An Introduction To PHP: Getting Started with Web Programming

Originally published: August 8th, 2015. Updated on: April 29th, 2025.

PHP is, by a significant margin, the most popular server-side web programming language. It's used by a vast majority (historically over 80% [^1]) of websites whose server-side language is known. It powers systems that deliver text, images, interactive elements, community discussions, and countless other features. Think about it, huge sites like Facebook were originally built on PHP (though their stack has evolved significantly). It's a great language for beginners to pick up due to its large community support network and abundant learning resources.

What is PHP Used For?

PHP is used across the internet to dynamically construct web pages. Instead of serving static, unchanging files, PHP allows a website to generate content on-the-fly, tailoring it to the user or specific conditions. This provides a much richer experience than static HTML pages.

Beyond generating HTML, PHP can perform complex operations behind the scenes, such as:

• Recording user details in a database.
• Running image processing tasks.
• Communicating with other web servers to fetch data from third-party services (APIs).
• Handling form submissions.
• Managing user sessions and authentication.

PHP’s Possibilities

Functionality like contact forms, online shopping carts, community forums, photo upload sites, social networks, and much more can all be built using PHP as the foundation. It’s an extremely flexible language. Really, the possibilities are vast.

PHP can dynamically build pages based on user input. A user might select an item from a shop list, and PHP can generate a detailed product description page. Or they might fill in a contact form, and PHP processes that data and sends an email, without ever exposing your email address directly on the site.

What Does ‘PHP’ Mean?

Officially, PHP is a recursive acronym standing for "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor". Yeah, a bit of a programmer's joke! A more historical (and perhaps sensible) explanation is that it originally stood for "Personal Home Page," stemming from software developed by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994 to maintain his own website.

These days, PHP is still used for personal homepages, but also for business websites, online directories, massive e-commerce stores, complex web applications... the list goes on. While critics might point out perceived shortcomings compared to other languages, there's no denying PHP's capability and widespread use in powering a huge number of websites, including major platforms like WordPress and Laravel.

Getting Started – What You Will Need

You don't need prior programming knowledge to get started with PHP, though basic HTML familiarity (understanding tags like <p>, <a>, <form>) is helpful.

1. A Code Editor: You need a program to write your code. Avoid word processors like MS Word. Good choices include: * VS Code: Free, powerful, cross-platform (highly recommended). * Sublime Text: Cross-platform, popular, free trial with paid license. * PhpStorm: Paid, professional IDE with many features, cross-platform. * Notepad++: Free (Windows only). A good code editor will offer syntax highlighting (making code easier to read) and other helpful features.

2. A PHP Environment (The Server): PHP code needs to be executed by the PHP interpreter, usually running on a web server. You have a few options: * Web Hosting: Sign up with a web hosting company that supports PHP (most do). This is often the easiest way to get started online. Look for basic "Shared Hosting" packages. (The original article recommended Clook.net; many good hosts exist like SiteGround, Hostinger, DreamHost, etc.). * Local Development Environment: For faster development and testing, set up a server on your own computer. This involves installing PHP, a web server (like Apache or Nginx), and usually a database (like MySQL or MariaDB). * Bundled Packages: Tools like XAMPP (cross-platform), WAMP (Windows), or MAMP (macOS) bundle these components for easier setup. * Docker: A popular modern approach using containers to create isolated development environments. * WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux): Allows running a Linux environment directly on Windows, often simplifying web development setup. * Built-in Server: PHP has a simple built-in web server for basic testing (php -S localhost:8000), but it's not suitable for complex applications or production.

(Self-correction: Updated server environment recommendations to include modern options like Docker, WSL, and mention the built-in server's limitations.)

Learn More…

This is just a basic introduction. As you progress, you'll encounter situations requiring further research. Thankfully, because PHP is so popular, finding answers via search engines (like Google) is usually easy. Websites like Stack Overflow are invaluable resources.

The tutorials that follow this introduction (in the original series) aim to provide a gradual learning curve, starting simple and moving to more complex examples. They don't aim to cover everything but should provide a good foundation. For comprehensive details, the official PHP documentation at php.net is an excellent and essential resource.

[^1]: Source cited in original article: w3techs.com (Usage statistics change over time, but PHP remains extremely widely used on the server-side).