ends.
  • Provider: Skillshare

Course highlights

This course is aimed at beginners and is designed to teach you everything you need to know about PHP without it being too fancy!

The course creator is John Morris, who has 12 years of experience in web development and prefers to help others get the same knowledge as himself.

This PHP course covers all the fundamentals. You will start with basic syntax and a simple “Hello World” script before exploring different databases, how to upload files, send emails, build contact forms, etc.

Enroll Here: https://www.skillshare.com/en/classes/The-Beginners-Guide-to-PHP-Mastery/610626869

Pros

  • 14-day free trial.
  • Cover all the basics.
  • Not just a “beginners” course.
  • Taught by an experienced instructor.

Cons

  • No certification.

4. PHP Fundamentals

PHP Fundamentals

Specifications

  • Difficulty: Beginner.
  • Duration: 5h 7m.
  • Price: $19 per month after a 10-day trial.
  • Provider: Pluralsight.

Course highlights

This course gives you the basics for becoming a PHP developer in a LAMP environment. You will be taught the syntax of PHP and the simplicities of form processing, including functions, classes, operators, arrays, database integration.

This five-hour program can be finished at your own pace. Pluralsight delivers a 10-day free trial so that you can potentially complete this course for free.

Enroll Here: https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/php-fundamentals

Pros

  • Can try it for free.
  • Beginner-friendly.
  • The course is well structured.
  • Finish the course at your own pace.

Cons

  • Lack of practice.

5. Learn Intermediate PHP

Learn Intermediate PHP

Specifications

  • Difficulty: Intermediate.
  • Duration: 4 Hours.
  • Price: $19.99 monthly for the Pro plan.
  • Provider: Codecademy.

Course highlights

In this course by Codecademy, you will be exposed to the fundamental programming concepts of PHP. But remember that this course is suitable for intermediate developers since it requires some basic HTML knowledge.

Through several projects and quizzes, you can stress-test your knowledge that helps commit the PHP syntax to memory.

So you can complete the course feeling confident that you can utilize PHP to make high-quality applications and web pages.

Enroll Here: https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-intermediate-php

Pros

  • Short duration.
  • Great for the money.
  • Prerequisites are easy to meet.
  • Highly rated by many previous learners.

Cons

  • Not newcomers friendly.

6. High-Performance PHP

High-Performance PHP

Specifications

  • Difficulty: Intermediate.
  • Duration: 1h 34m.
  • Price: $19 per month after a 10-day trial.
  • Provider: Pluralsight.

Course highlights

This 2-hour course is also fairly short, but the information is invaluable. You will learn about micro-optimizations at the code level and how many child processes should be run on your database or web server options.

Eventually, you will be taught about profiling your code and load testing the application. That way, you can rest assured that it will perform great no matter how big your application is. Once you complete this course, you can expect to create and optimize PHP applications for speed confidently.

Enroll Here: https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/php-highly-performant

Pros

  • Short duration.
  • Get a 10-day trial.
  • Led by dedicated instructors.
  • Apply knowledge in real-world scenarios.

Cons

  • Requires prior knowledge of PHP.

7. PHP For Everybody

PHP For Everybody – The perfect PHP beginners course!

Specifications

  • Difficulty: Beginner.
  • Duration: 49 Lessons (5h 41m).
  • Price: $16
  • Provider: Udemy.

Course highlights

The beauty of this course is how accessible it is. You do not need to have any prior knowledge or experience to enroll in this course.

This course will take you from scratch to superstar. Finally, you will be able to freelance, code custom WordPress, and start learning Symfony/Laravel.

You will also learn about programming fundamentals. Hence, while you will also be learning how the code works behind the scenes, which will let you move to other programming languages, such as Python, JavaScript, C, Java, Swift, and Kotlin, quickly.

Enroll Here: https://www.udemy.com/course/php-for-everybody/

Pros

  • Great beginners class.
  • Fantastic teacher.
  • Accessible to everyone.

Cons

  • Lack of in-depth knowledge.

8. PHP: The Big Picture – Pluralsight

PHP: The Big Picture

Specifications

  • Difficulty: Beginner.
  • Duration: 50m.
  • Price: $19 per month after a 10-day trial.
  • Provider: Pluralsight.

Course highlights

This course tells you why PHP is important, things to consider, and reasons this programming language might or might not be suitable for your following project.

By the end of this course, you can expect a better understanding of PHP’s advantages, drawbacks, and core use cases. As a result, you can make a decision if PHP is right for you.

Enroll Here: https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/php-big-picture

Pros

  • Finished quickly.
  • An expert-led course.
  • Great for value.
  • Received countless positive reviews.

Cons

  • No certificate.

9. Building Database Applications in PHP

Building Database Applications in PHP

Specifications

  • Difficulty: Intermediate.
  • Duration: Approx. 24 hours.
  • Price: $49 per month to continue learning after the trial ends.
  • Provider: Coursera.

Course highlights

This course focuses on object-oriented patterns in PHP, and you will learn how to build a complete app with multiple screens from the ground up.

There is no cost to enroll as you have a 7-day free trial, and you should complete this course in 19 hours. It will be helpful if you have a basic understanding of responsive web design with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, before participating.

Enroll Here: https://www.coursera.org/learn/database-applications-php

Pros

  • 7-day free trial.
  • Quiz to practice.
  • Shareable certificates.
  • Self-paced learning option.

Cons

  • There are prerequisites.

10. Building Web Applications in PHP

Building Web Applications in PHP

Specifications

  • Difficulty: Intermediate.
  • Duration: Approx. 31 hours.
  • Price: $49 per month after the trial ends.
  • Provider: Coursera.

Course highlights

Although it is categorized as an “intermediate” level, some of its content still targets beginners. It contains basic lessons on CSS, HTML, and PHP, which is extremely helpful for beginners.

But the key target audience for this course is still intermediate learners with prior PHP knowledge.

Each lecture week always ends with an assignment related to the topic. For example, after you learn about PHP functions, you will gain an assignment on reversing an MD5 hash to crack one password.

Enroll Here: https://www.coursera.org/learn/web-applications-php

Pros

  • Weekly practical assignments.
  • Course content is free to audit.
  • University-level course led by experts.
  • Teaches HTML and CSS in addition to PHP.

Cons

  • Full access requires a subscription.

Learning Guide

Once you have been ready to take a PHP web development course, you need to consider the following factors to choose the most suitable course.

Taught by an Experienced Web Developer

If you want to get the most from a PHP course online, we recommend taking classes led by good PHP developers with years of experience using PHP.

If you want to get the most from a PHP course online, we recommend taking classes taught by great PHP developers with many years of experience using PHP.

Includes Demonstrations

You should consider courses that allow you to put what is taught into practice. There are many aspects to the PHP programming language. So without practical examples, applying what you have learned is challenging.

It will be helpful if your teacher includes demonstrations that they can explain in more detail, turning an online course for beginners into an interactive experience.

Engaging

Some introductory content will most likely be a bit dull as you get started with PHP. But you must pay close attention to avoid being lost later in the course.

A good instructor will know how to make mundane topics become exciting to capture your attention.

FAQs

What Is PHP?

PHP (short for Hypertext Preprocessor) is an open-source general-purpose scripting language that is widely used. It especially works well for web development and can be embedded into HTML.

Since its release, there have been eight versions of PHP as of 2022, with version 8.1 currently being a popular option among people using the language on their webs.

What Is PHP Utilized For?

PHP can be used to create most things that software developers need. But here are three key areas in which it thrives.

  • Server-Side Scripting

If you’re just starting to code and prefer to explore server-side scripting, this language will be great to learn.

  • Writing Desktop Applications

It is ideal for scripts made using Task Scheduler (Windows) or cron (Linux). It is also excellent for simple text processing.

  • Command-Line Scripting

PHP provides advanced web developers with more options than other options.

Who Uses PHP?

Although PHP has been around for quite some time, it is still used by many of the world’s most famous websites and organizations, such as:

  • Etsy.
  • Slack.
  • Facebook.
  • Wikipedia.
  • WordPress.

It may not be number one in popularity anymore, but learning PHP is still a worthwhile investment for developers.

Is PHP Hard to Learn?

No, PHP is one of the easier programming languages to learn.

Is PHP Easier Than Python?

Python is more effortless to learn, though PHP is not difficult.

Final Thoughts

Above are the 10 best PHP courses. All of the above courses are excellent and are the best of the best. They are taught by dedicated and experienced teachers, and all have satisfied and happy customers.

Regarding the best PHP course for beginners, I highly recommend the Learn PHP: Introduction course by Codecademy. It is the perfect starting point for anyone who wants to get acquainted and master this programming language.