10 Best PHP Courses for Beginners to Learn Web Design and Development in 2024

My favorite online courses to learn PHP Programming Language for beginners in 2024, curated from Udemy, Coursera, and other popular online learning portals.

image_credit — Udemy

Hello guys, if you want to learn PHP, MySQL, and Laravel online in 2024 and look for the best PHP courses, then you have come to the right place. Earlier, I have shared the best free PHP and MySQL courses and the best Laravel Courses, and in this article, I will share the best online courses to learn PHP for beginners in 2024.

Some people desire to learn web development, but they get confused about which programming language they should pick in a world full of programming languages to start with.

But, when it comes to choosing a simple programming language for web development, PHP is a great choice and one of the most popular server-side programming languages.

PHP is a good language to start learning for web development. It is rich with so many frameworks such as Laravel and Codeigniter that make web development so easy. Many libraries are used to generate chart reports and encrypt the login credentials, and more. (Mark Zuckerberg famously used PHP to create Facebook.)

This article will introduce you to the best online courses to learn PHP from scratch; most of them are paid, but there are a couple of them which are free, and they will definitely help you learn this popular language and its framework to become a web developer and start a whole new career.

If you wonder whether you should learn PHP in 2024 or not, then let me tell you that while JavaScript and Python have certainly gained more popularity in recent years, PHP is still quite popular when it comes to web development.

There are a lot of jobs available for PHP developers, both in freelancing as well as on full-time jobs as there are millions of site which are built using PHP, mainly WordPress and they used many PHP plugins and libraries, and on top of that PHP is very easy to learn and use, so learning PHP in 2024 definitely make sense, but if you want to learn Wordpress first, this project based course is the best one to start with.

Build a Full Website using WordPress

10 Best PHP Online Courses for Beginners to learn Website Development in 2024

Without wasting any more of your time, here is the list of best PHP courses for beginners and experienced developers. These courses have been curated from sites like Udemy, Coursera, Pluralsight, and Educative and created by expert trainers and educators and trusted by thousands of developers worldwide.

They are also very affordable, particularly Udemy courses, which you can buy for just $10 on Udemy sales which happens now and then.

1. PHP for Beginners [Udemy best Course]

This is one of the best PHP course on Udemy with over 37 hours in video content suitable for beginners and anyone who want to learn PHP from scratch.

Created by Edwin Diaz, a web developer and popular Udemy instructor this course will teach you everything about PHP like data types and embed PHP with HTML and the statements as well as the functions.

After that, you will learn some intermediate topics like security and encryption and preventing some vulnerabilities like SQL and finally build a CMS system like WordPress.

You will also learn MySQL, Ajax as well how to refactor and debug your code, and how to use PHP for creating real-world projects.

Talking about social proof, more than 97,000 students have already joined this course and it has on average 4.4 rating which is amazing and says a lot about the quality of this PHP course. I highly recommend this course to every beginner who wants to learn PHP in 2024.

Here is the link to join this course — PHP for Beginners

2. Build a Social Network from Scratch [Udemy]

There is no better way to learn a new programming language, framework, or technology than doing projects and if you love to learn by doing then you will also love this hands-on PHP course from Udemy.

Created by Reece Kenney, this is a great course to learn PHP is to practice and create a social network starting by installing the environment, creating the login form, building the website, making newsfeed-like posts and profile pages for users adding notifications and the account settings, and much more.

Talking about social proof, more than 11,500+ students have joined this course and it has on average a 4.5 ratings from 2500 participants which are simply great.

If you want to build a non-trivial PHP project like a social network like Facebook or Instagram then I highly recommend you to join this course.

Here is the link to join this course — Build a Social Network from Scratch.

3. Web Applications for Everybody [Coursera]

This is a massive specialization or certification program on Coursera offered by the Michigan University for learning the PHP and building web applications from scratch and starting by understanding the basic structure of the web application.

Here are the main things you will learn in this course:

1. How to install your development environment
2. Developing a database application with PHP and MySQL
3. Using JavaScript to interact with a PHP web app
4. Modeling many-to-many relationships

This course also introduces you to databases technology, especially SQL. It connects it with PHP and more until you create one from scratch.

Along the way, you will also create several web apps to build your developer portfolio. This course will prepare you, even if you have little to no experience in programming or technology, for entry-level web developer jobs in PHP.

More than 44% of learners who have joined this course have started a new career after joining this course which is a big testament about the quality, of course, I highly recommend to learners who love learning on Coursera in a structured and guided way.

Here is the link to join this course — Web Applications for Everybody

By the way, if you find Coursera courses useful, which they are because they are created by reputed companies and universities around the world, I suggest you join the Coursera Plus, a subscription plan from Coursera which gives you unlimited access to their most popular courses, specialization, professional certificate, and guided projects.

Coursera Plus | Unlimited Access to 7,000+ Online Courses

4. PHP Fundamentals [Pluralsight]

Pluralsight is another great online learning platform for programmers and developers and since I have Pluralsight membership, I spend a lot of time there and that’s the reason, I always include a Pluralsight course on my list.

If you are looking for the best PHP course on Pluralsight to start your career then this course is for you. This course will teach you the foundations of PHP programming on the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP).

Created by Jill Gundersen, this is a friendly course for beginners to learn PHP from the scratch. You will start with the syntax of this language such as integer and float, which are data types, and then moving to use functions and make your code and easy to understand and learn classes and objects and do some web programming.

Here are the main things you will learn in this PHP Course:

1. PHP Syntax
2. Built-in PHP Functions
3. Persisting data across web pages
4. connecting to a database

In short, a fantastic beginner-level course to get started with the world’s most widely-used server-side programming language, PHP.

Here is the link to join this PHP course — PHP Fundamentals

By the way, you would need a Pluralsight membership to join this course which costs around $29 per month or $299 per year (14% discount). I highly recommend this subscription to all programmers as it provides instant access to more than 7000+ online courses to learn any tech skill. Alternatively, you can also use their 10-day-free-pass to watch this course for FREE.

Pluralsight | Personal Free Trial

5. PHP with Laravel for beginners [Udemy Course]

If you are looking for a course to learn Laraval along with PHP then this Udemy course is suitable for you. While PHP can be used to create a web application, but it's a lot easier and a best practice to use frameworks like Laravel for better and secure code.

Created by Edwin Diaz, instructor of the first course in this list, this course will teach you almost everything you need to know to be a Laravel developer from the data types to connecting to SQL databases and security as well as sending emails and more.

This is one of the most popular PHP frameworks used to create web applications. In this course, you will understand everything you need to know, starting with learning some of its libraries such as encryption, working with databases and CRUD operations and the login and sign-up system, and more.

By learning the Laravel framework, you can build some amazing web applications such as an E-commerce application, photo share app, an employee management system, and more.

Here is the link to join this course — PHP with Laravel for beginners

6. Object Oriented PHP & MVC by Brad Traversy

The best way to learn any language is to practice as much as you can, and this course will teach you to create a PHP framework and then build web applications using that.

This course is created by Brad Traversy, one of my favorite Udemy instructors for learning web development. I have taken his HTML, CSS, and JavaScript courses before, but I didn’t know earlier that he has a PHP course, but when I found it, I just joined, and I must say I wasn’t disappointed.

This course has the right pace and right length. You will learn about PHP in a hands-on way in 6.5 hours. You learn about PHP and Object-Oriented Programming and MVC architecture, and more importantly, you will also learn how to deploy PHP applications.

Here is the link to join this course — Object Oriented PHP & MVC

7. PHP Unit Testing with PHPUnit

As a professional PHP developer, you must know how to write unit tests for your PHP code, and it’s even more important for beginners to start doing the right things from the beginning. That’s why I have included a PHP unit testing course on this list.

When it comes to unit testing in PHP, the PHPUnit is the most popular library, much like JUnit in Java. Using PHPUnit, you can write tests to find bugs quickly and early and improve your code quality.

Here are key skills you will learn in this course:

• How to write automated tests for your functions and classes
• How to write better code with fewer bugs in less time
• Develop code using test-driven development
• Know that the code you write works how you want it to
• Have improved documentation for your code

If you are a PHP developer and want to learn how to write better code with fewer bugs, you will need to know how to write unit tests, and this course is best for you.

Here is the link to join this course — PHP Unit Testing with PHPUnit

8. PHP for Beginners: How to Build an Ecommerce Store

If you are looking for a PHP project, then this course is for you. In this course, you will learn PHP by building an ECommerce store from scratch.

This course is also created by Edwin Diaz and it’s a 15-hour long course is a step-by-step guide to create an eCommerce website in PHP.

Unlike many other PHP projects, this course’s project is more function-based, more secured; you will learn more techniques, better organization of code, and learn how to upload your final application to the web.

Here is the link to join this course — . PHP for Beginners: How to Build an Ecommerce Store

9. PHP for Beginners by Tim Buchalaka [Best Udemy Course]

This is another great course to learn PHP from scratch on Udemy. Created by Tim Buchalaka, one of my favorite Udemy instructors and his team, this course is specially created for beginners who want to learn PHP from scratch.

This course starts by setting up the environment and teaching PHP programming basics like the variables and arrays.

After that, it provides a nice introduction to HTML and mixing it with PHP, then understanding and connecting the database technology with PHP as well as OOP and authentication and sending emails, and more.

Along the way, you will build a Content Management System from scratch with PHP and MySQL and learn several key skills like how to structure your code using object-oriented programming techniques and how to use relational databases for storing data using PHP.

You will also learn things that are important for real-world PHP development, like integrating third-party code into your site and how to write reusable, more maintainable code by following programming best practices—overall, a complete PHP course for beginners to learn PHP from scratch.

Here is the link to join this PHP course — PHP for Beginners by Tim Buchalaka

10. Learn PHP from Scratch [Free Educative Course]

If you are looking for an interactive course to learn PHP online in 2024 then this text-based, interactive course from Educative is the best free course to start with.

If you don’t know, Educative is a new online learning platform where you can learn new tech skills. It allows you to execute code right on your browser which makes learning faster as you don’t need to download any software or set up your environment.

This free PHP course is a highly interactive course introducing students to the fundamentals of one of the most widely-used and free languages in the world.

You will walk away with the ability to effectively create web applications, mastering concepts such as classes, inheritance, and exception handling.

Here is the link to join this course — Learn PHP from Scratch.

And, if you find the Educative platform and their interactive courses useful then you can also get an Educative Subscription that provides access to not just this course but their 210+ courses in just $14.9 per month. It’s very cost-effective and great for preparing for coding interviews

Educative Unlimited: Stay ahead of the curve

That’s all about the best online courses to learn PHP in-depth. In this list, we have covered online courses to learn PHP programming language and PHP frameworks like Laraval and PHPUnit, which are essential to creating real-world applications using PHP.

When you start learning web development, don’t think to learn any language other than PHP because it is widely used, so you will find a large community ready to help you and the easy syntax of its code and the ability to scale your websites.

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Thanks for reading this article so far. If you find these best online PHP courses for beginners useful, please share them with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or feedback, then please drop a note.

P. S. — If you are keen to learn PHP but looking for a free online course to start your PHP learning journey, then you can also check out this Practical PHP: Master the Basics and Code Dynamic Websites course from Udemy. It’s completely free and more than 250K people have joined to learn PHP in 2024.

Free PHP Tutorial - Practical PHP: Master the Basics and Code Dynamic Websites