From Beginner to Pro: Learning PHP with Courses, Videos, and Books

We offer you several quick and effective ways to master PHP.

PHP is a popular programming language, especially among web developers. Although PHP is a general-purpose language, it is most often used as a server-side tool for generating HTML code, which is then interpreted by a web browser. PHP has a simple syntax, partially similar to Java and C++, and is constantly evolving.

Free Courses

Code-basics: PHP Course: Online Learning from Scratch

Learning programming is a complex and lengthy process. Mastering the language syntax is the simplest and shortest stage, but at the same time, it is impossible to start without it. This course is aimed at mastering the basics of writing programs in PHP and lays the foundation for creating applications and software.
Duration: 1 month

Building Web Applications in PHP by University of Michigan via Coursera Help

In this course, you will learn the basic structure of a web application and how a web browser interacts with a web server. You will become familiar with the request/response cycle, including GET/POST/Redirect. You will also gain skills and knowledge to install and use an integrated PHP/MySQL environment, such as XAMPP or MAMP.
Duration: 2 months

Hexlet: PHP Basics

What you will learn:
— developing simple programs using basic language elements
— creating programs consisting of multiple files using namespaces
— effectively analyzing code errors and using debug printing to fix them.
Duration: 3 months

PHP / MySQL by Beonmax

In this video course, you will learn the basics of PHP for creating websites, become familiar with object-oriented programming, learn how to interact with MySQL databases, study popular libraries, work with parsers, and much more.
Duration: 5 hours

Practical PHP: Master the Basics and Code Dynamic Websites by Udemy

In this course, you will focus on creating a dynamic website for a restaurant. By the end of this course, you will have a complete understanding of the basics of PHP and several useful dynamic PHP examples.
Duration: 2 weeks

Useful Books

"Creating Dynamic Websites with PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, CSS, and HTML5" by Robin Nixon

The new edition of this bestseller covers client-side and server-side aspects of web development, providing practical advice and theoretical material for mastering dynamic web programming using modern technologies. The author also suggests creating a fully functional site that works as a social network to reinforce the knowledge gained.

"PHP 7" by Dmitry Koterov, Igor Simdyayanov

This book is dedicated to web programming in PHP and is designed to help even beginner programmers quickly master the basics of working on the web. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with the basics of programming and will not get confused in loops, conditional statements, and subroutines. The book also contains many details about modern PHP, making it useful for experienced programmers as well.

"PHP and MySQL: The Complete Reference" by Brett McLaughlin

If you are already familiar with website development using CSS and JavaScript, this book will help you expand your skills and move to a new level by mastering the creation of dynamic websites using PHP and MySQL.

Useful Videos and Podcasts

itProger School / Programming: PHP Lessons for Beginners from Scratch

ITDoctor: PHP Lessons from Scratch

loftblog: PHP — the best language to start a project? // Senior PHP Developer with 10 years of experience

NDC Conferences: In Defence of PHP — Stephen Rees-Carter — NDC Security 2023

Podlodka: Podlodka #180 – PHP

Bro Proger: Full PHP Course to Pro Level