Top 10 Free PHP Frameworks of 2018 for Web Development

Why use PHP Framework?

Over the past couple of years, web development industry has seen innovative changes in frameworks. With the passing of time, well-known PHP frameworks like Laravel, CodeIgniter, CakePHP, Symfony, Zend Framework and Yii have simply got better and become a handy tool for developers to create large application effortlessly for web development companies in India.

1. LARAVEL

Laravel framework overview: 

Laravel is one of the most popular PHP framework out of many PHP Framework. It was introduced in year 2011. It provides faster and easier web application development.

In addition, its several options may make development faster. Its templating engine known as Blade, allow repeatable tasks like caching, authentication, sessions, relaxing routing, queuing and so on. Developers can also do hassle-free development through Homestead – its packaged Vagrant box.

Company: Laravel

Started: June 2011

Benefits: 

• The automatic pagination feature in laravel PHP framework takes care of the setting.
• Create spectacular layouts using lightweight Laravel Templates with dynamic content seeding. CSS and JS Code structural widgets are also there to assist.
• ORM stands for Object-relational Mapping which is faster than the other PHP Framework.

Disadvantages: 

• It is lightweight so it has less inbuilt support in compare to django and rails. But this problem can be solved by integrating third party tools, but for large and very custom websites it may be a tiresome task.

Important Websites: 

• https://laravel.com/
• https://cubettech.com/technology/laravel/
• https://tighten.co/laravel
• https://kirschbaumdevelopment.com/
• https://64robots.com/

Suitable for: 

• Basic web site – During this project, you may learn how to deal with Laravel, by discovering controllers, views, migrations, compile your assets with Laravel and build a basic website.
• To-do List – An easy To-do list can assist you to find the way to integrate CRUD (create, read, update, delete) practically in Laravel.
• Business Listing – During this application, you may learn the way to authenticate, add business listings and delete them.
• Photo Gallery – Here you may learn the way to make albums and update photos in that album.
• REST API – During this you may learn the way to settle requests to bound routes, update the information, and using things with a reputation and a body. We are going to put front-end using JavaScript, so we will build request to the API.

2. CodeIgniter

CodeIgniter framework overview: 

CodeIgniter is a perfect framework for rapid application development. It’s a light weight, low-hassle framework with a little footprint which can be installed simply by uploading it on your host. No special command or software installation is required, just transfer the files and you’re ready to go.

Company: Elli slab

Started: February 28, 2006

Benefits: 

• It helps web developers to find out the errors in code and fix-up the problem instantly.
• It provides you easy interface that facilitates developers to create dynamic, flexible, secure and large web applications effectively within a short period of time. 
• By using this powerful framework, Web developers can easily customize the configuration files and it provides hassle-free migration from source to destination hosting.

Disadvantages: 

• This can be a big disadvantage of CodeIgniter that there's no inbuilt ORM system unlike Yii framework (Active Record).
• CodeIgniter is PHP4 heritage code – This was applicable to the older version. Current CI version is absolutely supported with PHP 7.x.
• No Latest updates.

Important Websites: 

• https://codeigniter.com/
• http://bananabooks.co/
• http://vesture.co/
• http://aldrichart.org/
• http://studiorodrigo.com/

Suitable for: 

• Egypt CMS – It is simple to use as a base for designers as it is UI friendly.
• Warehouse - The warehouse is free for non-industrial use. PHP software system supported CodeIgniter a pair of 2 that permits you to manage the warehouse. Project covers users management, product and list management, flow of product, reports, program and straightforward backups.
• Classroom bookings - Booking  system for faculties by which classroom area can be booked.
• Ionize CMS - Ionize may be a Content Management System based on CodeIgniter. Easy, powerful and standard, ionize is built by web designers for web designers.

3. CakePHP

CakePHP framework overview: 

CakePHP is a perfect framework for beginners and for rapidly developing business web apps. It comes with code generation and system functionality to speed up the event method,while requiring less coding.

Company: Cake Software Foundation, Inc.

Started: April 2005

Benefits: 

• CakePHP offers internal validation features. The features are straightforward and economical at the same time. PHP developers can develop completely different validation rules and find advanced validation functionality.
• CakePHP has inbuilt support for PSR-2 and PSR-4, internationalization, localization etc. It also has an excellent scaffolding tools to build the DB and ORM Classes very quickly. It can generate almost all CRUD code by using command line utility. So it enables a very fast development. 
• CakePHP has all the features to support the method of constructing an ideal content management system. With the wonderful features for caching, translating, building and authenticating, one can overcome any challenges with ease.

Disadvantages: 

• Many users feel that documentation of CakePHP is insufficient and desire improvement. Despite of being easy-to-learn, CakePHP is considered to be a lot of complicated compared to other PHP frameworks like CodeIgniter. That the developers need to invest a lot of time and energy to learn numerous aspects of CakePHP.

Important Websites: 

• https://cakephp.org/
• https://croogo.org/
• http://wf.klevo.sk/
• https://10fastfingers.com/
• https://www.familyfriendpoems.com/

Suitable for: 

• Rapid Application Development with CakePHP
• CakePHP Web Application Design and Development
• Enterprise CakePHP Development
• CakePHP Customization and Integration
• CakePHP B2B and B2C development
• CakePHP Shopping Portals Development
• CakePHP Maintenance and Support Services

4. Symfony

Symfony framework overview: 

Symfony has been praised for being instantly stable, giving high performance, well documented, and standard project. Symfony is backed by the French Sensio Labs and has been developed by them.

Company: Symfony

Started: October 22, 2005

Benefits: 

• Symfony is distributed underneath Associate in Nursing open supply license, therefore you've got no obligatory constraints, and this enables you to develop proprietary solutions.
• Is considered one of the most powerful and versatile PHP frameworks.
• It is the most used framework. Some of examples of sites developed underneath Symfony: Yahoo!, Dailymotion.

Disadvantages: 

• One needs a lot of time to learn it.
• Requires learning many alternative technologies like YAML or philosophy.
• Is a heavy framework and isn't ideal for small projects.

Important Websites: 

• https://symfony.com/
• https://meinfernbus.de/
• https://www.blablacar.in/
• http://stfalcon.com
• http://www.nationalgeographic.nl/

Suitable for: 

• Web application development
• Application Development
• Social networking development
• Web site designing
• CMS development

5. Zend Framework

Zend framework overview: 

Zend Framework is a popular, Go-to skilled framework used for superior enterprise-level applications. Zend is made by keeping security, performance, and extensibility in mind.

Company: Zend Technologies

Started: March 3, 2006

Benefits: 

• Zend Framework is made by Zend Technologies, a prestigious software system company whose headquarter situated in Cupertino, CA.
• Having this company backing lends additional stability and quality to the framework.
• It’s free. Many simplest things in life are free so is that the Zend Framework. It's accredited under the new BSD license, that means it’s completely open source.
• It is well documented. There are presently over 1,000 pages within the Zend Framework Reference Guide with over 5 hundred examples.

Disadvantages: 

• Because Zend Framework encompasses a loosely coupled use-at-will architecture this makes the documentation loose furthermore so getting started is not as easy as with any other PHP framework.
• Huge documentation can be confusing sometimes.
• Lack of enough resource for the beginners.

Important Websites: 

• https://framework.zend.com/
• https://www.aroma-zone.com/
• http://www.intuit.ru/
• https://www.ouac.on.ca/
• http://www.tubelooper.com/

Suitable for: 

• Zend Skeleton Application
• Zend Application Services
• Zend Portal Development
• Zend Web Application Development
• PHP Zend Framework Web Application Development

6. Yii

Yii framework overview: 

Yii Framework could be a quick, secure and superior PHP framework that saves development time considerably with its wealthy options like MVC, DAO/Active Record, I18N/L10N, caching, authentication and role-based access management, staging, testing, etc.

Company: Yii

Started: December 3, 2008

Benefits: 

• CRUD and model generators which save lot of time (using Gii) 
• Yii allows you to decide how do you want to organize your app  
• Built-in Ajax support for Grids (search, pagination...)
• Yii Development Company have designed it very effectively to free the developers from repetitive code writing.
• It is the quickest accessible framework for developing large-scale applications. It’s seamless and quicker performance make it appropriate for developing forums, e-commerce frames, content and knowledge management system, and so on.

Disadvantages: 

• It doesn’t offer AR queries.
• It doesn’t permit multiple relations designed up.
• The Ajax features are not well drafted, so developers have to use JavaScript when required.

Important Websites: 

• http://www.yiiframework.com/
• http://www.homegain.com/
• http://www.myrealgames.com/
• https://www.wildbuddies.com/
• https://www.cheekylovers.com/

Suitable for: 

• Yii Website/Portal Upgradation
• Custom Yii Website Development
• AJAX enabled widgets development
• Yii application development
• Yii portal or website development

7. Phalcon

Phalcon framework overview: 

Phalcon is primarily based on MVC, unambiguously designed as C-extension, which means it’s completely blazing quick. It was introduced in 2012 aiming to boost execution speed, reduce resource usage, and handle more HTTP requests per second as compared to  other frameworks primarily written in PHP.

Company: Phalcon

Started: November 14, 2012

Benefits: 

• It is mostly based on MVC design, Thus speed and convenience won’t have any issue.
• It use less resources.
• It has cool features like automotive vehicle loader, quality management, caching, security, and translation.
• It has wealthy documentation.

Disadvantages: 

• Debugging requires knowledge of C Phalcon needs root access to install the PHP extension which is written in C. Developers who are planning  to use Phalcon must use VPS or Cloud Hosting with root access available.
• Doesn't work with HHVM.

Important Websites: 

• https://phalconphp.com/en/
• https://sauny-24.pl/
• https://mailfinder.io/
• https://jream.com/
• https://en.footballinclusive.com/

Suitable for: 

• Phalcon PHP Web Applications Development
• eCommerce & Customized Apps Development
• Phalcon PHP Custom Websites
• Web Applications Development Using Phalcon PHP Framework
• Phalcon PHP Integration Services

8. Fuel PHP

Fuel PHP framework overview: 

FuelPHP is a refined, modern, extremely standard, extensible, MVC PHP framework which is designed by keeping HMVC architecture in mind. Its features include light-weight and powerful ORM support, template parsing, security enhancements, its own authentication framework, and so on.

Company: FuelPHP

Started: October 2010

Benefits: 

• FuelPhp, one can write code in their own way.
• Just like CodeIgniter framework, FuelPHP is large community-driven framework used for web development. Libraries and constant modifications are being developed. Its structure helps to develop core, modules, and packages at faster pace.

Disadvantages: 

• Not very beginner friendly, need lots of efforts for learning.
• It is relatively new framework with less support.
• Documentation guides keep on changing, thus one have to learn from the beginning whenever new version is released.

Important Websites: 

• https://fuelphp.com/
• https://brevardzoo.org/
• http://shoppingvouchers.co.uk/
• https://shazoo.ru/
• https://www.zizzi.co.uk/

Suitable for: 

• Hierarchical MVC framework
• Authentication Framework
• Fuel PHP with MVC framework
• Fual PHP Website development
• Application development in Fual PHP

9. Phpixie

Phpixie framework overview: 

Introduced in 2012 with the aim of introducing a superior PHP framework for read-only websites, PHPixie is suitable for both, beginners and experienced developers.It was engineered using independent elements. These elements are accessible to be used and not the framework itself and are 100% unit tested, requiring minimum dependencies.

Company: 2012

Started: Phpixie

Benefits: 

• Fast compiling
• Very lightweight
• Comes with ORM
• 100% Unit tested
• MongoDB support

Disadvantages: 

• Modules are very less
• Still in its growing state.

Important Websites: 

• https://phpixie.com/
• http://phpixie.com.webstatsdomain.org/
• https://siftery.com/phpixie/alternatives
• https://dynamicxperts.com
• https://www.thecodearmada.com/phpixie-development/

Suitable for: 

• Web applications development services
• Customized web applications
• Social networking website
• CMS development
• PHPixie is HMVC pattern oriented

10. Fat-Free

Fat-Free framework overview: 

Fat-Free is a open source web framework,engineered specifically with usability and user experience as its primary design goals. Fat-Free contain packages for unit testing, image process, CSS compression, information validation, Open ID, and so on.

Company: F3::Factory / Bong Cosca

Started: Jul 22, 2014

Benefits: 

• Very lightweight, easy to learn, and straightforward to use.
• Easy to include your own library of PHP classes or other libraries from another frameworks.
• Fat-Free Framework is a PHP 5.3 framework.
• Well documented.

Disadvantages: 

• It has its own model class with a custom format.
• Backward incompatible within minor version
• Default ORM doesn't support joins.

Important Websites: 

• https://fatfreeframework.com/3.6/home
• http://www.kicker.com/
• https://www.sagedining.com/
• http://123cryptoworld.com/
• http://influ.be/

Suitable for: 

• Web development framework
• MVC framework
• Application development in Fat-Free