Toptal is a marketplace for top remote PHP developers, experts, engineers, programmers, coders, architects, and consultants. Top companies and startups choose Toptal professional PHP development services for their mission-critical PHP web development projects.
Nima is a skilled React developer with over a decade of experience in PHP, JavaScript, and Java. He excels in building web applications and websites, from the infrastructure (configuring and optimizing web servers, DNS, and security) to the client-facing side (UI, UX, SEO, and GA). He has migrated platforms without losing sales and search results rankings, assisted in the creation of a search engine, and created an open-source project that creates web applications for online stores.
Jeremiah has been doing full-stack development for about 17 years with a focus on back-end development. He enjoys writing usable, performant APIs. Jeremiah has experience in several languages, including PHP, Scala, Go, Python, and Rust. He loves to build new things as well as continually iterate and improve.
David is a software developer specializing in PHP and JavaScript. He is also skilled in Bootstrap, React, Vue, Webpack, and jQuery, with experience in eCommerce, blockchain, and marketing tech. He constantly explores emerging techniques and technologies and produces the cleanest, most efficient, objective, and reusable code that exceed expectations. David believes good is not good enough and applies this principle to himself just as much as in his work, never settling with the status quo.
Alexander is an experienced PHP developer passionate about building high-quality web applications. He has worked with PHP since 2001, collaborating with boutique web agencies, large eCommerce companies, and many freelance clients, including on projects for the public sector. Experienced with many different platforms, Alexander has recently specialized in Symfony and Laravel and is willing to leverage his expertise while working on new challenging projects.
Rodrigo is a developer with 20+ years of experience in enterprise integration with PHP and, since 2010, in extranets, e-learning, and online communities. As a lead developer and tech lead, Rodrigo has managed up to three PHP developers and one designer to deliver such projects. He has specialized in PHP with Zend Framework and, more recently, in projects using Symfony 5.
Samuel is a seasoned PHP Developer with over 20 years of experience in web development, specializing in eCommerce solutions and warehouse management systems. Skilled in full-stack development, system architecture, and agile methodologies, he has a proven track record of delivering innovative and efficient solutions.
Jacob is a professional web developer with more than 10 years of experience. Generally, he uses PHP, Python, and JavaScript to build complex web applications, but he is also versed in low-level languages for special cases. Jacob is particularly good at web scraping with Python.
Dhara is an experienced full-stack web developer with 17+ years of industry experience and a bachelor's degree in software engineering. With a proven track record of developing various web applications with PHP and MySQL, she brings knowledge and expertise to every project. She has worked with clients from around the world, delivering high-quality work. With a passion for problem-solving and a love of learning, Dhara always seeks exciting projects that will challenge and inspire her.
Jose has 10 years of experience as a software engineer specializing in PHP. He has implemented various integrations for Zendesk to 3rd-parties such as HubSpot, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Outlook, Shopify, and Slack, coordinating directly with teams from those companies. Jose has led teams across different regions, collaborating with colleagues throughout different time zones and cultures.
Neil has over 25 years of experience in network and application programming, recently focusing on Python REST APIs using DRF, Redis, RabbitMQ, Apache Pulsar, and CouchDB. He also has solid expertise in JavaScript, C, C++, PHP, Perl, CSS, and HTML. He has pushed the Django object-relational mapper to the limit and has used Postgres, MySQL, MS SQL Server, Oracle, and IBM DB2. Neil thrives in the Linux CLI environment using Vim, Tmux, and Bash and embraces the DevOps revolution and Kubernetes.
Artem is a Zend Certified PHP developer with over 20 years of experience in web development. Besides being a technical authority, he is very good at communicating complicated issues in a simple way. Artem believes that actions speak louder than words.
PHP developers specialize in one of the most popular programming languages in the world. They can create websites, web applications, microservices, APIs, and more. This guide to hiring PHP developers highlights how to create a suitable job description and pose effective interview questions to help you identify the best candidates.
... allows corporations to quickly assemble teams that have the right skills for specific projects.
Despite accelerating demand for coders, Toptal prides itself on almost Ivy League-level vetting.
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Testimonials
Tripcents wouldn't exist without Toptal. Toptal Projects enabled us to rapidly develop our foundation with a product manager, lead developer, and senior designer. In just over 60 days we went from concept to Alpha. The speed, knowledge, expertise, and flexibility is second to none. The Toptal team were as part of Tripcents as any in-house team member of Tripcents. They contributed and took ownership of the development just like everyone else. We will continue to use Toptal. As a startup, they are our secret weapon.
Brantley Pace
CEO & Co-Founder
I am more than pleased with our experience with Toptal. The professional I got to work with was on the phone with me within a couple of hours. I knew after discussing my project with him that he was the candidate I wanted. I hired him immediately and he wasted no time in getting to my project, even going the extra mile by adding some great design elements that enhanced our overall look.
Paul Fenley
Director
The developers I was paired with were incredible -- smart, driven, and responsive. It used to be hard to find quality engineers and consultants. Now it isn't.
Ryan Rockefeller
CEO
Toptal understood our project needs immediately. We were matched with an exceptional freelancer from Argentina who, from Day 1, immersed himself in our industry, blended seamlessly with our team, understood our vision, and produced top-notch results. Toptal makes connecting with superior developers and programmers very easy.
Jason Kulik
Co-founder
As a small company with limited resources we can't afford to make expensive mistakes. Toptal provided us with an experienced programmer who was able to hit the ground running and begin contributing immediately. It has been a great experience and one we'd repeat again in a heartbeat.
Stuart Pocknee
Principal
How to Hire PHP Developers through Toptal
1
Talk to One of Our Industry Experts
A Toptal director of engineering will work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics.
2
Work With Hand-Selected Talent
Within days, we'll introduce you to the right PHP expert for your project. Average time to match is under 24 hours.
3
The Right Fit, Guaranteed
Work with your new PHP developer for a trial period (pay only if satisfied), ensuring they're the right fit before starting the engagement.
Capabilities of PHP Developers
PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is an open-source scripting language, primarily used to build server-side web applications. Our expert PHP developers create fast, secure, low-maintenance web platforms using PHP’s expansive libraries, and frameworks such as Laravel and Codelgniter.
E-commerce Platforms
Modern e-commerce platforms rely on user-friendly shopping carts, easily navigable product catalogs, and popular payment gateways, such as Stripe and PayPal, to appeal to customers and drive sales. Toptal PHP developers integrate these features in intuitive, scalable online stores with comprehensive inventory management systems.
CMS-based Websites
PHP-based content management systems (CMS)—like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal—are industry standards for creating websites to meet business needs. Our PHP developers are experts in modifying themes, extending plugins, and integrating SEO, e-commerce, and social media capabilities in order to build dynamic, fully functional websites.
API Integration
Connecting a website to an application program interface (API) extends its functionality by enabling data flow between systems. Toptal developers harness PHP’s built-in tools, like cURL or Guzzle, to send HTTP requests and field API responses, facilitating real-time communication between applications and third-party services.
Customizing and Extending PHP Frameworks
PHP frameworks, such as Laravel, Symfony, and CodeIgniter, can be configured to deliver feature-rich applications tailored to business workflows. By customizing these powerful frameworks, Toptal experts implement reliable and high-performance applications with unique features and functionality.
Database Integration
To avoid bottlenecks when transferring data, databases should be optimized with well-designed schemas, indexing, and caching protocols. Our developers have extensive experience with database integration as well as writing efficient SQL queries that effectively retrieve and update data with minimal network latency.
User Authentication and Security
As organizations handle increasing amounts of valuable data, preventing unauthorized access to personal information and sensitive data is integral to business success. Toptal PHP experts implement secure login systems and role-based access controls, leveraging advanced encryption methods to ensure the highest level of protection for your applications.
Improving Website Performance
A website’s performance can be optimized through techniques like code and image compression, data caching, and asynchronous loading. Toptal developers enhance PHP websites by shrinking CSS and JavaScript files, refining algorithms, and using tools like OPcache, Memcached, and Redis to store frequently accessed data in memory.
Maintaining Legacy Code
Modernizing legacy PHP code is crucial to ensure that scripts run efficiently and meet contemporary performance and security standards. Our PHP developers employ a multi-layered update approach—from code review and refactoring to feature expansion and automated testing—providing consistent, high-quality results.
Developing Web Portals
Web portals are gateways through which users access a broad range of content and resources, including customer service and internal business tools. Toptal developers leverage PHP’s flexibility to build secure web portals that support customizable dashboards, integration with third-party services, and personalized experiences.
Automating Processes With PHP Scripts
Automating routine business tasks—like data backups, report generation, and data processing—saves time and reduces manual efforts. Our developers are proficient in designing and writing PHP scripts that automate and expedite everyday tasks, increasing productivity and minimizing human error.
Find Experts With Related Skills
Access a vast pool of skilled developers in our talent network and hire the top 3% within just 48 hours.
The cost associated with hiring a PHP developer depends on various factors, including preferred talent location, complexity and size of the project you’re hiring for, seniority, engagement commitment (hourly, part-time, or full-time), and more. In the US, for example, Glassdoor’s reported average total annual pay for PHP developers is $116,000 as of August 2024. With Toptal, you can speak with an expert talent matcher who will help you understand the cost of talent with the right skills and seniority level for your needs. To get started, schedule a call with us — it’s free, and there’s no obligation to hire with Toptal.
How do I hire a PHP developer?
To hire the right PHP developer, it’s important to evaluate a candidate’s experience, technical skills, and communication skills. You’ll also want to consider the fit with your particular industry, company, and project. Toptal’s rigorous screening process ensures that every member of our network has excellent experience and skills, and our team will match you with the perfect PHP developers for your project.
How in demand is PHP?
With 80% of global websites being built using PHP, the ecosystem of the long-used back-end programming language continues to thrive. This means that PHP-based technologies continue to evolve in how they add value, that companies from startups to large enterprises continue to leverage them, and that new and experienced developers alike continue to choose it for their careers.
Why should you hire a PHP developer?
PHP can be used for the development of almost every type of software that can be found on the web, like custom-built websites of any size, WordPress websites, APIs, back-end microservices, and performance-critical services. If you need to develop products like these, PHP experts should be considered.
PHP coders often benefit a business by tapping into the power of one of PHP’s many well-supported development frameworks, like Laravel, Symfony, or Laminas (formerly Zend Framework). Frameworks provide PHP developers with a common structure so they don’t have to spend time building and organizing basic features like routing, database connections, and configuration from scratch. If your project already uses a PHP framework, hiring PHP specialists is a natural fit because they will be able to efficiently leverage your current development environment to start creating new capabilities.
How quickly can you hire with Toptal?
Typically, you can hire a PHP developer with Toptal in about 48 hours. For larger teams of talent or Managed Delivery, timelines may vary. Our talent matchers are highly skilled in the same fields they’re matching in—they’re not recruiters or HR reps. They’ll work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics, and match you with ideal candidates from our vetted global talent network.
Once you select your PHP developer, you’ll have a no-risk trial period to ensure they’re the perfect fit. Our matching process has a 98% trial-to-hire rate, so you can rest assured that you’re getting the best fit every time.
What are PHP’s main strengths?
PHP is a simple and fast scripting language with a very large community. With PHP’s huge popularity, it’s easy and inexpensive to find hosting to run PHP applications. With frameworks like Laravel, Phalcon, CakePHP, Yii, and CodeIgniter, PHP has become a very suitable language for building large web applications as well. Whether your company is building a simple website, a large monolithic app, or a microservice, PHP and its many frameworks can be a very good choice.
Also, it’s worth mentioning that popular PHP-based software like WordPress, Laravel, Drupal, and MediaWiki makes it extremely cost-effective and fast to build specific applications like CMS systems, blog platforms, or e-commerce websites, among others.
How are Toptal PHP developers different?
At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our PHP developers to ensure we only match you with the highest caliber of talent. Of the more than 200,000 people who apply to join the Toptal network each year, fewer than 3% make the cut.
In addition to screening for industry-leading expertise, we also assess candidates’ language and interpersonal skills to ensure that you have a smooth working relationship.
When you hire with Toptal, you’ll always work with world-class, custom-matched PHP developers ready to help you achieve your goals.
Can you hire PHP developers on an hourly basis or for project-based tasks?
You can hire PHP developers on an hourly, part-time, or full-time basis. Toptal can also manage the entire project from end-to-end with our Managed Delivery offering. Whether you hire an expert for a full- or part-time position, you’ll have the control and flexibility to scale your team up or down as your needs evolve. Our PHP developers can fully integrate into your existing team for a seamless working experience.
What is the no-risk trial period for Toptal PHP developers?
We make sure that each engagement between you and your PHP developer begins with a trial period of up to two weeks. This means that you have time to confirm the engagement will be successful. If you’re completely satisfied with the results, we’ll bill you for the time and continue the engagement for as long as you’d like. If you’re not completely satisfied, you won’t be billed. From there, we can either part ways, or we can provide you with another expert who may be a better fit and with whom we will begin a second, no-risk trial.
Mladen is a CTO, co-founder, and full-stack developer who has launched embedded and web apps using Laravel, Laminas (formerly Zend Framework), and other PHP frameworks. He has worked at multiple successful startups on a range of projects, including SaaS, streaming, news, and booking platforms. Mladen specializes in building resilient technical infrastructure, leading product and feature development, and migrating legacy codebases.
PHP Web Developer Demand Continues to Grow As Fast As the Internet
Nearly a fifth of professional developers surveyed in 2023 said they had used PHP that year, placing it among the top 10 programming languages with Python and Java, according to Stack Overflow. And PHP programmers are prolific: Nearly 80% of websites use PHP-based back ends, per W3Techs, bolstered in no small part by the massive popularity of private installations of WordPress—whose core and customizations are written using PHP.
Demand for PHP developers for hire remains steady as the language continues to evolve: Codebases using PHP need to be maintained in order to work with currently supported and secure PHP versions. With such a large submarket, it can be difficult for development companies and startups to attract top PHP developers, and even more difficult to efficiently assess a large number of candidates. This guide will help you do both by outlining subskills to watch for, interview questions to ask, and points to cover in a winning job description.
What Attributes Distinguish Quality PHP Developers From Others?
Before exploring distinguishing attributes, it helps to first answer the question, “What does a PHP developer do?” The responsibilities of a PHP developer include writing, testing, and maintaining the source code for server-side web apps. These web applications can be built using either pure PHP or by leveraging various PHP frameworks like Laravel, Symfony, CakePHP, and CodeIgniter; content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla!; or even e-commerce platforms such as Adobe Commerce, formerly Magento.
Deep skills with a particular PHP framework allow a programmer to multiply their productivity by avoiding the reinvention of the wheel. But familiarity with multiple frameworks allows PHP experts to make better-informed choices in the case of greenfield projects.
The best PHP programmers ensure PHP applications are performant and secure, avoid mistakes, and write code that follows well-thought-out application development principles. They will have experience with common back-end development tasks, like connecting to databases, and be capable of handling basic DevOps responsibilities, like creating and configuring environments. They will also know how to meet prudent security standards to avoid unnecessary business risks.
Factors to ensure that your potential hire produces high-quality code
Some of the aforementioned areas can be evaluated based on a candidate’s résumé and follow-up discussions. However, many companies elect to assess programming ability directly, either with a live coding interview or a take-home assessment.
Both of these strategies add to time requirements on both sides of the table, although companies can outsource these evaluations, particularly live coding interviews. But without some kind of code quality evaluation, companies cannot judge for themselves the quality of PHP code the candidate can be expected to produce once hired. One alternative for candidates who happen to be open-source contributors is for companies to directly evaluate their code contributions, but it’s much harder to produce consistent metrics with this tactic.
The consequences of not evaluating a candidate’s coding abilities may involve additional training expenses or a lost onboarding investment—assuming a company has a functioning quality assurance system that would catch newcomers’ mistakes before they did any serious harm to the product.
How Can You Identify the Ideal PHP Developer for You?
Hiring managers who understand the most common types of PHP projects are better positioned to spot appropriate candidates and match them to their business needs. Whether it’s within the scope of customizing a CMS or other type of website, experts in the PHP programming language are most commonly sought to:
Build a dynamic site or add dynamic components, such as product listings, search, user registration, authentication, a shopping cart, and more.
Integrate an existing site with other systems, such as third-party payment processing APIs.
Troubleshoot and optimize poorly performing websites.
Implement advanced security mechanisms, such as multifactor authentication, thorough input sanitization, secure session management, and industry-standard encryption protocols.
Assess code for adherence to industry standards, proper structure, and security requirements.
Test code across browsers, devices, and operating systems to ensure seamless functionality throughout the development process.
Optimize code for different platforms to deliver a consistent user experience.
A preexisting project built upon a PHP framework or platform like WordPress could leverage the technical skills of a PHP specialist. In particular, experience with Symfony and Laravel is helpful because Symfony is the basis for other popular PHP-based technologies like Drupal, while Laravel has established itself as a fundamental framework for numerous existing products. In addition, Laravel is excellent for rapid prototyping, whereas Symfony provides a more stable foundation for longer-term scalability. But each PHP-based system has its nuances, so it’s worth checking a candidate’s years of experience in a specific skill if you want them to hit the ground running.
Beyond frameworks and platforms, several related technologies are strongly relevant when examining the experience of PHP developers for hire:
Additional complementary PHP developer skills
HTML, CSS, andJavaScript — In many ways, PHP’s primary output mechanism is to generate HTML. Often, passing data via JSON to the JavaScript running on a page will be a useful skill even for a PHP specialist focused only on an app’s back end, but a full-stack PHP coder will really need to know CSS and JavaScript—as well as related technologies such as Node.js and React.js—to complete their front-end development skill sets.
Relational (SQL) databases like MySQL and PostgreSQL — While not the only approach to storing data on the back end, SQL is a well-established standard and still wholly appropriate for a plethora of use cases. Unless your tech stack specifically uses a NoSQL database like MongoDB, strong SQL skills are a must when vetting a PHP expert. It’s especially helpful if their experience aligns with the particular database your project uses.
REST APIsandweb servers — Your project may not implement its own REST API—perhaps using a GraphQL-based API instead—but chances are your project’s back end will eventually need to integrate with a third-party REST API. To that end, it’s worth hiring a PHP engineer who knows a few tricks about optimizing async calls to REST APIs and handling their errors appropriately.
Object-oriented programming (OOP) and model-view-controller architecture — These widely used approaches to coding result in more readable, modular, and maintainable code. PHP developers not well versed in them may take longer to familiarize themselves with your project’s codebase and may struggle to create code others can collaborate on efficiently, lowering your return on investment. This is crucial not only for large-scale projects, but also for smaller ones because they can only evolve substantially if they have a cohesive architectural approach.
Unit testing — Even the most basic software development project benefits from this automated testing technique. Having a suite of unit tests means that specific modules of code can be counted on to continue working correctly, even when seemingly unrelated code is changed. Insist on PHP experts who are serious about unit testing: Without it, it’s all too easy for developers to waste time in a vicious circle, fixing an urgent bug in a way that causes another one to resurface.
When employing dedicated PHP developers, it is important that they have the right mix of technical and communication skills. The latter is important because PHP experts usually work on complex core system features in which interaction with other team members—whether in-house or remote—is essential. Furthermore, organizational skills—including fluency in indispensable collaboration and source control tools like Git—should be considered a given for any PHP app development role.
How to Write a PHP Developer Job Description for Your Project
Before looking to hire the best PHP developers, it is necessary to define technical project requirements and scope. Writing down the specifics of your project will provide clarity on the skills gap you face, the gaps you anticipate down the road, and whether it would be better to focus on hiring a full-time employee or opt for the flexibility of a freelancer.
After defining your plan and any skills gap, your next task is to create a job post. It’s helpful to use a template for this and include the most relevant and attractive details about your organization, development team, and project.
What Are the Most Important PHP Developer Interview Questions?
When looking to hire PHP programmers, open-ended questions can be used to spark further discussion during the interview process:
What PHP frameworks have you worked with, and what has your experience with each been like?
Can you provide an example of a recent PHP project you have contributed to that makes you proud?
How would you use PHP template engines to create dynamic content? Which template engines have you used, which do you prefer, and why?
How would you go about using PHP to interact with a database to retrieve data?
What is the difference between the isset and empty functions in PHP?
The isset function is used to determine if a variable exists and has a non-null value, returning true in that case. In contrast, the empty function checks if a variable is considered empty, returning true if the variable is empty (i.e., not set, false, 0, an empty string, an empty array, or null). While isset checks for existence and a non-null value, empty specifically focuses on emptiness, including null values.
How can you prevent SQL injection vulnerabilities in PHP?
Prepared statements or parameterized queries are used to prevent SQL injection vulnerabilities. Prepared statements separate the SQL code from the user input, eliminating the possibility of injecting malicious code. By binding the input values to placeholders in the SQL statement, the database engine can distinguish between the actual SQL code and user-supplied data, effectively preventing any unauthorized SQL operations.
How do you handle errors in PHP?
In PHP, errors and exceptions can be handled using error-handling mechanisms. One common approach is to use the try-catch block to catch exceptions gracefully. By wrapping the code that may generate an exception or error inside the try block, you can catch the specific instance and provide appropriate handling or recovery logic in the corresponding catch blocks.
What is the difference between include and require in PHP?
Both include and require are used to include and evaluate external PHP files. The main difference between them is how they handle errors. The include statement refers to a file and continues the script execution even if the file is not found, resulting in a warning. In contrast, the require statement refers to a file and stops the script execution with a fatal error if the file is not found or fails to be included. In situations where the included file is essential for the script’s functionality, require is often preferred to ensure that the script doesn’t proceed without it.
How does PHP handle sessions? Explain the process of initializing and using sessions in PHP.
PHP provides built-in support for handling sessions, which allows developers to persist data across multiple requests for the same user. The process of initializing and using sessions involves the following steps:
Session initialization — To start a session in PHP, a developer needs to call the session_start function. This function creates a unique session ID and initializes a session file on the server to store session data.
Storing and retrieving session data — After starting a session, data can be read and written using the $_SESSION superglobal array. For example, a developer can set a session variable like $_SESSION['username'] = 'John'; to store the username.
Using session data — Throughout the user’s session, a developer can access the stored session data by referencing the corresponding session variable. For instance, they can display the username by echoing $_SESSION['username'];.
Session destruction — When the session is no longer needed or when the user logs out, a developer can call session_destroy. This clears all session data and deletes the session file on the server.
Understanding how sessions work in PHP is essential for managing user authentication, personalizing output, and maintaining state across multiple requests.
Why Do Companies Hire PHP Developers?
PHP’s continued dominance of back-end web projects keeps its ecosystem thriving. Because PHP and its popular frameworks are not likely to die out any time soon, it often makes good business sense to hire developers offering development services with a focus on PHP to maintain an existing PHP codebase.
Companies continue to hire experienced PHP developers for greenfield development projects, too. The productivity boost and endless developer resources that come with choosing a PHP technology like WordPress, Drupal, Laravel, or Symfony are advantages that are hard to ignore. This not only makes PHP coders for hire more numerous, but also makes specializations worth paying attention to if your project is on a tight timeline.
For any use case, there’s at least one PHP-based framework or platform that will help a PHP expert expedite your project. Now that you know which secondary skills to seek, you’re in a much better position to match PHP engineer candidates to your business needs.
The technical content presented in this article was reviewed by Florin Cabuz.