Do you know that PHP serves as the backend technology for more than 77% of all websites on the internet? In this article, I’ll discuss the top 5 PHP frameworks for shared hosting covering the pros and cons of each framework.
Shared hosting is one of the most popular and affordable options. There are many other websites hosted on the same server which reduces the speed as well.
So, let’s start with what’s PHP and what’s PHP framework.
What’s PHP?
PHP is a free and open-source server-side scripting language for web development used by millions of websites.
The code of PHP is run on the server and the results are displayed in the browser. It can be used to create dynamic web pages, process form data, or even send and receive cookies.
Developer: Rasmus Lerdorf and PHP Group
Release date: June 8, 1995
Popular users: Wikipedia, WordPress, Tumblr, and Yahoo!
What’s a PHP Framework?
A PHP framework is a pre-written, organized, and reusable code to quickly and easily develop web apps. In addition, frameworks can help prevent code vulnerabilities by providing security features.
PHP frameworks are made up of several different components, libraries, and mostly used functions each of which plays an important role in the overall framework.
So, which is the best PHP framework for shared hosting? The framework with high performance, more features, and ease of use is considered to be the best.
There are a few different types of PHP frameworks available for shared hosting, each with its pros and cons so let’s take a look at them.
Laravel
Laravel is a free and open-source PHP framework with an expressive and elegant syntax.
It’s based on Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern. It’s considered to be one of the most popular PHP frameworks for shared hosting due to its many features and popularity.
The famous PHP framework is mostly compared with the popular Python framework Django.
Release date: June 9, 2011
No of websites: More than 1.1 Million
GitHub stars: 70.2K
Famous users: BBC, Pfizer, About You.
The following are Laravel’s pros:
- Easy to learn and use
- Comprehensive and easy-to-follow documentation
- Great community support
The following are Laravel’s cons:
- Unconventional routing system
- Complex template system
- No new updates are pushed
CakePHP
CakePHP is a free, open-source, rapid development framework for PHP. It comes with built-in tools for input validation, CSRF protection, Form tampering protection, SQL injection prevention, and XSS prevention.
Release date: April 2005
No of websites: More than 12K
GitHub stars: 8.5K
Famous users: Glen Raven Inc, 10FastFingers, InSync Solutions
The following are CakePHP’s pros:
- Flexible and easily scalable which means you can create small websites or large enterprise applications
- Very secure
- Easy to use and develop apps
The following are CakeePHP’s cons:
- Not a big community support
- Slow to render complex pages, due to the number of files that need to be loaded
- Hard to understand documentation
Symfony
Symfony is also a free and open-source PHP web application framework for MVC applications. It provides reusable components and tools for developers to build complex web applications faster.
Release date: October 22, 2005
No of websites: 35K
GitHub stars: 27K
Famous users: Spotify, Dailymotion, BlaBlaCar, Drupal CMS
The following are Symfony’s pros:
- Faster to develop with
- Very flexible to make any kind of application
- Reusable code makes it easy to understand and scale the project
- Very fast
The following are Symfony’s cons:
- Challenging to learn and use because of OPP (Object Oriented Programming)
- Code testing may require more time
Yii2
Yii2 is a free and open-source PHP framework for rapidly developing, modern web applications following the DRY (Do not repeat yourself) principle. It was released as the successor to Yii Framework 1.1.
Release date: May 2013
No of websites: 320K
GitHub stars: 13.9K
Famous users: PeoplePerHour, Discovery, Fujitsu
The following are Yii2’s pros:
- Provides the latest features and performance enhancements
- Many security features like support for data encryption, output filtering, and input validation
- Very lightweight and fast
The following are Yii2’s cons:
- Not as widely used as other frameworks
- Hard to learn
CodeIgniter
CodeIgniter is a powerful and open-source PHP framework with a very small footprint, built for developers who need a simple and elegant toolkit to create full-featured web applications.
If you’re a fan of simplicity, CodeIgniter might be the right tool for you. It’s known for its straightforward and clean syntax.
Release date: February 28, 2006
No of websites: 541K
GitHub stars: 18.2K
Famous users: Ola, BirdView, SocialDog
The following are CodeIgniter’s pros:
- CodeIgniter is fast, reliable, and flexible
- Has a very small footprint
- Faster than other frameworks (developers challenge you to find a faster framework than CodeIgniter)
The following are CodeIgniter’s cons:
- It’s an old framework and new features are not supported
- Hard to create new functionalities
- No built-in templating system, user authentication, and support for caching
Why Use a PHP Framework?
A PHP framework can be an effective tool for web development. It can save you time and effort by giving your code structure.
Additionally, it might assist you in organizing and maintaining your code better.
It can also give you a mechanism to test your code and ensure that it works as intended.
Following are some of the reasons why you should use a PHP framework.
Easier To Develop
With the help of a PHP framework, PHP developers can easily develop their apps by following a standardized structure.
Faster for Development
Frameworks not only help to make the process easier but also speed up the development process
More Features With Less Code
With a PHP framework, developers can create web applications with more features and functionality with less code. This is because frameworks provide a structure for developers to follow, which saves time and effort in the development process.
What are the Best Hosting Services for These Frameworks?
There are a few things to consider while choosing the best hosting for a PHP framework.
For example, when selecting a host for PHP, be certain that the host supports PHP 7. This language’s most recent version provides a significant performance boost over earlier versions.
Following is the list of the best hosting services for a PHP framework.
| Hosting Service | Price/month | No of sites | Traffic/month | More |
 | $1.99/month | 10 | 25,000/month | Visit |
 | $12/month | Unlimited | Unlimited | Visit |
 | $6/month | Unlimited | Unlimited | Visit |
Conclusion
In this article I’ve discussed about the 5 best PHP frameworks for shared hosting along with the pros and cons of each framework.
The most popular PHP framework is Laravel. It offers great performance and security, and it’s also one of the most user-friendly frameworks.
What do you think what other PHP frameworks for shared hosting should be on this list? Let us know in the comments.
