PHP Frameworks provides a platform to create Web applications. It is the abstraction to provide generic functionality that could be changed by additional reusable user-written code in programming selectively.
The PHP frameworks provide well-organized and reusable code which can help you grow over time as web applications running on frameworks are easily scalable.
Using PHP frameworks simplifies the development process, minimizing the workload. Each framework has its own strengths and weaknesses, and they all differ in terms of the communities, documentation, and databases they support.
Laravel
Laravel is the one of the most popular PHP Frameworks, it’s a free, open source PHP Framework that has the ability to provide security and ability to handle the most complex web applications with acute speed and relative ease of basic processes such as routing, sessions, authentication and caching.
It is based on an MVC architecture and uses its own templating language called Blade, which makes it easy to create HTML layouts.
As for accessing databases, Laravel uses Eloquent ORM which is easy to understand and use.
Symfony
Symfony is a mature framework that revolutionized PHP development.
Apart from being a framework, it offers a set of reusable components that can be used directly in any PHP project.
These components are used in countless open-source tools, including Laravel.
It’s based on the MVC pattern and offers object-relational mapping using Doctrine ORM. When it comes to creating views, it uses the Twig template engine to help you render HTML.
It works on performance optimization and thus is by far one of the fastest PHP Framework.
CodeIgniter
CodeIgniter is an MVC framework based on PHP that helps developers rapidly create new projects.
One great thing about it is that it’s not a restrictive framework and can be used like a toolkit that speeds up development.
It is most suitable for dynamic website development.
With its light footprint as light as 2MB including documentation, CodeIgniter offers prebuilt modules for robust and reusable components for construction purposes.
Due to its dynamic nature, its highly customizable and can always customize the website as per the requirements thus saving time, efforts and manpower.
Phalcon
The most popular PHP Framework amongst all the PHP Frameworks that use full stacking is Phalcon which employs MVC architecture to provide highest execution speeds.
It’s a high performance oriented Framework which offers a rich set of functionalities.
It’s also good for high load and consumes very few resources and more so requires an even lesser number of file operations.
Users can use their own base and individual elements while site structuring with the help of ORM Technology thus making Phalcon PHP Framework offer better asset management skills.
CakePHP
CakePHP takes the cake when you are looking for the simplest Frameworks amongst all the popular PHP Frameworks, ever since its inception in the early 2000s.
CakePHP is an open source platform thus making it easily accessible and open for use to all users and developers.
It works on ORM technique i.e. object relational mapping technique.
It has an inbuilt ORM which is highly capable.
It was among the first MVC frameworks to come into the PHP development ecosystem in the early 2000s, and it has since grown into a mature framework with tons of features.
The way CakePHP is designed makes it stand out because it offers a convention-based setup. By setting up a database with specific naming conventions, CakePHP can automatically work without any configuration.
That is why CakePHP is known for its simplicity since it’s all about working with databases and easy going CRUD scaffolding (create, read, update, delete).
FuelPHP
FuelPHP comes with two versions i.e. the basic MVC architecture and its self-developed HMVC (Hierarchical MVC) architecture to avoid data redundancy and duplication, thus saving memory and time.
FuelPHP is flexible and a community driven web Framework which is easy to use and configure.
It’s designed in such a way that it is extremely portable and works on almost all servers.
FuelPHP is one of the most lightweight PHP Frameworks due to its lightweight ORM model.
It offers a secure authentication and authorization Framework along with code that are reusable and easily maintained.
Slim Framework
Slim is a PHP micro-framework.
It has fewer features than a typical framework but helps you create simple yet powerful web apps and APIs.
It includes features such as routing, middleware, and advanced request handling to help you build applications quickly.
Features that are commonly found in most frameworks such as database access tools are not included in Slim but can be easily installed as outside dependencies using the Composer dependency manager.
Slim is suitable for building microservices, restful APIs for single-page applications (SPAs), and scalable systems.
Slim is the fastest micro RESTful Framework which is in full compliance with PSR-7.
It comes with good documentation thus making it one the most popular PHP Frameworks when it comes to the ease of learning and understanding.
Slim Framework is easy to use and quite straightforward in its concept of middleware.
Zend
Zend is built on agile methodology, aiming to deliver high-quality applications at an enterprise level.
The framework is entirely object-oriented and was built keeping speed, security, performance, and extensibility in mind.
Zend offers high customizability and stands with PHP’s top practices, which is highly beneficial for developers who wish to incorporate project-specific functions.
Due to its concentration in enterprise applications, it comes with a surplus of components for tasks such as authentication, services, forms and much more.
But even though it comes with many tools that make the life of a developer fairly easy, it is still not ideal for rapid application development.
Zend framework packs feature such as an easy to use drag and drop editor, coding tools, online debugging tools and a scalable interface useful for complicated websites.
PHPixie
PHPixie has been using Hierarchical MVC full-stacking PHP Framework for high-performing read-only websites which in turn has been deemed suitable for social networking websites, customized we applications and web app development services; thus crowning it as one of the top PHP Frameworks.
As one of the best PHP Frameworks for web developers, PHPixie is also the most lightweight PHP Frameworks as it provides a restricted full stack feature that focuses on effectiveness and efficiency
Yii Framework
Yii is the top PHP Framework when it comes to using simple yet evolutionary, high performance, component based PHP Framework suitable for developing all sorts of modern websites and web pages, therefore making It a universal web programming PHP Framework.
Yii Framework is one of the sought-after and popular PHP Frameworks when one of the project requirements is shortened development time.
Yii Framework works on offers a tight security via XSS, cross site scripting, avoidance of cookie attacks via the usage of HMAC (Hash Based Message Authentication) and CSRF Prevention.