How To Find a PHP developer in 2023

24 Nov · 6 min read

We understand how difficult it can be to find PHP programmers for software development. Especially when it comes to identifying scripting language differences, programming jargon, or hiring credentials for suitable developers who meet your company's requirements.

If you've arrived at this article, it's likely that you're looking for a PHP programmer but don't know where to start. This article will provide professional guidance for understanding what PHP is, how a PHP programmer may be valuable to you or your business, and what to expect when you want to hire PHP programmers to help you feel prepared to engage PHP programmers with the right talents for your web development team.

What is PHP?

First, let's define PHP and how it's commonly used.

PHP, which stands for "Hypertext Preprocessor," is an open-source scripting language used to create dynamic websites and web applications. It was originally designed to create personal web pages and generate HTML code, but it has since grown to provide a wide range of functions, options, and web services. On the technical side, what distinguishes PHP is that the code is executed on the server, embedded in the HTML, and then sent to the user, rather than executed on the visitor's browser.

PHP is thus focused on the server side of development, but it can also be used to create desktop and cross-platform applications. PHP can be used on virtually all major operating systems (Windows, Linux, Unix, Mac OS X, and so on), allowing you to select the best operating system or web server for your needs. Now that you have a general understanding of what PHP is, let's look at what it can do.

What is a PHP Developer?

A PHP developer is a programming language expert who creates, tests, debugs, and maintains PHP web or app development projects. However, in addition to these tasks, skilled PHP developers have creative, analytical, and problem-solving abilities.

Furthermore, when working with a PHP web development team, a top PHP developer can quickly and creatively cooperate with other backend and frontend experts on the team, sharing a necessary insight to improve the project's user interface and functionality.

They primarily have technical skills and knowledge of the PHP programming language as well as PHP frameworks such as Codeigniter, Yii, Laravel, Zend, Symfony, Kohana, and CakePHP.

Looking for PHP developers? Head to Amplifyre OpenBench! The easy-to-use filters help to narrow down your search and make your hiring process faster.

What Should You Look For in a PHP Developer?

Hiring can be difficult if you lack technical knowledge and skills. As a result, it is critical to first understand the PHP programmer's competence.

This type of specialist works with the internal part of the software that is in charge of creating the foundation for a web app or website. However, to perform their duties effectively, PHP developers should be familiar with front-end development - this allows for full communication with all team members.

Role and Responsibilities of a PHP Developer

Creating web programs and websites in PHP, as well as server-side apps for mobile devices as needed.
Creating the site's core, designing the service architecture, and collaborating with the code's architecture.
Testing, bug fixing, and post-release support are all part of the job.
Using PHP frameworks such as Laravel, CodeIgniter, Symfony, Zend, and others.
Should be able to make modifications to existing projects.
Collaborating with other team members to find the best software development solutions.

A developer must have a specific set of hard and soft skills to successfully carry out their primary responsibilities, which should be mentioned when creating a vacancy and testing at the first interview.

Required Hard Skills

The phrase "ability to develop web apps in PHP" gives an overly broad idea of the type of specialist you require. As a result, specify the mandatory requirements for a candidate in greater detail:

Knowledge of other programming languages, such as JavaScript, CSS, and The HyperText Markup Language, or HTML.
Working knowledge of key databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and others).
familiarity with common design patterns (Factory, Strategy, Singleton, etc.)
PHP tool knowledge: Compose dependency manager, PSR specification, PHPUnit unit testing environment
REST API development experience is required.

This list can be expanded based on the needs of the particular company. Your project, for example, may necessitate knowledge of microservices architecture, Doctrine, Eloquent, or other ORM technologies, the Docker software platform, the GraphQL data query language, and so on.

Soft Skills

Any software development project begins with well-established teamwork. As a result, the ideal candidate for the PHP developer position should possess certain personal characteristics in addition to technical knowledge and skills.

Excellent communication abilities. Developers must communicate with members of their team, customers, a project manager, and senior management. If communication is an issue, this is not the candidate for you.
Capability to solve difficult problems. The ability to analyze a problem, consider alternative solutions and make decisions can be critical to the overall success of a project.
The ability to adapt. This characteristic is especially important if you decide to hire a full-time PHP developer. A new team with its traditions and communication style can be a real stumbling block to the success of a new specialist.
Simple to train. It is impossible to be completely knowledgeable. So, just because a potential new PHP developer has never worked with JS or PHPUnit before does not mean they are unqualified for the job.
Previous project success and a desire to improve speak in favor of such a candidate.

The list of soft skills can also change at the discretion of the manager. If you need a team leader, for example, you can add the ability to make plans and schedules, influence team members, and make critical decisions to this list.

How to Hire a Good PHP Developer?

If you believe you can find a good specialist in the field of backend development by simply visiting the first online job search platform, you are mistaken. This is far from the case. This procedure should be taken more seriously. Here are a few steps to help you find the ideal developer:

Analyze your project to identify its key features and requirements. You can create a list of requirements for the candidate based on this information.
Make a job posting text. Remember to include the necessary technical requirements, desired personal qualities, work experience requirements, and knowledge of foreign languages (as a rule, for any developer, knowledge of English at the Upper-Intermediate level is a must).
Choose the search channel for the applicant. You can hire a freelancer, outsource the work, or hire a full-time employee. Below, we will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each method.
Make a list of several candidates who best meet your needs and set up interviews with them.
Carry out the interview. Check the accuracy of the information on the resume during the face-to-face interview. A few questions about a specific project will quickly reveal whether the applicant has dealt with the mentioned tech stack in practice or has only heard about it at university.
Find the ideal candidate and get to work!

It's a good time to talk about which channel to use to find a PHP developer.

Final Thoughts

Whether you work with a freelance PHP developer or outsource the entire PHP project to development services, it's important to understand the technical requirements, type of collaboration, and development process.

This will ensure that whatever project you plan to work on, whether web development or a mobile app solution, the project development process will run smoothly because you hired not only a well-equipped PHP developer but also someone whose work culture is compatible with you and your company.

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