Is PHP still used much in website design?

[byron2k12]

I have a few websites but have only a small amount of PHP knowledge but currently studying it.

I'm mostly involved in e-commerce but lend a hand to people here and there who want very basic websites for personal uses.

 

So take for example:

 

1. Making an e-commerce website for a client.

There are so many platforms and shopping carts out there that they almost come ready made like this! Steps: Wordpress - WPcommerce plugin, drag-and-drop your website widgets, some messing around in settings... and bang website up and running.

 

2. Making a blog. Steps: Wordpress, Theme, Written Content, Done. In effect that is it, you never get to see the PHP files even, so what i am trying to ask is if i devote the next few months to studying PHP will it pay off, will i become 10 times better at helping people with website design or is the fact that so many things are coming out now to make designing easy that PHP knowledge isn't really much of a necessity?

 

Thanks.

 

 

[Barand]

circa 1986 there was a code generation package on the market called "The Last One". It's marketing blurb claimed that no-one would ever have to write a line of code again.

[Hall of Famer]

Well PHP is still the most popular web programming language at this point. It is relatively easy to learn for beginners, and its syntax is similar to C++/Java so those who have desktop application development find it easier to get used to PHP. Not mentioning PHP is specialized to code in dynamic web pages. So yeah, there is a reason why PHP is popular and will be popular.

[trq]

PHP has nothing to do with web design.

[Jessica]

PHP has nothing to do with web design.

 

That was my first thought. Plus, the question in the title and the general question in the post are different. OP is really asking if he should learn PHP. And seems to think that it would only take a few months to learn enough to be good at it.

[floridaflatlander]

The stuff you make or are "involved with" to paraphrase you seems like it is or would be generic. You say working with wordpress "you never get to see the PHP files", I don't know what to say about that remark, maybe you haven't really looked.

 

With that said I have seen some wp sites with generic stuff that looked great but that came from the css side.

 

Maybe you just need to stick to design and farm out any php code you need to have writen, of course you would need to know were to stick the code and have an idea what the coder was talking about. So ...  yes it would be  worth "the next few months to studying PHP".

[byron2k12]

PHP has nothing to do with web design.

 

 

I know i don't just mean the look or cosmetic part which is all CSS and HTML i just mean for someone who creates websites in their spare time would it help them do A LOT MORE if they knew PHP or are there so many available options out there today for people without PHP knowledge that it really isn't needed unless you are seriously into making websites.

[floridaflatlander]

It sounds like you're wanting someone to tell you you don't need to learn php.

 

Well PHP is still the most popular web programming language at this point. It is relatively easy to learn for beginners, and its syntax is similar to C++/Java so those who have desktop application development find it easier to get used to PHP. Not mentioning PHP is specialized to code in dynamic web pages. So yeah, there is a reason why PHP is popular and will be popular.

 

Maybe you just need to stick to design and farm out any php code you need to have writen, of course you would need to know were to stick the code and have an idea what the coder was talking about. So ...  yes it would be  worth "the next few months to studying PHP".

[KevinM1]

PHP has nothing to do with web design.

 

 

I know i don't just mean the look or cosmetic part which is all CSS and HTML i just mean for someone who creates websites in their spare time would it help them do A LOT MORE if they knew PHP or are there so many available options out there today for people without PHP knowledge that it really isn't needed unless you are seriously into making websites.

 

This is still a bit vague.

 

There are options for people who don't want to write code themselves.  It comes in the form of pre-packaged software, like WordPress or Joomla.  They're full-featured options that allow one to install plugins and various themes to get it to work and look the way they want.  As a coder, I find pre-made software to be a bit limiting, generally because I've yet to find one that does things exactly how I'd like, so I tend to have to go under the hood and tweak code anyway.

 

In a more general sense, if you want a site to do more than just sit there and look pretty, you'll need to use some sort of back end processing.  PHP is the most popular and readily available choice because:

 

It's free.

It's easy to learn.

It's easy to install (if you're in charge of what's on the server).

It's installed on just about every web host on the planet, both linux and Windows.

 

One need look no further than Facebook to see it's continued relevance.

 

All that said, there are other viable options out there.  On the linux side of things, both Ruby on Rails and Python are popular choices.  Things are more limited/dire on the Windows side, with only ASP.NET MVC as a real viable choice (let's not talk about ASP.NET webforms....).

 

So, really, the answer to the question depends on what you want to do, and how you want to progress.  There's nothing wrong with using pre-made software.  There's nothing wrong with writing everything from scratch.  Both have pros and cons.  Language choice is largely irrelevant as all those I listed allow you to do the same thing, but in different ways.

[shlumph]

If you're a talented web designer and not only learn some programming (any web language), but learn how to program well, it will be beneficial to you.  I think that's an obvious fact.  Most web designers come across clients that need some sort of custom programming.  In that case, they have to budget some of their income to hire a programmer.

 

The thing is, most people aren't efficient in both web design and programming. 

 

I could spend 8 hours trying to make a logo.  And it would look like crap.  I could also spend $150 and have a talented graphic designer make one in two hours.  For me, it's more wise to hire the graphic designer because I make more then $150 in 8 hours.

 

Not sure if I'm going off in the wrong direction, but hopefully this will give you some insight.  In the end, it's up to you and how efficient you could become at both.

[byron2k12]

If you're a talented web designer and not only learn some programming (any web language), but learn how to program well, it will be beneficial to you.  I think that's an obvious fact.  Most web designers come across clients that need some sort of custom programming.  In that case, they have to budget some of their income to hire a programmer.

 

The thing is, most people aren't efficient in both web design and programming. 

 

I could spend 8 hours trying to make a logo.  And it would look like crap.  I could also spend $150 and have a talented graphic designer make one in two hours.  For me, it's more wise to hire the graphic designer because I make more then $150 in 8 hours.

 

Not sure if I'm going off in the wrong direction, but hopefully this will give you some insight.  In the end, it's up to you and how efficient you could become at both.

 

Okay now that is a reply and a half, and yes you just cleared up a lot there. Yeah i think i was kind of going for the knower of everything master of nothing where i am able to do a lot but wouldn't really be an expert in any area. But that's interesting what you said there about how things work like with the web designer hiring a programmer and that.

[byron2k12]

It sounds like you're wanting someone to tell you you don't need to learn php.

 

 

Ha ha just for the record you're not wrong.

[spiderwell]

many editors write php for you too, like dreamweaver.

[Christian F.]

Having seen some of the code that DW produces, I'd recommend to stay far, far away from it. I've seen complete beginner write better code than what DW spits out.

 

My advice is that if you don't want to learn PHP then don't learn it. While there are many good reasons why anyone would want to learn it, none of them really matters if you don't want to learn the language. Would be lot better just to hire someone to write the code for you in that case, just like you do with other tasks that requires a lot of knowledge and experience in order to accomplish (building houses, fixing cars, plumbing, etc).

[byron2k12]

Having seen some of the code that DW produces, I'd recommend to stay far, far away from it. I've seen complete beginner write better code than what DW spits out.

 

My advice is that if you don't want to learn PHP then don't learn it. While there are many good reasons why anyone would want to learn it, none of them really matters if you don't want to learn the language. Would be lot better just to hire someone to write the code for you in that case, just like you do with other tasks that requires a lot of knowledge and experience in order to accomplish (building houses, fixing cars, plumbing, etc).

 

 

Well you see i don't know how important it is nowadays when it comes to creating a website, for example when making a small online store for someone, you can literally have one made within a few hours with all the WP plugins and shopping carts available. So i was thinking is there a need for a knowledge of PHP when you can simply go and just install wordpress plugins to create the site. So either that's the case or it's the opposite; that it's more important than ever to have a great knowledge of PHP because there are so many websites popping up today (as nearly anyone can make one) that you need to be able to make a website stand out in what it can do and just in general what the customer/user experiences while on it.

[ask9]

@byron2k12

 

If you want FREEDOM then learn PHP and Framework.

If you want to stay in the box then don't learn it.

 

Wordpress for me is for noobs.

If you learn PHP & Framework not only you can make website you can also make your own WordPress System and perhaps much more better.

[Jessica]

@byron2k12

 

If you want FREEDOM then learn PHP and Framework.

If you want to stay in the box then don't learn it.

 

Wordpress for me is for noobs.

If you learn PHP & Framework not only you can make website you can also make your own WordPress System and perhaps much more better.

 

You say "Framework" like there's one thing to learn. There are so many different frameworks to choose from, and they all work differently. Saying "learn Framework" is like saying "learn Software". What framework? If a developer starts out with a framework I think they cripple themselves. You need to have some experience doing raw PHP before adding in any libraries.

 

Wordpress is for noobs? *eyeroll*. But yet you think it's worthwhile to reinvent Wordpress, without the years of experience and user feedback they have. I'd hate to use a CMS designed by you.

 

 

[Christian F.]

If you don't know how important it is, why are you trying to justify your lack of desire to learn PHP by the way of flawed reasoning. All the reason you need to for not learning PHP is that you don't want it, and it's a perfectly valid reason too.

Also, it's pretty much the only (valid) reason for not learning PHP.

 

Just don't try to convince the rest of the world that you don't need to learn PHP, because other people knows/are learning PHP. That constructs a paradox and thus is a self-defeating argument.

 

BTW: Why reply to my comment about the DreamWeaver code, and speak about a completely unrelated system?

[Adam]

Well you see i don't know how important it is nowadays when it comes to creating a website, for example when making a small online store for someone, you can literally have one made within a few hours with all the WP plugins and shopping carts available. So i was thinking is there a need for a knowledge of PHP when you can simply go and just install wordpress plugins to create the site. So either that's the case or it's the opposite; that it's more important than ever to have a great knowledge of PHP because there are so many websites popping up today (as nearly anyone can make one) that you need to be able to make a website stand out in what it can do and just in general what the customer/user experiences while on it.

 

What big, successful companies do you see using a Wordpress site full of plug-ins? Some may have started out that way, but at some point the time will come when it's necessary to upgrade the platform for one of many different reasons; be it performance, customisability, advanced features, internationalisation, etc. That's where the industry professionals come in.

 

You can scrape together a living slotting a bunch of plug-ins together and getting paid peanuts for it (because as you say anyone can do it), or actually invest a lot of time into developing your knowledge that will eventually earn you a lot of money.

[byron2k12]

What big, successful companies do you see using a Wordpress site full of plug-ins? Some may have started out that way, but at some point the time will come when it's necessary to upgrade the platform for one of many different reasons; be it performance, customisability, advanced features, internationalisation, etc. That's where the industry professionals come in.

 

You can scrape together a living slotting a bunch of plug-ins together and getting paid peanuts for it (because as you say anyone can do it), or actually invest a lot of time into developing your knowledge that will eventually earn you a lot of money.

 

 

Now that is a dam good reason to learn it, but also made me see that wordpress is nothing compared to being able to "completely" customize a website to what ever way you like to do what you want etc. I thought wordpress was the answer to creating a website and no knowledge of code was needed ever, but while that can be true, for myself based on that and other reasons it is a very good idea to learn it.

 

Thanks.

[byron2k12]

If you don't know how important it is, why are you trying to justify your lack of desire to learn PHP by the way of flawed reasoning. All the reason you need to for not learning PHP is that you don't want it, and it's a perfectly valid reason too.

Also, it's pretty much the only (valid) reason for not learning PHP.

 

Just don't try to convince the rest of the world that you don't need to learn PHP, because other people knows/are learning PHP. That constructs a paradox and thus is a self-defeating argument.

 

BTW: Why reply to my comment about the DreamWeaver code, and speak about a completely unrelated system?

 

People like you who try to make themselves sound smart generally aren't, i don't really care how much knowledge you have in relation to what's answered on theses forums, but don't come along on a thread i started and write crap like that, if you feel you're some kind of a genius and you were offended by my slight change of subject when replying to your post then you're not someone i want to hear from again.

[premiso]

People like you who try to make themselves sound smart generally aren't,

 

I think I just peed in my pants a little! Thank you.

[byron2k12]

I think I just peed in my pants a little! Thank you.

 

 

Ha thanks for liking that post.

 

Also thanks to all people who gave genuine replies, you will notice i clicked like underneath

Edited September 26, 2012 by byron2k12