Future is bright for PHP as it maintains to be the top 5 most favored programming languages for App and Web development solution. The speed, security, intuitiveness and stability it offers to solutions fuels the growth of PHP developers who are ready to take on the challenging projects and deliver perfect solutions.

For a product to be developed using PHP, the best developers need to have ample knowledge of the technical aspects and business domain.

Responsibilities of a PHP developer:

A PHP developer is involved in the project development right from the stage when the idea is conceived. He is the one who is approached to select the technology framework, suggest the features and carry ahead the coding task using the server-side scripting language. After testing, the developer must be capable of fixing the bugs identified. So overall, the developer is engaged in the entire SDLC process and that is why hiring a web development with right skills becomes a vital task for any organization. In general, the PHP developer is expected to have below skills

• Must have an understanding of server-side scripting ecosystem.
• Database skills with MySQL, Postgresql, Oracle and more
• Hands-on of popular PHP frameworks
• Concepts of object-oriented programming

Apart from these technical skills, he needs to be proficient in making sure the App is secure, the business requirement is met and the solution is futuristic and scalable.

A Must-have Skill Set for PHP developers

Programming skills

It is vital that the PHP developer must have hands-on of the PHP client-side scripting solution development. Make sure the developer has strong logic development skills that he tops with expertise in PHP programming and transforms the logic into a robust solution. His skill set must have a strong grip in MySQL, MongoDB, HTML and CSS.

Projects he has handled in past

A developer with expertise in your particular business domain is an added advantage but you must never ignore his technical skills if he has not worked in your business domain. The versatility of the projects he has handled becomes a proof of his learning capabilities. If he has handled some projects independently, his code might be in the GitHub repository. You can ask the link for his GitHub repository and have a look at his PHP project handling skills.

Business document handling

Documentation becomes an important part of a developer’s skills. He must have experience in understanding the high-level design documents generally shared by the client himself. His skills must also span the document creation of the modules or projects he develops so that someone else can work on those projects in future.

Test his logical skills

The PHP syntax can be learned, normal questions can be memorized but what’s important, is the logical skills of a developer. Asking practical questions gives you a deeper understanding of how well he can innovate and how creative can he get with minimalistic or optimized code. It’s better to do, because a developer can cram the answers to questions about the history of PHP but can’t cram logics.

Communication skills

A developer will have to go for client meetings or discuss the requirements with the client multiple times. His verbal communications must be proficient enough so that he can interact well with the team as well as the clients over emails and over the phone too.

Experience with various tools

There are many tools and PHP frameworks available. The developer must be proficient in using at least a few of them so that the development and unit testing processes are expedited. A PHP developer must idea of management tools as well for example time sheet tools and project management tools for filling tasks and all. It impacts the productivity of the PHP developer.

Attitude and professionalism

A PHP developer cannot work in silos. He will have to interact with the client, the designer, the QA team and even the management. His degree of professionalism and his attitude to take up leadership tasks or to work as a team member must also be measured before you hire a PHP developer.

So you knew the skills which are worth hiring. What’s the next?

Hire PHP developer to work in unison with the team. It offers an altogether different advantage than outsourcing the projects every time. The PHP developer hiring is no easy task and will require you to look for freelancers, hire full-time developers or hire developers from a development organization. Hiring PHP developers from a development company offers your expertise and flexible engagement platform.

The checklist we provided above is the perfect way to test the skills of a PHP developer you are about to hire. A PHP developer you hire must be capable of handling the team, the development tasks and train the members he works with.

Looking for a PHP developer can be a grilling task and having a checklist ready will help you get through it real quick.