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Choosing the Right PHP Framework for Your Application

Choosing a framework is one of the most confusing parts in the initial stage of project development. Generally a development team chooses a framework, according to their experiences, comfort levels, framework popularity etc.But, before choosing a framework there are many things to consider. The following are important criteria in choosing the right framework

  • Application Goal
  • Hosting Environment
  • Quality of the Development team
  • Fixes and Updates
  • Community
  • Security
  • Documentation
  • License
  • Testing

Application Goal

The goal of the application forms an important part in choosing the right framework. For example, if your goal is to develop an eCommerce site, you have to choose a framework that provides much-needed benefits like online payment processing, lightweight, fast database connectivity etc.The following are some of the sample application types which are suitable for each of the below frameworksLaravelSymfonyCakePHPYiiCodeIgniterMedium Scale PortalsLarge Scale PortalsMedium Scale PortalsMedium Scale PortalsMedium Scale PortalseCommerceMobile web applicationsMobile web applicationseCommerceSimple dynamic web applicationsMobile web applicationsLight weight applicationsLight weight applications

Hosting Environment

There are many types of hosting environments like shared, individual, cloud etc. Many PHP frameworks require customization in the hosting environment. So, we need to choose the right framework, according to our hosting environment options.LaravelSymfonyCakePHPYiiCodeIgniterNeeds some customizationNeeds some customizationNeeds some customisationNeeds some customisationNo need for customisationMuch suitable for shared hostingMuch suitable for shared hostingSupports CLISupports CLISupports CLISupports Yii CLIQuality of the Development teamIt's important to consider the strength and weaknesses of the developer(s) who are actually building and maintaining the application. Some frameworks are user-friendly and better for beginners. But some frameworks are strict in their coding standards.LaravelSymfonyCakePHPYiiCodeIgniterSuitable for beginnersSuitable for beginnersSuitable for beginnersStrict in coding standards and patternsStrict in coding standards and patternsFixes and UpdatesFixes and updates are important things, which help in maintaining a framework. Always try and choose a framework which is updated often and which is open about its bugs and fixes.LaravelSymfonyCakePHPYiiCodeIgniterExcellentExcellentGoodOkOkCommunityIf a framework is well recognized and popular, more support is available from its publishers, community members and service companies. If it has many applications or large community, we may have the provision to get many external libraries and packages as well.LaravelSymfonyCakePHPYiiCodeIgniterGood CommunityGood CommunityGood CommunityHuge no of external packagesHuge no of external packagesComparatively less no of packagesSecurityWeb applications are potentially vulnerable. It is always better to select a framework which is capable of ensuring the security functions like XSS, Xsrf, Sql injection etc.LaravelSymfonyCakePHPYiiCodeIgniterGoodGoodGoodOkGoodDocumentationA good documentation is important to understand the framework, libraries and it's plugins. So it is always good to evaluate the nature, volume and quality of existing framework documents.LaravelSymfonyCakePHPYiiCodeIgniterGoodExcellentExcellentOkOkLicenseLicenses are important for web applications. If an application has been developed using a BSD-licensed framework, it will be subjected to BSD license only. We can't use that application for other license purposes.LaravelSymfonyCakePHPYiiCodeIgniterMITMITMITBSDMITTestingTesting is an important process in the development cycle. Frameworks which developers write unit tests are a definite advantage. Many of them provide the option to write test cases.LaravelSymfonyCakePHPYiiCodeIgniterGoodExcellentGoodGoodIdeas2ITAre you looking to build a great product or service? Do you foresee technical challenges? If you answered yes to the above questions, then you must talk to us. We are a world-class custom .NET development company. We take up projects that are in our area of expertise. We know what we are good at and more importantly what we are not. We carefully choose projects where we strongly believe that we can add value. And not just in engineering but also in terms of how well we understand the domain. Book a free consultation with us today. Let’s work together.

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