“PHP is dead”

It’s the phrase that gets tossed around in dev forums like a tired meme: but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Despite a flood of trendy JavaScript frameworks and shiny new languages, PHP still powers nearly 75% of all websites. It’s evolving, maturing, and in many ways, thriving. Read the article and discover why at Wakapi, PHP is still a key player.

1. PHP 8+ Has Supercharged the Language

PHP isn’t the clunky scripting tool from 2005. Since PHP 7, and especially in PHP 8+, the language has undergone a massive transformation.

• Faster execution via the JIT compiler

• Cleaner, more modern syntax

• Features like match expressions, named arguments, attributes, and improved type safety

The end result? PHP is more readable, maintainable, and performant than ever.

2. Laravel Is Driving PHP’s Renaissance

If PHP has a modern face, it’s Laravel. This elegant framework has helped rebrand PHP development as smart, clean, and enjoyable. Laravel offers:

• Blade templating

• Artisan CLI for automation

• Eloquent ORM for database interactions

• A vibrant package ecosystem (Livewire, Inertia, Breeze, Jetstream)

Laravel is widely used in startups, enterprise projects, and even by developers who once dismissed PHP. It’s not just functional — it’s fun.

3. Legacy Code and Massive Ecosystems

You can’t talk about PHP without mentioning WordPress, Drupal, Magento, and other platforms still dominating the CMS space.

Millions of businesses rely on PHP, and those systems need:

• Regular maintenance

• Customization and plugin development

• Performance tuning and security updates

This ensures a steady demand for skilled PHP developers — and a rich ecosystem that isn’t going away anytime soon.

4. Scalability and Affordable Hosting

PHP has always been known for its low deployment friction. Whether you're spinning up a site on shared hosting or deploying a Laravel app via Forge or Vapor, PHP remains:

• Cost-effective

• Easy to host

• Fast to scale

Even Facebook began on PHP (and still uses a customized version internally).

5. PHP Is Quietly Evolving

While other languages fight for the spotlight, PHP keeps moving forward. The community is active, mature, and focused on real-world problems:

• Composer modernized dependency management

• Tools like PHPStan and Psalm bring strong static analysis

• Modern CI/CD and container workflows integrate seamlessly

PHP isn’t trying to be cool: it’s trying to work. And it still does that extremely well.

So is PHP dead? Not even close. It may not trend on Hacker News, but PHP powers a huge part of the internet, continues to modernize, and remains one of the most practical languages for web development today.