So you want to learn PHP, huh? I implore you to learn the HTML basics and some CSS first. CSS is not mandatory but it’ll come handy. HTML’s mandatory because of forms. Forms are essential for user data input and other actions in PHP.

Use these websites as guidelines, you’ll have to learn PHP on your own basically. Flip through them and whenever you can’t understand one part, get on another website and research it there. It’s how I’ve learned PHP. Get a book or two on PHP as well, they are structured very differently than online websites and some even feature a CD with example scripts. Most websites do not. Use this article wisely and most important of all, have fun.

So here we go:

1. W3Schools

W3Schools is an awesome resource. I’d say it’s a little more for the advanced users who know the terminology and the concepts beforehand. It features a full range of tutorials from how to write strings to making mail forms. They also show you how to implement AJAX with PHP and how to use MySQL databases with PHP in great detail. Most of the tutorials on this website are rather referential but they work out for the best. Once you get some of the basics down like how to set up functions, loops, your variables, and you understand the fundamentals of PHP, this website will be your greatest tool. It teaches you the advanced stuff as well as reviews the basics. Also, the website features a range full of references, ie for all the important sections of PHP, there is a reference sheet that briefly explains the function or the section and shows you all the ways it can be used. For example, if you want to use the date() function, there’s a cheatsheet where it shows you all the parameters you can use with this function.

This website useful not only for PHP but for other Web-Development code as well. There are tutorials on HTML, CSS, Javascript, XML, and others. So if you need to brush up on your forms, just click on the HTML tab and find the forms article in the left sidebar

2. Zend Dev Zone

Zend is a great piece of software, now what’s more amazing are the tutorials that the Zend Developer Zone features. The link above is to my favorite PHP tutorial. You can, of course, browse around the other tutorials offered. This tutorial set is the best I know of that’s for free and teaches you everything you need to know with a bit of humor and a lot of fun. The tutorial set goes through from the beginning of setting up a server at home and continues on with the basics such as defining a string, the basics of loops, and accessing databases. Everything you need to know is explained thoroughly and it’s very easy to understand, even the more heavy stuff like database modification, and object-oriented programming. At the end, the tutorial features a kind of “graduation” where you’ll create your own PHP app alongside the tutorial. It tests your understanding of the subject.

3. TutsPlus

tutsplus screenshot

Nettuts+ is probably the best resource for an all-around person when it comes to design and web-development. These guys have tutorials on Photoshop, PHP, CSS, Illustrator, and many other for your convenience. They feature tutorials from the basics to the downright hardcore stuff. You can pay for the premium account and with that, you’ll receive special care such as scripts, and original files involved in their tutorials. I haven’t tried the video tutorials just yet but those are there as well for anyone to have fun with.

4. Good-Tutorials

Good tutorials

Good-tutorials.com is probably my favorite tutorial website. I did not learn PHP from there however. It’s a great website to find other websites, so to speak. If you look under the PHP section, you’ll find lots of great tutorials, tips&tricks, that you’d never think would be available online for free. Through this site, I found all the others. They all feature their tutorials on good-tutorials. You can add your own tuts if you wish, it’s what I do. I recommend you use this site for PHP only after you learn the basics. If you want to learn anything other than PHP, such as how to use photoshop or illustrator, be sure to check this place out.

Anyways, that’s it. Look through these sites and learn all you can. I hope this article helps you out on your road to learning PHP!