A while ago, I wrote a post that had some people going huh, why’d you put PHP there when there are so many other languages you could have chosen?
Admittedly, I did overlook some potential candidates–Ruby on Rails comes to mind. Also, like any programming languages, PHP has its quirks and limitations, which make some programmers cringe. However, it would be well worth your time to learn PHP.
As more and more individuals and businesses come online, many of them are turning to content management systems (CMSs) in order to quickly and easily manage their site. Three of the top open-source CMSs–WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal–are all written in PHP and many businesses hire developers to create and maintain their sites. WordPress.org reports that 22% of all sites in America are currently running WordPress. That’s a more than decent market share–and an enormous potential customer base!
PHP is pre-installed on most hosts, making it easy to get your hands on. There are also localhost platforms that you can install on your own computer to test your work prior to launching it.
Its capabilities,while not unlimited, are certainly remarkable. Facebook, with over 800 million active members and more than 900 million objects–apps, groups, pages, ect. is built with it!
So, how do you go about learning PHP?
Start at the very beginning.
Over the next several weeks, I will be publishing a series over at 1stwebdesigner.com detailing how to create your own WordPress theme and plugin. In addition, I now offer tutoring which will give you some one-on-one time to get started on or brush up your PHP skills
