13 Must ask questions while Hiring PHP Developers

Introduction

The importance of finding PHP developers has always been paramount in the world of the internet. 

Despite being one of the oldest programming languages, PHP is able to deliver excellent results in the IT industry. It is almost impossible to complete a project without PHP development.

Since its debut in the mid-1990s, PHP has become a popular server-side programming language. 

It is estimated that 78.9% of all websites use PHP, including names such as Facebook, Zoom, and Wikipedia.

Although Python and other fast-growing languages may overshadow PHP, demand for PHP developers will likely remain high for the foreseeable future.

Are you wondering about the key points you should know before hiring PHP developers? What are the things you should keep in mind before hiring them? 

Well, then, you've come to the right place!

This article aims to explain the advantages of hiring PHP developers, their skills, and the 13 questions you should ask before hiring them.

Continue reading to learn more!

PHP Development: A Brief Insight

"PHP" stands for "Hypertext Preprocessor." 

If you have a basic understanding of HTML, it might be easier for you to understand the concept of PHP. 

Web developers frequently use PHP as a scripting language. PHP makes it simple to interact with all pages and to acquire, process, and utilize data.

Despite its reputation as a somewhat divisive language, PHP has emerged as one of the most popular server-side scripting languages. 

PHP is considered a highly approachable language for web development for various reasons, such as—easy setup, low costs, and simple management of server-side applications.

As PHP is considered easier to work with than other niche programming languages, finding talent proficient in it isn't as difficult as in some other languages. 

During the past few decades, PHP has been maintained and updated extensively to ensure its relevance and functionality. 

As part of its default configuration, PHP works seamlessly with the most commonly used database languages, such as MySQL. This enables users to construct websites without interruption, no matter how much data they are working with.

Being an established language has its benefits—one of which is the large developer community and extensive documentation available to assist users in learning how to use PHP.

13 Questions You Must Ask While Hiring PHP Developers

1. What is your experience with LAMP?

PHP developers can create stand-alone web applications using LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) as an open-source solution stack. In response to this question, your prospective programmer should describe any experience taking a web project from conception to completion.

2. Describe PHP sessions and how they work.

You really want to know whether they know how to use the session_start() method. It creates or resumes sessions by sending a GET or POST request to the server or using a cookie. This simple question can test the developer's familiarity with the language. 

3. What is the process of loading classes in PHP?

You can gauge a developer's knowledge of autoloading by asking this question. Functions are invoked when classes are instantiated.

4. Do you have a favorite PHP design pattern?

Patterns serve as best-practice templates for PHP developers to write well-designed code consistently. While asking this question, you can gauge the candidate's creativity. 

5. Differentiate between classes and interfaces.

Interfaces are classes without any business logic. All methods of an interface must be public, and multiple inheritances should be allowed. In contrast, abstract classes can be declared with modifiers such as public or internal, and they can define variables and properties. PHP developers should be aware of this basic difference.

6. What is the best way to find out the client's IP address?

Due to the multiple options, this question may reveal a candidate's creativity and playfulness. The easiest solution is $_SERVER["REMOTE_ADDR"]; however, the candidate can write x-line scripts instead.

7. How do PHP error types differ?

Errors in PHP can be classified into three types—Notices, Warnings, and Fatal.

In PHP development, understanding error types is crucial because they help PHP developers understand the development process and how to debug it.

8. How do GET and POST differ?

In GET, the submitted data is included in the URL, while in POST, this information is encoded.

A GET request can handle a maximum of 2048 characters, while a POST request can handle any number of characters.

The GET method only allows ASCII data, while the POST method also allows binary data.

A PHP developer needs to understand the fundamentals of the HTTP protocol. GET, and POST are crucial parts of that.

9. What is the procedure for enabling error reporting in PHP?

It is imperative to enable error messages in the script, especially when debugging, as this allows you to see immediately where the error occurs and whether the script is working correctly. It is, therefore, important for PHP developers to be aware of this.

10. What are Traits?

When multiple inheritances aren't supported in languages like PHP, traits let you create reusable code. It is not possible to instantiate a trait by itself.

One of the most valuable features of PHP is a trait, and PHP developers must know about it.

11. What are the three scope levels available in PHP?

The three scope levels are—Private, Public, and Protected.

PHP developers need to know this because it shows an understanding that building applications go beyond coding. They must also understand the privileges and accessibility of the code.

12. Why are getters and setters important?

The getter and setter methods are used to declare or obtain the values of variables, usually private ones. They are vital because they enable a central location to handle data before declaring it or returning it to the developer. PHP developers seeking a team-based or application development job should know this. 

13. Sample Questions 

For example— There are seven characters in the string input: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. What is the best way to get the sum of the integers in input?

In a PHP class, what is the difference between __construct() and __destruct()?

How do unset() and unlink() differ?

Asking sample questions like these helps to test a developer's problem-solving ability.

Top PHP Developers’ Skills 

Listed below are six key attributes for PHP developers that will help them stand out from the crowd:

1. Knowledge Of Various Programming Languages

PHP developers need more than just PHP code to succeed in a competitive job market. 

In order to spot and correct any errors in web design, it is essential to have a solid understanding of front-end programming languages such as JavaScript, CSS, and HTML. 

2. Understand PHP Design Patterns

The use of design patterns is helpful in all areas of software development, including PHP. 

There are several design patterns to learn when developing PHP applications, including Factory, Strategy, and Singleton. 

To save time, it is worthwhile for PHP developers to become familiar with the best practices when working with different PHP frameworks.

3. Problem-Solving 

How one handles unexpected issues on a development project will determine how valuable they are as a PHP developer. 

To write quality code, it is also important to be able to analyze and evaluate different solutions to every problem. 

4. Good Communication

Despite being a whiz with PHP code, PHP developers may be unable to work effectively on a team project if they cannot communicate with others. 

It is necessary to communicate with clients and colleagues, understand the project goals, raise issues, and explain how your work fits into the bigger picture.

5. Adaptability

Hiring PHP developers on top of the latest language and application updates is important, as all programming languages constantly evolve. 

One may always be able to learn something from others, regardless of how confident they are in their PHP skills.

Conclusion

PHP might be a good choice for businesses looking to create dynamic websites. With this tool, you can make GUI applications easily, quickly, and with high portability!

The demand for PHP developers is high. As a result of a decline in PHP developers, demand has increased, and fewer developers are available. 

It is more cost-effective to invest in PHP developers, especially when they take advantage of the language's capabilities and result in higher ROIs.

The process of choosing a reputable developer is, however, perplexing. 

It's okay, don't worry!

With AppsRhino, you can work with a team of passionate and dedicated PHP developers. Our team can assist you with completing your projects so you can reach your company's goals! 

Make AppsRhino your first choice for hiring PHP developers! 

Contact us today!