PHP is a powerful server-side scripting language that still powers over 75% of websites today — including giants like Facebook, WordPress, and Wikipedia. Whether you're just starting or aiming to become a full-stack web developer, this PHP roadmap will guide you through every essential step.

🔹 1. Get Started with the Basics

• HTML & CSS: Before jumping into PHP, learn how websites are structured and styled.

• Basic PHP Syntax: Learn variables, data types, echo, and comments.

• Control Structures: if, else, switch, loops (for, while, foreach)

• Functions: Creating and calling functions, return types, and parameters.

• Arrays & Strings: Manipulate data using built-in array and string functions.

🔹 2. Understand Form Handling & Superglobals

• Work with $_POST, $_GET, $_REQUEST, $_SESSION, $_COOKIE

• Learn how to sanitize and validate user input

• Understand form submission, redirection, and error handling

🔹 3. Learn File Handling & Server Communication

• Reading/writing files

• Uploading files securely

• Sending headers

• Handling server responses with header() and http_response_code()

🔹 4. Dive Into Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

• Classes and Objects

• Constructors & Destructors

• Inheritance, Abstraction, Interfaces, and Traits

• Namespaces and Autoloading (PSR-4 standard)

🔹 5. Learn MySQL & Database Integration

• Connecting PHP to MySQL using mysqli and PDO

• CRUD operations (Create, Read, Update, Delete)

• Prepared Statements & preventing SQL Injection

🔹 6. Work with PHP Frameworks

• Laravel – Most popular and beginner-friendly MVC framework

• CodeIgniter or Symfony – Other lightweight alternatives

• Understand MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture

• Use Artisan CLI, Eloquent ORM, Routing, Middleware

🔹 7. Build Real-World Projects

• Blog System

• E-commerce Website

• Booking System

• REST API with Laravel

🔹 8. Master Security Best Practices

• Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) & Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)

• Password hashing with password_hash() and password_verify()

• Secure file uploads & form validation

🔹 9. Learn Version Control & Deployment

• Git/GitHub basics

• Hosting on cPanel or VPS

• Composer for package management

• Env variables & configuration management

🔹 10. Stay Updated & Keep Learning

• Follow PHP RFCs and changelogs (e.g., PHP 8+ features)

• Join communities like Laracasts, Stack Overflow, Reddit

• Contribute to open-source PHP projects

💡 Tips:

• Practice by building projects as you learn.

• Avoid skipping OOP — it's essential for working with frameworks.

• Learn by doing — tutorials are great, but real-world building is better.