5 Popular PHP Frameworks for Developers in 2021

PHP is an open-source server-side scripting language. It may surprise you, but nearly 80% of all websites were using PHP as of the end of 2020. As it has a wide variety, how would you know which PHP framework would work best for you?

For now, we bring to you 5 most popular PHP frameworks that you can use in 2019!

1. Laravel

Laravel is one of the tops and most popular PHP frameworks of the world as of now. It was intended for the development of web application by using MVC architectural pattern and is released under the MIT license. This reliable PHP framework follows expressive and accurate language rules and deserves top rank because it can handle complex web applications securely at a pace faster than other frameworks.

It proves to be great with applications having complex backend requirements. Laravel is the best option for developers who want to build B2B or enterprise websites that evolve with changing web trends.

Laravel’s source code is hosted on GitHub.

2. CodeIgniter

CodeIgniter is a powerful PHP framework that weighs only about 12 MB in size (with documentation). It is best suitable for developing dynamic websites and is specially built for developers who like a simple and elegant toolkit to create full-featured web applications. In fact, it is one of the best options for creating dynamic websites using PHP. It is lightweight and straightforward. Its pre-built modules help the developer to construct robust and reusable components, which makes it ideal for beginners. Developers also don’t need to rely upon the MVC development pattern in this. CodeIgniter allows third-party plugins, making it extremely useful to implement complicated functionalities. Obviously, it also offers great security and encryption procedures.

3. Symfony

Symfony is ranked 3rd in popularity as far as PHP frameworks are concerned. It is right behind Laravel and CodeIgniter. It is a reliable and mature platform. It is the perfect choice for developing large-scale enterprise projects. The best part is, it’s easy to install and configure on most platforms, and can integrate with projects like Drupal. Symfony targets advanced developers and are slightly harder to start with.

It is one of the most feature-rich PHP frameworks, with the two most outstanding technological benefits – Bundles and Components!


While the bundle's feature is almost the same as a plugin, the components are generic features that reduce the routine tasks, allowing the developers to focus on specific business features.

4. CakePHP

CakePHP has brought in a lot of utility in common, making it apt for users, developers and consumers alike. It has taken a lot of control over how a web development system should work cohesively with the latest utility factors, business processes, and market proponents. It’s simple, elegant and can help the developers create visually impressive and feature-loaded websites. It is one of the easiest frameworks to learn and makes a good choice for commercial applications due to its security features.

5. Zend

It is an object-oriented framework and thus utilizes a lot of object-oriented (OO) concepts like inheritance and interfaces, making the developers deliver high-quality applications to enterprise clients. It allows developers to implement their own special variations of individual components without having to hack into the framework codebase itself.

It is highly customizable and enables developers to add project-specific functionalities, if required, allowing to create functionality that is unique to the project. Furthermore, because of its object-oriented nature, one can use this functionality in other projects as well.


Due to this reason, Zend is the most preferred framework for large IT departments and banks.

The decision on the best framework may depend upon factors like security, ease of use, scalability, documentation, and much more. The developers can start by understanding the requirements of the project or application and choose the most suitable PHP framework from the aforementioned list!

Author Bio

Sophia is one of the top resources at Technisun Solutions Pty Ltd. and contributes towards the company’s content and SEO requirements. Technisun Solutions Pty Ltd. is one of the most trusted web designing Company Australia. Sophia enjoys DIY projects when not working on the computer!