For noob programmers and those who are new to WordPress development, PHP coding is one of the best way to start your carrier in programming. It’s super simple and straightforward language, so it’s pretty easy to master it. Many of you know the world famous WordPress CMS yes it’s been coded in PHP, it is the backbone of WordPress and many other well known CMSs. So kiddo! you gotta learn it by heart [heart]
If you passed your Mid school (though there is no bar for learning anything) or you are pursuing something which not interest you and you don’t want to spend months or years in expensive courses, You could take the first step in learning web development. There are hundreds of free and paid PHP tutorials that can help you get started with this, and we’ve rounded up over the best 15 for you.
All websites has their own style of teaching, some teach you in an academic way and some gives you tutorials, and some websites offer you online live codes to learn and test; so there is something for everyone, from old-fashioned do-it-yourself documentation and guided tutorials to interactive lessons with games and exercises to help you master your PHP programming skills. Whatever your learning method, you will find a suitable website in this list.
It takes a lot of work to master PHP, but with a little online help, you can practice your skills and start writing your own code in no time.
Why you should learn PHP programming?
Before knowing that know what is PHP?
PHP is known as a server side scripting language which is mainly used to create dynamic web pages. You’ll see PHP is capable doing things like generating interactive content, collecting form data, sending information to users, authenticating users & managing users. It is also a backbone of WordPress, Drupal, Joomal and it’s plugins, which add all kinds of unique functions to any popular Php based CMS. You can do just about anything you want with PHP.
Generally, It is very easy to master and is a good choice to start learning a language for new coders. If you have programming knowledge, you should put it to good use. But even beginners will not have too much trouble navigating the intricacies of PHP.
And if you are immersed in WordPress development, PHP is a must-have. It’s needed to edit WordPress or write themes and plugins, and it’s the heart of the whole CMS. HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are also languages to consider, but none are as built into WordPress as PHP.
Last reason to learn PHP: Like other programming languages, it has a huge community and a ton of free resources. This means that there are many places you can turn to for help, exchange ideas, download free software, or find helpful guides.
On that note, let’s dive into these PHP tutorials that you can find online.
Top 15 Free PHP Tutorials For Beginners
If you can’t afford paid tutor or college or just want to try out PHP to see if you can understand it, the below mentioned websites of PHP tutorials are good to start. There are plenty of free tutorials out there that are as good as some paid courses. Many experienced developers claim that they started with free online resources and you might not even need to purchase paid PHP courses!
So here is the list of tutorials websites each of these websites offers a unique way to learn PHP. Let’s start here, and if you need personal guidance to learn PHP, you can move on to the paid PHP tutorials as well.
1. Official PHP manual
Best website to understand PHP!! start with the official PHP documentation from the creators of PHP. This guide walks you through everything from an introduction to PHP to how to install it and enter basic syntax. It’s a wonderful tutorial website to start learning PHP, especially if you’re already a self learner via manuals or documentation.
The best part is, it keep on updating the advanced level syntax but some beginners find it hard as it covers some advanced features but that’s a good part! it can’t take you far in coding. It’s also pretty straightforward which is fine for some, but as said beginners who are not from the computer background might take time to learn from these guided tutorials.
Check out the documentation and read some sections. See how it works for you. For many, a reference manual and lots of self-taught practice is the best way to learn.
2. PHP Tutorial from W3Schools
W3Schools is a great resource for beginner PHP web developers of all ages. It teaches in a very simple and easy way, in addition it gves you references, examples and many exercises along with quizzes to help you learn PHP. You can even get a online certification from W3Schools.
If you want to learn a PHP programming language and are looking for fun and easy to use tutorials, check out the W3Schools documentation.
3. PHP: The Right Way
Like any programming language, PHP has some best practices that you should follow. If you don’t, your code will be slow and cumbersome, and maybe even broken entirely. PHP: The Right Way tells you about all the programming standards that might not be obvious to new developers.
This website is specifically designed for PHP developers who want to improve their skills and learn new techniques. It offers tons of tutorials, articles, tips and tricks which can be extremely useful for experienced PHP developers. So if you are looking for some great PHP resources, then don’t forget to check out PHP the Right Way!
It’s not a beginner’s tutorial website that will take you step by step, but still worth reading so that you can create some quality code.
4. FreeCodeCamp Free PHP Tutorial
If you enjoy watching video tutorials, this massive five hour session is perfect for you. The full course covers all the basics of PHP in depth, showing you everything you need to know from A to Z.
Devote an afternoon to this activity, and you will come out of it as a beginner PHP programmer. If you’ve already studied a bit of PHP and want to move on, you can skip to any section by clicking on the timestamps in the description.
5. Learn PHP with Codeacademy
Do you want to learn by yourself directly ? Codeacademy is a completely free resource that teaches through code rather than just video or text tutorials.
After joining this course, you will be able to create your own dynamic websites by following step-by-step instructions. If you are looking for a comprehensive guide on learning PHP from scratch then Codecademy’s PHP tutorial is definitely worth checking out.
This site has interactive lessons, and it also offers quizzes, articles, and free-form projects to practice. It’s like a self-administered college course. All you need to do is create an account.
Codecademy offers some great PHP courses which are totally free to join. The course is designed for total beginners who want to learn how to code using PHP language. If you are looking for a comprehensive guide on learning PHP from scratch then Codecademy’s PHP tutorial is definitely worth checking out.
6. PHP Apprentice
Beginner or experienced, PHP Apprentice advises you. This free online book is a work in progress, currently at twenty-two small pages, most of them filled with examples of PHP in action. It’s a bit like typical programming documentation, but much simpler and easier to understand.
7. PHP Tutorials from GeeksforGeeks
Many of these free resources cover the basics and not much else. This massive set of tutorials go absolutely everything in review, covering all the functions and libraries that PHP has to offer.
This site reads less as a guide than as a documentation, so if you liked the official PHP manual but want something a little more substantial, give this site a try.
8. TutorialsPoint PHP tutorial
This is another absolutely huge resource for learning PHP, but rather than very simple, documentation-like pages, it is structured more like a series of tutorials. There’s a lot here, from the basics to more advanced topics, plus examples of using PHP for logins , forms, and with AJAX.
9. PHP Basics Playlist
If you haven’t figured out the basics videos, you just need these free PHP tutorials on YOUTUBE. although there many other channels as well but we think these are quite short and build interest in. These 35 videos are relatively short , 5 to 20 minutes, which cover lots of different topics. You can watch the entire series for free in about five hours.
10. Learn PHP in Y Minutes
Want to learn PHP fast? This document goes over everything briefly and without frills, just code. There are no too long explanations, it manages to compile PHP into one page. It’s Ideal if you like to-the-point tutorials.
11. Learn-php.org Free Interactive PHP Tutorial
The special thing about this PHP tutorial is that it is a set of interactive exercises that encourage you to try live coding and review if you can achieve the correct result. If you write incorrect code, it will tell you where you went wrong, just like a real code compiler. Try it out if you want to test your syntax codes in real time with a guided lesson.
12. The Net Ninja’s PHP Tutorial for Beginners Playlist
If you want to build your own website from scratch, here is the perfect list of video on Youtube. By using PHP and MySQL together, you can build a fully functional website with a database and learn to code all kinds of functions like forms and data validation. These videos are excellent and you will learn a lot from them.
13. PHP5 Tutorial
This documentation walks you through PHP and MySQL with lots of useful images and easy-to-follow advice. The only downside is that it focuses only on PHP 5, which has already reached its end of life . PHP 5.6 is still widely used on the web, but it’s probably best to work with PHP 7 if you can. This website still covers the basics of PHP fairly well, so it may still be worth a read.
14. Traversy Media’s PHP Front To Back Playlist
Check out this playlist : it will teach you everything there is to know about PHP in a series of 22 video tutorials. It goes through the basics like PHP installation and syntax, then discusses advanced implementations like MySQLi integration and cookie settings with PHP .
15. PHP SoloLearn Tutorial
SoloLearn made their lesson series fun and interesting. Quizzes help you remember what you’ve studied, while achievements and interactive content keep you interested. All you need to do is create an account and you can even take the course on your phone and online. With over a million students, a lot of developers have started here.
Coursera’s “Building Web Applications in PHP” course provides a comprehensive, yet accessible, introduction to PHP web development. This free, self-paced course spans approximately 30 hours and is ideal for those with basic programming knowledge. Students will delve into PHP fundamentals, database integration, and building dynamic web applications. Practical exercises and real-world projects solidify learning, making it an excellent choice for aspiring web developers looking to enhance their PHP skills.
Article Updated 2024
