10 of the best online resources to learn PHP

The best way to learn PHP, or really any other language, is by practising writing code. Pick a simple practice project, implement it, and then pick another one. You don't have to create a beautiful website to practice. Create an ugly website that serves as your sandbox for trying out code.

 You now want to learn about programming in PHP, but where do you start? If you don’t know where to start, here are few great sites to learn PHP programming online for free.

PHP.net

The first and the best place to learn PHP is PHP.net. This is PHP’s official website. This site has everything you need to know about PHP. So when you definitely know that you want to create a website in PHP, start the tutorial and get busy.

Once you have learned the basic concepts to creating a PHP based website, it is time to look at the user manual. Everything you need to know is there. Once you have finished reading, you should now be a PHP expert.

w3 Schools

w3 Schools offers tutorials for programming in PHP and other scripting languages, but we are going to focus on the PHP section.

At w3 Schools, you can learn the basics of PHP such as the syntax, variables, strings, arrays, selection and loop statements, how to use forms and much more. Once you have mastered the basics, you can then go onto the advance stuff such as includes, file uploads, cookies, sessions, and how to send secure emails.

So you think you are done learning? Nice try. We still have heaps more to learn. There is PHP and XML, PHP and AJAX, and PHP and References still to go. Once done and you think you know everything there is to programming in PHP, try the online quiz, then attempt the exam.

PHP: The Right Way

PHP: The Right Way is an easy-to-read, quick reference for PHP popular coding standards, links to authoritative tutorials around the Web and what the contributors consider to be best practices at the present time.

There is no canonical way to use PHP. This website aims to introduce new PHP developers to some topics which they may not discover until it is too late, and aims to give seasoned pros some fresh ideas on those topics they’ve been doing for years without ever reconsidering. This website will also not tell you which tools to use, but instead offer suggestions for multiple options, when possible explaining the differences in approach and use-case.

This is a living document and will continue to be updated with more helpful information and examples as they become available.

Planet PHP 

Planet PHP is the good blog site to learn PHP by expert's experience. so you can subscribe Planet PHP blog.

Stackoverflow.com 

The best website to learn PHP is your own website, seriously. Give yourself a tough project and just google for solutions to any obstacles, there is no better way to learn than pure experience. You will write horrible code, and as fast as a couple days later you'll be able to recognize the horrible mistakes you made a week earlier, but never stop and never feel confident.

The first year at least will consist almost entirely of this incremental learning process, even when you feel you've got it all down. stackoverflow.com is the best website to learn by practice and fix your own practical issue.


PHPBuddy

PHPBuddy contains articles and tutorials on how to do basic PHP tasks such as how to work with Sessions, and encrypting and protecting your PHP code, so it is worth checking out.

PHP Fundamentals - Tuts+ Course

Envato Tuts+ offers video courses and written tutorials to help you learn creative skills in code, design and illustration, web design, game development, craft, and more.

Envato Tuts+ tutorials are available to you completely free—all 21,740 of them!. Based around specific projects, they include step-by-step written instructions and screenshots to help you practice and master the skills needed to create a practical outcome. you can learn PHP from here.

YouTube

Youtube, in my opinion, is one of the best places to learn PHP. There are a lot of people to follow, with extensive lists to watch PHP tutorials. In fact, many of the sites mentioned above have channels that features a lot of the sites mentioned above, and the best part is that they are all free.

learn-PHP.org 

Another tutorial site, learn-PHP.org, is a great place to learn the basics of PHP. The site provides a code window along with an output window where you can actually write code and see instantaneous results.

There is no need to download any code or set up a complicated environment - everything is done right there on the site. Although the site focuses on the basics of PHP, it’s constantly under construction, meaning new tutorials are constantly being added.

PHPAcademy

If you are looking for video tutorials, code examples, and a forum with a comprehensive community, PHPAcademy is the perfect place to go. It is one of the best tutorial websites because their videos focus on what’s important and very easy to understand and implement yourself.

What’s nice about PHPAcademy is that it doesn’t just focus on PHP; it also focuses on CSS, jQuery, Javascript, and MySQL, as well as how they can connect with PHP to get a better understanding of the complete picture when building a website.

Learning PHP is integral to your success as a web developer. It has countless benefits and uses, and the resources are plentiful to ensure your success.