Do you want to know what are the best frameworks for web development in 2017? The short answer is as always – it depends!
As Alex Makarov, senior engineer at stay.com and one of the core contributors to Yii framework stated it:
‘Depends on what is the definition of “the best”. If we’re talking about “most popular in the US” then it should be Laravel. If it’s “most popular in ex-USSR and Asia” then it’s Yii. If we’re talking about enterprise level support, that’s Symfony without any doubt. If it’s about features and performance, Yii has more out of the box.’
Here, at Greenice web development agency, we mostly agree with him, but we do think there is one more very important thing to add:
What web development frameworks are most in-demand?
It is important to know which technologies are most preferred for commercial use as it gives us an idea of, what specialists are most sought after.
Most In-Demand PHP Frameworks at Upwork
It is also worth mentioning that PHP tops the list of the most in-demand skills at Upwork. And oftentimes, employers, who are looking for PHP specialists also have framework preferences. The latter became the subject of our research.
And here are the first five contestants:
- Laravel
- Codeigniter
- Yii
- Symfony
- Cakephp
Notably, the outcomes of our research are very close to the web development trends of 2017 that can be seen in a variety of reviews, such as:
- Coderseye: 11 Best PHP Frameworks for Modern Web Developers in 2017 (Laravel, Codeigniter, Symfony, Zend and Yii)
- Dunebook: 5 Best PHP Frameworks To Learn In 2017 (Laravel, Codeigniter, Symfony, Yii, and Nette)
Below are brief introductions of the top web development frameworks from the list. We have included expert views, as well as key features that make each technology stand out.
1. Laravel
Major benefits:
- Large community (397 contributors on Github)
- Very well documented
- Convention over configuration (with features like Laravel Homestead)
- Fast development cycles (for example, Elixir).
2. Codeigniter
In addition to that, this is the fastest framework in this list.
Major benefits:
- Highest performance (753.09 requests per second and 0.42 peak memory use)
- Small footprint
- Easy to get started, little configuration needed
- Live community (413 contributors on Github).
3. Yii
Major features:
- High performance (410.08 requests per second and 1.32 peak memory use)
- Fast development (code generation and scaffolding)
- Easy testing (Error handling and debug toolbar)
- Great community (751 contributors on Github).
4. Symfony
In essence, Symfony consists of two parts: components and the framework. Developers are free to use Symfony’s components without the framework itself or with other compatible frameworks. Notably, Laravel was built of these components.
Major benefits:
- Large community (1433 contributors on Github)
- Great testing environment (due to, convention over configuration principle, Dependency Injection etc.)
- Backward-compatible stable releases
- Long Term Support
- Good documentation.
5. CakePHP
Major benefits:
- Fast development (code generation and scaffolding, like in Yii)
- Easy to learn
- Active community (463 contributors on Github).
Conclusion
The top 5 most in-demand frameworks are Laravel, Codeigniter, Yii, Symfony, and CakePHP. We have experience in most of these technologies at Greenice and in our opinion, each deserves its place on the market.
However, each of them also has its own angle, which makes it more fit for some situations, than others. For example, Symfony can be a good choice for complex enterprise-level projects, while Yii is great for fast development cycles that can be so important for startups.
Kateryna Reshetilo, Head of Marketing at Greenice, web development agency. She specializes in developing and implementing marketing strategies for IT companies. Mother and windsurfer.
