What is PHP? Those new to website design or business owners wanting to launch a site will inevitably hear about the PHP programming language and wonder exactly what it is. In technical terms, a PHP website is one that has been partially programmed in what is known as “Hypertext Pre-processor”. This coding is what’s called “server-side” language, which helps to make pages load more quickly.
In layman’s terms, the answer to what is PHP is it is a type of language that is used in conjunction with HTML to produce some really neat effects. In other words, it means that HTML is pretty lackluster. But add PHP language to a website’s code and it can perform a number of different functions. Sophisticated designers incorporate PHP frameworks into their designs for far more flexibility. Moreover, they do so early on, when the website architecture is first being developed.
What is PHP?
Simple PHP resides on the server. The best way to explain this is to think of old dail-up connections. In the past, websites were coded from top to bottom with all the necessary languages and mark-ups. That made them sluggish and slow to load. The reason being is when a user typed in a URL, the user’s machine had to load all those lines of code.
That was plain HTML code. But a PHP website “rests” its code on the server which the website is hosted. So, when the URLs of PHP websites are entered into an addresses bars in browsers, the users’ computers do not have to “build” the code. Instead, the PHP language is read through the user’s Internet connection. That significantly reduces load time.
PHP Examples in PHP Website
Reduced load time isn’t the only benefit of having a PHP website. There are many more. Below are just a few of the most advantageous reasons for having PHP websites:
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PHP programming is used in webdesign & building websites
Performing calculations. Things like calculating the day, month and year to time of day to simple and complex mathematical functions such as monetary and measurement conversions.
- Collect user information. If you want to add a forum to your site, using PHP language can help. The programming language can also add user information to an address book.
- MySQL database interaction. This is useful for many functions. This allows sites to display an online inventory, publish a product catalog, create a search feature for the website’s content or a log-in panel for registered users.
- Graphic creation and editing. Another great feature of using PHP is the ability to create and manage graphics. It simplifies the task of resizing images, changing colors and rotate them.
So, there you go; that’s the answer to what is PHP. If you want a fully functional website with all the aesthetic design bells-and-whistles, then contact us for a free consultation. We can design a site for you that utilizes PHP and gives it the many benefits plain HTML sites lack.
About Tina Quinn
Tina Quinn is a blog writer for CQuinnDesign. She frequently researches new SEO and Web Design methods and ensures that the web designers & SEO Professionals working for CQD stay current on their techniques and practices.
This is an excellent PHP Overview. PHP is a super dynamic and robust language. With increasing support for OOP, I think we will see PHP stick around for many more years, and personally, I am glad that it is here to stay.
Great post!