PHP remains relevant today due to its dominance in content management systems and continuous modernization.1. It powers over 70% of known server-side websites, largely because of WordPress.2. PHP 8 introduced performance boosts and features like JIT compilation.3. It excels in CMS-driven sites via WordPress, Drupal, and Laravel.4. E-commerce platforms like WooCommerce and Magento rely on PHP.5. PHP is efficient for custom apps using frameworks like Laravel.6. It supports API development, though less trendy than Node.js.7. Alternatives like Node.js or Go may be better for real-time or cloud-native apps.8. To start or return to PHP, use Laravel, Composer, PHPUnit, and follow best practices.
PHP has been a foundational language in web development for decades, and while newer technologies have emerged, it still plays an important role—especially in areas like content management systems, e-commerce platforms, and server-side scripting.

Why PHP Is Still Relevant
Even though some developers consider PHP outdated, the truth is it powers over 70% of websites whose server-side language we know—mainly because of WordPress. That alone keeps PHP relevant. It's also continuously improving: PHP 8 brought significant performance boosts and modern features like JIT compilation and union types.
If you're maintaining or building a site that needs to integrate with WordPress, Drupal, or Laravel-based apps, PHP is still a solid choice. It's especially useful when you need something up and running quickly without reinventing the wheel.

Common Use Cases for PHP Today
- Content Management Systems (CMS): WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal are all built on PHP. If you're building a blog, business site, or news portal, these tools can save you a lot of time.
- E-commerce Platforms: WooCommerce, Magento, and OpenCart rely heavily on PHP. These are go-tos for online stores, especially when customization and plugin ecosystems matter.
- Custom Web Applications: With frameworks like Laravel and Symfony, developers can build scalable, secure applications faster than starting from scratch.
- API Development: While not as trendy as Node.js for APIs, PHP can still handle RESTful services efficiently, especially when integrated with modern frameworks.
These use cases show that PHP isn’t going away—it’s just shifted from being the default backend option to being a specialized tool where it still shines.
When You Might Choose Something Else
PHP might not be your best bet if you're building something highly interactive or real-time, like a chat app or live dashboard. In those cases, JavaScript-based stacks (like Node.js with React) offer better integration and real-time capabilities.

Also, if you're working on microservices or cloud-native applications, languages like Go, Python, or even Rust might be more suitable due to their performance characteristics and ecosystem support.
Still, for many small to mid-sized web projects, especially those relying on existing PHP-based tools, switching stacks might add complexity without clear benefits.
Getting Started (or Back into) PHP
If you're new or returning to PHP, here are a few tips:
- Start with a framework like Laravel—it gives structure and modern features out of the box.
- Learn how Composer works; it's PHP’s package manager and essential for managing dependencies.
- Get comfortable with tools like PHPUnit for testing and PHPStan for static analysis.
- Understand how to work with databases using PDO or Eloquent ORM.
- Practice writing clean, reusable code—PHP makes it easy to write messy scripts if you’re not careful.
The key is to treat PHP like any other modern language: follow best practices, use version control, and stay updated with new features.
Basically, PHP isn't the future of everything, but it's still doing a lot of heavy lifting on the web today.
The above is the detailed content of PHP's Role in Web Development. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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