PHP is among those web development technologies that continue to have the lion’s share despite the arrival of several new contenders in this segment over the years. However, like many other web development technologies, PHP has evolved significantly with time. The PHP development professionals do not resort to manual coding extensively anymore. They prefer using PHP-based frameworks or development tools.
There are inherent benefits of using such PHP development tools or IDEs. These tools enable faster website and application development, and there are other advantages too. These tools are designed with the aim of reducing development hurdles, and they ship with support for emerging web development technologies. These tools offer excellent third-party integration. Seeking the services of veteran PHP development entities can be useful in this regard.
Things to check when picking a PHP development tool
Nowadays, you can pick from several PHP development tools for website or application creation. However, it is prudent that you keep some time for assessing such PHP development tools. A thorough assessment and comparison of these tools will help you in zeroing in on the apt one. The expertise of a professional PHP development company will be useful here.
Here are the aspects that you need to check when looking for PHP development tools and IDEs:
- The tool has to be easy to use, and it should have a simple UI.
- You have to check the tool for integration with other web technologies and programming languages.
- It is good if the tool can be used across different OSes.
- You also have to look for community support and resources.
The top PHP development tools
Listed below are some of the popular PHP development tools:
- NuSphere PhpED- PHP developers who are looking for a comprehensive and powerful PHP development tool usually settle for NuSphere PhpED. This robust PHP IDE ships with an advanced PHP editor, database client, Profiler, and PHP debugger. So, developers get access to a broad range of tools and tweaks that ease the process of web development. This IDE is good when you want to develop large and complex websites without hassles and delays. PhpED supports HTML, CSS3 and PHP 7.1. It supports the top PHP frameworks like Zend and Yii.
- Aptana Studio- This is a PHP development tool that is used along with a number of client-side and server-side web technologies like CSS3, Ruby on Rails, and Python. It has a command-line interface and debuggers. This eases the process of PHP app development. PHP developers can use this tool to make and test web applications within a single environment. This high-performance PHP IDE supports the newest HTML5 specifications. It, however, is not a lightweight tool.
- CodeLobster- This PHP development tool supports major PHP frameworks like CodeIgniter, CakePHP, Symfony, Laravel, and CMS solutions like Joomla and Drupal. It comes with an internal PHP debugger. So, codes can be validated locally. It detects current server settings automatically and then configures related files. Features like SQL manager, Syntax highlighting, and Autocompleting of keywords make things better for the developers. Its UI is, however, rather outdated.
- PHPDebugbar- It is a handy PHP debugger that can be used with various types of projects. It supports JavaScript and HTML, apart from PHP. It is capable of inspecting CSS elements. PHPDebugbar ships with a network traffic monitoring feature too. The UI is simple and intuitive as well. It supports PHP 5.5 and subsequent editions.
- Zend Studio- It races ahead of competing PHP development tools because of its speed. Developers do not need much time to compose and debug code in it. This PHP IDE ships with a wide range of features, including an intelligent code editor. Its support for Eclipse Plugin works in its favour. Zend Studio supports languages like C++, JavaScript, and Visual Basic. It, however, has a steep learning curve, and documentation is huge.
- PHPStorm- This is a PHP development tool preferred a lot by developers owing to its fast and lightweight nature. This Java-based PHP IDE supports PHP frameworks like CakePHP, Symfony, Yii, and Laravel. It is also compatible with CMS tools like WordPress, Drupal, and Magento. Its support for popular frontend technologies like HTML5 and JavaScript makes it desirable. This PHP development tool integrates with databases and offers multiple handy features like efficient auto-completion and unit testing. It runs on Linux, Microsoft Windows, and Mac OS X.
The development tool has one drawback, and that is the heavy hardware requirement. It will run slow if the PCs have less than 16 GB Ram.
- Netbeans- This cross-platform IDE was initially developed for developing Java-based applications, but now it is used widely for PHP development services. It is fast and pretty lightweight. Support for popular programming languages like C++ is there, and it is HTML5 compatible. Using it, you can develop multilingual web apps. This free, lightweight PHP development tool supports popular PHP frameworks like CakePHP, FuelPHP, and Symfony 2. It is great for running server-based applications. Drawbacks include resource-hungry nature and slower execution.
- AWS Cloud 9- This is an open-source cloud IDE that ships with a development environment supporting plenty of programming languages like C++, JavaScript, and Python. Developers get access to pre-configured environments and start creating web applications with useful features like live preview and browser compatibility testing. Its collaborative coding features are also handy. Cloud 9 enables developers to share development environments with co-workers easily. They can create serverless applications. It supports Real-time language analysis.
Since it is backed by Amazon, this IDE lacks support for online storage services like Dropbox and Google drive.
- Sublime-Text- It is not exactly a fully-fledged PHP IDE, but Sublime Text is a powerful source code editor. It is fast, intuitive, and has cross-platform compatibility. Its top features include auto-indentation, Syntax highlight, and a Custom UI toolkit.
- Eclipse- This is a powerful PHP development tool preferred by veteran agencies offering PHP website development services. It ships with several useful plug-ins to ease the process of application development. It has features like code formatting and syntax highlighting. Language support is pretty wide, and it supports PHP, Prolog, C, COBOL, Scala, Groovy, Perl, Ruby, and Python. Eclipse offers multilingual support, and the UI is nice. The Intellisense feature is still not refined, and it can hang sometimes.
Summing it up
Based on your project needs and budget, you have to pick the apt PHP IDE or development tool. However, it is also necessary that you hire a suitable PHP development agency offering custom PHP development services. Ensure the agency is proficient in using the specific PHP IDE you want. Check the client base of the agency and obtain their feedback as well. It also makes sense to check out the portfolio of these agencies. Assess the PHP applications and websites developed by them carefully. Finally, check out their terms of service and charges.
