PHP is one of the most popular and commonly used software development languages today. It powers more than 82% of the web. Besides supporting sites like Facebook, Yahoo, and Wikipedia, PHP is also used for running CMS like WordPress and Joomla, etc.
Since the language is used for almost everything from CRMs to content management systems, both startups and multinational brands need to Hire PHP Programmers.
To assist the hiring managers in recruiting the best resource for their organization, we asked the PHP experts to help with some tips. You might want to take note of the following things when hiring a PHP developer:
No worries. Download a copy so you can read it when it is convenient for you.
Why Choose PHP over other languages
How to Hire a PHP Developer
Hiring a Freelancer vs Dedicated Team
Challenges of Hiring PHP Developers
Benefits of Hiring a PHP Developer
Conclusion
Why Choose PHP over other languages
WHY PHP?
PHP (Hypertext Processor) formerly known as Personal Home Page, is the fastest growing server-side programming language that is used to develop both static and dynamic websites. It is one of the oldest (more than two decades on market) and one of the widely used scripting languages.
PHP was originally developed as a generic template language and has attracted many novice developers, who have little or no formal training. Being a highly accessible programming language, beginner developers often write weak/sloppy codes using PHP when they are learning. As a result, PHP is often criticized as lacking style and robust development practices.
But the existence of bad code in no way means that the coding language itself is weak or bad. In fact, PHP accumulates bad rap for the same reasons it is so useful. Some of the many benefits of PHP are:
There is no need to purchase additional software, it is completely free to use. Also, the community of PHP developers is pretty massive and is constantly sharing upgrades and code libraries.
It allows expansion of a website due to its innate flexibility embedded in the code. You can add as many modules as you want for enhancing the functionality of your product.
Apart from being an open source, PHP is equipped with a range of integrated solutions that have zero licenses, fees or restrictions. This helps in reducing the overall cost of developing a website.
PHP is fully compatible on all leading platforms including Windows, Linux, MacOS, RISC OS, and UNIX, etc. It works flawlessly on all major web browsers and web servers including; Apache, Microsoft Internet Information Server, Personal Web Server, Netscape, iPlanet, and Caudium, etc.
PHP is recognized as one of the fastest programming languages due to its own memory that is aimed at decreasing data processing time and loading time.
PHP offers complete control over the website without much effort. It allows you complete flexibility in coding applications the way you want.
With the release of PHP7, aimed at making the language faster and easier to use than ever, there are no doubts that PHP is here to stay. Big organizations are already talking about the impressive results of upgrading to PHP7. For instance, Tumblr has reduced latency and CPU load by 50% after switching to PHP7, and Dailymotion is now handling twice the amount of traffic with the same site structure by using PHP7.
CodeIgniter and Laravel are two of the most useful PHP frameworks that allow developers to create scalable and high performing applications. Thanks to the highly active community of PHP Developers who are continuously putting out new demos, tools, plugins, and modules, etc., these two frameworks are now widely used for prototyping and faster application development.
Other frameworks that PHP Development teams also use include:
PHP is used in three main areas:
How to Hire a PHP Developer
Who is a PHP Developer?
A PHP Developer is responsible to write, test, and maintain the code for your web pages. Their main assignment is to create and implement programs, apps, and websites. They need to work with different frameworks, understand the various levels of complexities and address related tasks. When you plan to Hire PHP Developers, pay close attention to the skills claimed by the applicant or the team you choose.
If the list is smaller than below, you might want to look for other options:
Familiar with CMS like WordPress, Drupal and Joomla, etc. Knowledge of control systems (SVN / Git). Working with SQL / MySQL databases. Experience with frameworks like Laravel, CodeIgniter, and Yii2, etc. Knowledge of OOP (object-oriented programming), HTML, and CSS. Good understanding of JavaScript and AngularJS.Hiring a PHP Developer is pretty much similar to hiring a designer or a software engineer, though with some specifics in mind. It requires time, focused attitude, and technical knowledge. To help you get a better idea and to break it down into stages, hiring PHP Developers will normally go in the following order:
Shortlisting of the candidates is the first step.
Shortlisted candidates are met in person. They are assessed on the basis of their personal preferences, corporate ethics, ideas, and goals.
Test Conducting a technical test helps you evaluate the skills of the shortlisted candidates. The test can be based on the PHP tasks that are handled on day-to-day routine.
After verification of a candidate’s references and evaluation of their competencies and portfolio, you can make the final decision about their hiring process.
Placing a vacancy announcement on social channels and job sites is a classic way to find and Hire PHP Developers. Another great way is to filter and scroll through profiles of different PHP Development agencies available on freelancing sites i.e. Upwork, Freelancer, and Guru, etc.
You can also discover experienced PHP developers by attending PHP specific conferences and events that happen around the year. Also, you do not want to miss screening the developers’ forums i.e. PHP Builder, PHP Freaks or PHP Developers Network. You can also look through the IT Companies directories i.e. Clutch and Goodfirms, to shortlist a reliable and experienced team of PHP Developers.
Placing a vacancy announcement on social channels and job sites is a classic way to find and Hire PHP Developers. Another great way is to filter and scroll through profiles of different PHP Development agencies available on freelancing sites i.e. Upwork, Freelancer, and Guru, etc.
You can also discover experienced PHP developers by attending PHP specific conferences and events that happen around the year. Also, you do not want to miss screening the developers’ forums i.e. PHP Builder, PHP Freaks or PHP Developers Network. You can also look through the IT Companies directories i.e. Clutch and Goodfirms, to shortlist a reliable and experienced team of PHP Developers.
A PHP developer’s salary and hourly rates depends on their qualifications, skill set, experience, and location, etc. According to Indeed, the average salary of a PHP Developer, located in the United Kingdom, is about £36000 per annum. While in the United States, the average salary of a PHP Developer is $86000 per year.
Developer’s skills are used as a key factor for determining the fixed salary or hourly rate. For productive PHP Development, skills such as PHP, JavaScript, MySQL, HTML and jQuery are considered as a mandatory knowledge base. Extra skills add up to the salary counter i.e. Drupal+10%, ASP +3%, Magento +3%, .NET + 3%, Symfony +3%, Ajax +3%, ColdFusion +3%, and DHTML +3%.
You need to plan questions that should be related to the technical aspects of the project and working process a candidate will adopt. Here’s a list of a few technical questions you should ask your developer as recommended by our PHP experts:
You might want to include additional questions related to Ajax, HTTP, data structures, testing basics, security, and performance. If your work environment is agile then ask about their concepts regarding agile methodologies. You can also include questions such as interesting projects the candidate has worked on, the biggest challenges they had to overcome, and their favorite framework.
Although we have given you a basic set of questions you can ask your developer to learn about them, you can also start with more engaging conversations with candidates by asking them about the unique challenges their team relies on them to tackle.
You might want to avoid putting too much pressure to catch every single detail, but here is a list of a few things that you should know about the daily tasks they have to manage:
Your PHP developer is responsible for writing the code that makes front-end UI work flawlessly. Therefore, it is important to know whether or not your developer has sufficient experience in tackling similar tasks.
PHP developers need to ensure databases store and recognize all types of information that includes text, numbers, and the ever-popular emoji symbols.
PHP developers are responsible for creating apps that require users to submit personal information. Security of the developed applications are in the hands of these individuals which is why it is crucial that the candidate has sufficient experience in creating secure and SQL injection-proof products.
Hiring a Freelancer vs Dedicated Team
Hiring a Freelancer vs. Hiring a Dedicated Team
Choosing between outsourcing companies and freelancers always depends on your specific project requirements and the available budget. Due to the massive popularity of PHP, there are literally thousands of skilled PHP-Developers in the market. In fact, you can now use special platforms I.e. Upwork and Freelancer to filter out the most recommended development agencies and top performing freelancers to save your time and money.
Hiring a dedicated PHP Development team has basically become a norm for software outsourcing. Dedicated teams of various sizes and skills are available who are willing to help with one specific long-term project. Whether you plan to launch a game, website or an app, with this model of cooperation you can enjoy complete control over the process.
Hiring a dedicated team is best for:
Things you need to check when hiring a company:
Second option to build an app or a website is to hire a freelancer. This could be trickier but costs you less. Hiring a freelancer works great when you precisely know what type of app you want. And whether it suits you to manage a person throughout the project timeline, and make all decisions on design, testing, functionality, etc. You can use sites like Guru, Freelancer, Fiverr, and Upwork to find and hire a PHP Developer to help on your project.
Challenges of Hiring PHP Developers
Challenges of Hiring PHP Developers
One of the primary ways to hire PHP developers is to use freelance platforms like Upwork and Freelancer. Although these platforms have thousands of offers, they do not guarantee the quality of work. Hence, you end up spending several days in order to find qualified team members.
There are three main challenges that are tough to beat whether you choose to hire a freelancer or an agency:
Projects can be easily managed when working distantly with your team, but it could be a lot more difficult when team members are in different locations
Hiring resources from other countries or regions can lead to communication problems due to language differences.
Cultural differences can impact your interpretation/understanding of tasks as well as overall workflow.
Hiring freelancers as compared to agencies is quite a difficult task as you are looking for a single resource with advanced skills, work quality and responsibility. Finding an exceptionally talented and low-cost developer is equivalent to winning a lottery. In majority of the cases you will get developer with:
Hiring a dedicated team is best for:
| Type | Cost | Control | Quality | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancers | Low | Low | Variable | Short term |
| In-house developers | High | High | Variable | Long term |
| Dedicated agencies | Medium | High | High | Long term |
When it comes to PHP development agencies that offer professional and experienced teams and care about their brand repute, there are risks involved too. Some issues include:
Benefits of Hiring a PHP Developer
Benefits of Hiring a Dedicated PHP Development Team/Agency
Following are the benefits associated with the hiring of dedicated teams from PHP development companies and agencies:
You do not have to seek out individual members to form a team, with an agency. A team is already present and ready to go. You can easily communicate with the project manager and other members of the team, as they are all in one place. There are no issues such as office space rent, miscommunication among the team members, or time zone differences. Every phase or iteration of the project is carried out in a systematic manner.
A dedicated team can help both startups and established enterprises. You can have greater control over the team’s work, tasks, and priorities. All work procedures are fairly transparent which keeps everyone on the same page. Teams can easily adjust to changes in the project technicalities, scope of the work and are able to quickly tackle unforeseen issues.
The best thing about hiring a dedicated PHP development agency is that you get to choose your developers based on the listed skills and their rates. Secondly, you always have the option to add more team members to speed up the project work or adjust the work scope as the agency hired works exclusively for you.
You can hand pick the developers with skills you and your team are looking for. As programming tools and tech stacks are constantly evolving, you can easily adjust team members.
But before you choose a Hire PHP Developers team that will dedicatedly work on your project, you should know the pros and cons of doing so:
| Cons | |
|---|---|
| Full team control and proper management | Costly for small projects |
| Predicted and flexible budget | Changing project scope/goals in the process have a risk of cost exceeding the budget |
| Full dedication of all members to your project | Hiring a dedicated team does not guarantee success by default |
| Visibility of project/tasks progression | A project manager is still very much recommended |
| Focus and quick reaction to project changes |
Conclusion
So, What Does it All Boils Down to?
Software outsourcing is a great option as it combines an experienced developer’s skills with affordable costs. Dedicated Development Teams (DDTs) are recommended for long-term projects with a constant workload but you need to have a clear understanding of the possible challenges that are associated with hiring dedicated agencies and how to overcome it.
If you want a quality product then DDTs are the best option and here is what we can offer with a dedicated development team.
Send us brief details about what you have in mind and how you want our team to help.
We will get back to you with our relevant packages that you can choose from.
Our team will plan a meet-up or schedule a Skype call to discuss and finalize the project scope and requirements.
You can request additional services i.e. post-launch technical support, and ongoing app maintenance, etc.
Once the decisions have been made and exchanged in black and white, our team will start their software development magic.
Feel free to reach us at [email protected] with any questions and orders about software development. Our team will be happy to help.
At Hire PHP Developers, we provide quality solutions that are designed to ensure unparalleled performance and functionality. Operating since 2007, we have served as a creator, supporter, and trouble-shooter across the software industry. Our services include:
Our value-added services are what make us different. While other companies charge extra for the following services, we offer them absolutely free-of-cost and package them to suit your requirements:
Unlike other organizations, our Technical Managers are trained with excellent English speaking and writing skills, equipped with technical knowledge, and carry hands-on experience in the respective field.
From conception to completion, we stand by your side and help you with the most modern and up-to-date designs that are bound to get you the best results. Got an idea you want to bring to life? Write to us at [email protected] or give us a call at 0800 046 5667.