Along with HTML, CSS and JavaScript, PHP is by far the most popular language in the world of web development. It forms the backbone for around 79% of the websites. PHP is used by some of the big names like Facebook and Wikipedia.

A PHP framework is a platform to create applications using PHP. Frameworks offer code libraries for commonly used functions which cut down on the amount of original code that is written.

Here are a few good reasons why you should use PHP frameworks:

Faster Development

PHP frameworks have built-in libraries and tools. This reduces the development time. Several popular PHP frameworks have the PHPUnit library integrated for easy testing.

Less code to write

Using functions that are built in to the framework means that don’t need to write much code.

Libraries for common tasks

Many tasks that developers will need to do while developing a web app are common. Some of the most common tasks are – data sanitization, validation and CRUD operations. Frameworks offer easy ready to use codes and developers need not write the code from scratch.

Follow good coding practices

PHP frameworks are developed in such a way that they follow all the best practices in coding. The frameworks automatically arrange the code into a cleaner, neater and more maintainable way.

More secure

There are a number of PHP security threats, including cross site scripting, SQL injection attacks and cross site request forgery. You need to make your code secure. Although PHP frameworks cannot be a substitute for writing secure code, using a framework makes it easy to implement.

Easier to Maintain

PHP frameworks encourage refactoring of code and promote DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) development. The resulting leaner codebase needs less maintenance.

Most frameworks also have great documentation and excellent support. PHP frameworks have been popular among developers and there is always something new to explore around the corner.