PHP Development
Since Before It Was Cool
And After

PHP is a server-side scripting language that powers approximately 77% of all websites with a known server-side language, according to W3Techs. PHP development refers to building web applications, APIs, and backend systems using PHP, either as a standalone language or through frameworks such as Laravel, Symfony, or CodeIgniter. PHP runs on the server, processes business logic, interacts with databases, and returns HTML, JSON, or other outputs to the client. Major platforms built on PHP include WordPress (used by 43% of all websites), WooCommerce, Magento, Drupal, and Joomla. PHP development remains highly relevant in 2026 because of this massive installed base and the maturity of the Laravel and Symfony ecosystems for professional application development.

CV Infotech's PHP team works primarily with Laravel and Symfony. Laravel is the most widely used PHP framework for new application development in 2026 — it provides an ORM (Eloquent), authentication scaffolding, queue workers, event broadcasting, and a clean MVC architecture that makes large codebases maintainable. Symfony is the framework of choice for complex enterprise applications and is the foundation that several major PHP projects (Drupal, Shopware, PrestaShop) are built on. We also work with plain PHP for legacy application maintenance, WordPress theme and plugin development, and WooCommerce customisation. CodeIgniter and Zend/Laminas are supported for existing codebase maintenance.

PHP development at CV Infotech costs $30 per hour. A simple PHP web application or REST API costs $6,000 to $20,000. A Laravel-based SaaS application costs $15,000 to $50,000. A complex Symfony enterprise application costs $40,000 to $120,000. A custom WordPress theme and plugin set costs $3,000 to $15,000. A WooCommerce customisation project costs $2,000 to $25,000 depending on the extent of custom functionality. US-based PHP development agencies charge $80 to $180 per hour for equivalent work.

Yes. PHP 8.3 (the current stable release in 2026) is a significantly more capable language than PHP 5 or even PHP 7. Modern PHP has named arguments, fibers (coroutines), union types, match expressions, readonly properties, and JIT compilation — the gap between PHP and languages like Python or Node.js has narrowed considerably. The more important factor is the installed base: WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, Drupal, PrestaShop, and Shopware are all PHP-based and serve billions of users. Businesses that have significant investment in PHP-based platforms need PHP developers who understand the modern language and its frameworks.

Laravel and Symfony are both modern PHP frameworks, but they serve different purposes and have different design philosophies. Laravel prioritises developer productivity — it provides sensible defaults, a rich ecosystem of first-party packages (Sanctum for API authentication, Cashier for Stripe billing, Horizon for queue monitoring), and an expressive API that makes common tasks fast to implement. Symfony prioritises flexibility and architecture — it is composed of independent components that can be used à la carte, which makes it the preferred choice for complex enterprise applications where full framework conventions may not fit. Laravel is the better choice for most new application development. Symfony is the better choice when building a complex system with unusual architectural requirements or when contributing to a Symfony-based platform.

Yes. Legacy PHP migration is one of the most common PHP projects we take on — PHP 5 or PHP 7 applications, custom-framework codebases, and procedural PHP scripts that have grown beyond their original design. The migration process starts with a codebase audit: we assess the architecture, identify the most problematic areas (no separation of concerns, direct SQL queries, global state), and produce a phased migration plan. For most legacy applications, we recommend a strangler fig approach — gradually replacing parts of the old codebase with well-structured Laravel or Symfony modules rather than a full rewrite, which reduces risk and allows the application to remain live throughout the migration.

Yes. Laravel is one of the most capable REST API frameworks available. Laravel Sanctum handles API token authentication, API Resources format JSON responses consistently, Form Requests validate incoming data with clear error messages, and Laravel's rate limiting and caching layers handle the infrastructure concerns of a production API. We have built REST APIs in Laravel that serve mobile applications (Flutter, React Native), third-party integrations, and JavaScript frontends (React, Next.js, Vue.js). We document every API we build using OpenAPI specifications, which we generate from PHPDoc annotations using tools like l5-swagger.

Yes. CV Infotech takes over maintenance of existing PHP applications regularly. The handover process includes a codebase audit covering: PHP version (many legacy apps run on EOL PHP versions that require upgrade), framework version, dependency audit using Composer, security vulnerability scan, test coverage assessment, and documentation review. PHP maintenance retainers typically run 8 to 20 hours per month at $30 per hour. We address the most critical technical debt in the first quarter of a maintenance engagement and then maintain a stable, secure codebase going forward.

MySQL and PostgreSQL are the primary databases for PHP applications. MySQL has the largest PHP ecosystem support and is the default database for WordPress and most PHP hosting environments. PostgreSQL is preferred for applications requiring advanced query capabilities, full-text search, JSONB columns, or complex data integrity constraints. Laravel's Eloquent ORM supports both, along with SQLite (for testing) and SQL Server. Redis is used alongside both for caching (Laravel's Cache facade) and queue management (Laravel Horizon with Redis queue driver). MongoDB is supported via the jenssegers/laravel-mongodb package for document-heavy use cases.

PHP application testing uses PHPUnit as the test runner — it is integrated into Laravel and Symfony by default. Laravel provides additional testing utilities: Pest PHP (a more expressive alternative to PHPUnit) is our preferred test runner for new projects, HTTP test helpers for testing API endpoints without an HTTP server, database seeders and factories for setting up test data, and browser testing via Laravel Dusk (which uses ChromeDriver). Coverage targets: 70%+ on business logic classes and API endpoints. Feature tests (testing the full HTTP request/response cycle) are more valuable than unit tests for most PHP web applications because they test the application as a user would experience it.

Yes. WordPress theme and plugin development is a significant part of CV Infotech's PHP work. We build custom WordPress themes from scratch (not modified commercial themes), custom plugins for specific business functionality, WooCommerce extensions for custom product types, checkout flows, and payment gateways, and REST API extensions that expose WordPress data to headless frontends or mobile apps. WordPress development follows the same standards as our Laravel work: code is well-documented, follows WordPress coding standards, and is tested with PHPUnit and WP_Mock. See our WordPress development company page for the full WordPress service scope.

Yes. CV Infotech has worked with PHP since 2012. Francisco Escobar's GiftCards platform — a client since 2012 — is a PHP application we have built and maintained for 14 years. Our PHP team works with Laravel, Symfony, WordPress, WooCommerce, and legacy PHP codebases. Our rate is $30 per hour with a 100% in-house team and 512 verified 5.0 reviews on Freelancer.com. The discovery call is 30 minutes and free. We produce a written scope document before any payment.