PHP, originally created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994 and released in 1995, is a general-purpose scripting language specifically designed for web development. It is embedded in HTML and executed on the server, making it one of the foundational technologies of the modern web. PHP powers over 75% of all websites globally, including platforms like WordPress, Facebook (in its early days), Wikipedia, and Slack. PHP 8, released in 2020, introduced significant performance improvements with the JIT compiler, union types, named arguments, and attributes.
The PHP job market in India remains substantial due to the massive existing codebase and CMS ecosystem. Per AmbitionBox 2026, PHP Developer salaries range from ₹2.3 LPA for junior roles to over ₹17.6 LPA for team leads. Per Naukri 2026, there are over 33,000 PHP job listings, with Accenture, Virtusa, IBM, and Capgemini being top employers. Pune offers ₹4.0–6.0 LPA on average for PHP developers with 1–6 years of experience, with higher salaries in product companies and fintech.
PHP's enduring popularity stems from its ease of deployment, shared hosting compatibility, and the vast ecosystem of frameworks (Laravel, Symfony, CodeIgniter) and CMS platforms (WordPress, Drupal, Joomla). Modern PHP development emphasizes object-oriented programming, Composer dependency management, PSR standards, and framework-based architecture rather than legacy procedural code.
For Pune learners, PHP is typically taught as a 1–2 month module within web development or full-stack courses. It remains an excellent entry point into backend development, particularly for freelancers, agency developers, and those targeting WordPress or e-commerce careers. Companies value PHP developers who understand modern OOP patterns, security best practices, and framework specialization.