PHP: Everything you need to know! (suitable for beginners)

If you want to get started with your website and Hosting you will come across the term 'PHP' again and again. It often refers to the PHP scripting language, and you are also regularly reminded to keep the PHP version of your website up to date. But what exactly is behind it? In this article, we explain the most important questions about PHP in an easy-to-understand way using practical examples: What is PHP? What is PHP used for? How does it work? And much more.

What is PHP?

If we take a closer look at PHP, the first question that arises is: What does PHP actually stand for? Originally, it was the abbreviation for "Personal Home Page Tools". Today, however, PHP stands for "Hypertext Preprocessor.

PHP simply explained

You will regularly come across the term PHPif you are dealing with WordPress, hosting and web development. Therefore, I will first explain to you in simple terms what PHP actually is.

💡 PHP explanation in simple words:
PHP is a Programming languagespecifically for the development of dynamic websites and is active on web servers. While HTML and CSS only determine the appearance of a website, PHP ensures that websites become interactive and flexible.

💡 One example:
Imagine you run a website with a contact form. When someone fills out the form and clicks on "Send", PHP ensures that the data is processed and sent to you by email. HTML and CSS, on the other hand, ensure that the contact form looks the way you want it to.

PHP from a technical point of view

PHP is a server-side scripting language that is executed independently of the browser (JavaScript, for example, runs directly in the user's browser). In concrete terms, this means that PHP is processed on the web server before a website is delivered to the visitor.

PHP is able to access databases. This means that PHP can be used to query dynamic content from a database and integrate it into a website. This is also the reason why PHP is the basis of the following content management systems (CMS), among others:

• WordPress
• TYPO3
• Joomla
• Contai
• Drupal
• Shopware
• etc.

Compared to other scripting languages such as Perl, PHP can be embedded directly in HTML. This allows design and programming logic to be cleanly separated. PHP code is embedded between the PHP tags <?php and ?> written:

<?php
echo "WPspace: Managed WordPress Hosting";
?>

To use PHP, the PHP code is simply written in an HTML or text editor. This file is then saved with the extension ".php". This ensures that the server interprets it as a PHP file. You can then upload the file to the file directory of your WordPress website.

The Apache or Nginx server on which you host your website now interprets your PHP code, executes it and displays the result. Basically, a PHP file is similar to an HTML file. The difference is that it can also contain PHP commands. Theoretically, you could even simply rename an HTML file to .php, as the server will continue to process it as regular HTML as long as no PHP code is embedded. Only when PHP commands are included in the file does the server execute them and generate dynamic content.

PHP statistics

In reality, however, PHP is the basis for much more than just content management systems. The scripting language is used in most areas of the web, such as forums, wikis and store systems. According to statistics from W3 Techs, PHP will be used on a total of 74.5 % of all websites in 2025, making it by far the most widely used server-side scripting language. The second most used scripting language is Ruby with only 6.2 %, followed by ASP.NET with 5.2 % and Java with 5.1 %. (Source: W3 Techs, Usage statistics of server-side programming languages for websitesas of 03/14/2025)

Compared to other server-side scripting languages, PHP is used on significantly more websites. However, these are mostly small to medium-sized websites with lower traffic. Languages such as JavaScript (Node.js), ASP.NET, Java and Ruby are used less frequently, but are used more often for high-traffic websites and large web applications. (Source: W3 Techs, Usage statistics of PHP for websitesas of 03/14/2025)

PHP is continuously being improved. Each new version brings new functions, performance optimizations and security patches. In November 2023, the current version PHP 8.3 was released, which brings numerous improvements. In order to benefit from all the security and performance improvements that a new PHP version brings, you should update the PHP version of your website as part of your WordPress maintenance always up to date.

Application areas of PHP

PHP is not only used for content management systems such as WordPress, but also has many other areas of application. Here are some of the most important use cases that you may have already encountered in your everyday life at 100%:

Web applications & platforms

• FacebookOriginally written in PHP, today extended with its own PHP dialect "Hack".
• WikipediaThe entire platform runs on PHP with MediaWiki.
• Fiverr and Upwork: Marketplaces for freelancers who use PHP in the backend.

Forum software & community platforms

• phpBB: One of the oldest and best-known forum systems.
• vBulletin: Frequently used forum software for companies.

E-commerce & online stores

In addition to the well-known store systems such as Magento, WooCommerce or Shopware, PHP is often used for individual store solutions, for example for:

• Own merchandise management and ordering systems
• Booking systems for hotels, events or services

API development & microservices

PHP can also be used for RESTful APIs that provide or process data, for example for:

• User management and authentication systems
• Connection to payment providers such as PayPal or Stripe
• Interfaces between different web services

Web crawlers & scraping tools

PHP can be used to create automated bots that search websites and extract data. These are often used for:

• Price comparisons and market research
• SEO analyses and keyword research
• Social media monitoring

Own web projects & individual solutions

Many companies and developers use PHP for customized solutions such as:

• CRM systems (Customer Relationship Management)
• Internal administration and booking systems
• Intranet and extranet platforms

As you can see, there are virtually no limits to the use of PHP. In short, PHP is used when dynamic content, database queries or automated processes are required.

PHP functionality

PHP is a server-side scripting language. This means that the code is not executed in your browser, but on a web server. The result is then sent back to the web browser in HTML and displayed there for you to see.

To give you a better idea of how PHP works, let's take a look at the process using a website call:

1. calling up the website:
- You enter the domain in the browser.
- The DNS settings guide you to the correct IP address and thus to the web server.

2nd request to the server:
- The web server receives your request and searches for the appropriate PHP file.

3. PHP processes the code:
- The PHP interpreter reads the file and executes the code it contains.
- If necessary, data is retrieved from a database or calculations are carried out.

4. creation of the HTML file:
- PHP converts the result into a finished HTML file.

5. response from the server:
- The HTML file is sent to your web browser.

6. presentation of the website:
- Your browser processes the HTML and displays the finished website.

🔍 Important: Your browser never sees the PHP code - it only sees the finished HTML.

This entire process runs in the background and is noticeable to you as the loading time of the website. To reduce the loading time, you can use a caching plugin. This stores content that has already been generated in the cache so that it loads faster - without the server having to reprocess the PHP files each time.

PHP examples

To give you a better idea of how PHP works, I'll show you five concrete examples that you could even use on your website.

1. a simple PHP script

This is what a PHP script that simply outputs "Hello world" looks like:

If you put this in a .php-file and then open it in the browser, you will see the text "Hello world!".

2. dynamic content with variables

Instead of just outputting static text, you can use variables:

The variable can, for example, query the name from a customer profile or a form. Further lines of code are required for this, but this is beyond the scope of this article.

3. a small if query

With PHP you can check conditions, e.g. whether someone is a certain age:

= 18) {
    echo "You are of legal age.";
} else {
    echo "You are not yet of legal age.";
}
?>

This script outputs "You are of legal age." if $alter is at least 18. If you are not at least 18, "You are not yet of legal age" is displayed.

4. shortcode for the current year on your own website

With shortcodes, you can insert your own small functions into WordPress, which you can then use directly in the editor. If you insert this code into the functions.php of your theme, you can insert the [year] to automatically display the current year.

function current_year_shortcode() {
    return date("Y");
}
add_shortcode("year", "current_year_shortcode");

For example, you can insert the shortcode after your copyright in the footer of your website so that the current year is always displayed there: Copyright © 2025

5. display the title of the website

If you want to display the title of your website dynamically, you can do this with this simple line of code:

<?php echo get_bloginfo("name"); ?>

The "name" in the code is then always automatically replaced by the title of your website. With dynamic queries, you also have the advantage that the name is automatically adjusted across the entire website when the name is changed.

Origin and further development of PHP

PHP has been around for over 30 years, since 1995 to be precise, when Rasmus Lerdorf wrote a few scripts to count the hits on his online CV. This quickly grew into something more, and so the first version of PHP was created, which at that time was still known as "Personal Home Page Tools".

A little later, PHP was written in C and was given the suffix "FI" for "Form Interpreter". The addition meant that form data could also be processed, which was the cornerstone for dynamic websites. The functional scope of PHP at that time only enabled very limited functions and is not comparable with the functions of dynamic websites as you know them today.

In 1997 came PHP 3, newly programmed by Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski. The language became more powerful and was given its current name: "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor". PHP 3 was also the big breakthrough and the scripting language gained enormous popularity worldwide.

PHP 4 made everything faster, and PHP 5 added object-oriented concepts. PHP 7 massively improved performance, and since PHP 8 there has been just-in-time compilation, which brings even more speed.

PHP version for websites

New PHP versions are released regularly and form the basis for your website. As soon as a new version is released, support for an older version ends. For example, support for PHP 8.0 ended in November 2023. Since then, this version no longer receives updates from the PHP community, and security vulnerabilities that are discovered are no longer fixed.

Your website does not always have to run on the latest PHP version. However, I recommend that you always make sure you keep your PHP version up to date. With an up-to-date PHP version, you minimize security risks and ensure the functionality of your CMS and plugins.

Note 💡With some hosters, you have to pay an extra fee on top of your hosting price if your website is running on an outdated PHP version. Such hidden costs are incurred with WordPress hosting from WPspace does not.

You can usually manage the PHP version of your website directly in your hosting. Your host usually provides you with a wide selection of PHP versions, for example versions 7.4.33, 8.0.30, 8.1.32, 8.2.28, 8.3.19 and 8.4.5. At WPspace, you can easily select the PHP version you want via a dropdown menu. Update PHP version with just two clicks in your hosting interface. After adapting the PHP version, make absolutely sure that there are no errors in the design and functionality of your website.

If you want to make sure that your current PHP version is still supported, you can always check the official PHP website. There you can also find out which PHP version is still supported and for how long.

Note 💡: If there is an incompatibility between the new PHP version and your CMS, theme or plugin, you will usually receive a critical error. As a rule, you can fix the error by changing the PHP version back again.

FAQs about PHP