PHP Web Application

PHP (PHP Hypertext Preprocessor) is currently our most used language for building web applications.  It’s fast, it’s solid, and it powers some of the Internets largest and most popular sites: Facebook, WikiPedia, Digg, and many others.

Here’s where PHP fits into the big picture:   A static website (not a web application) is typically a few static HTML files that live on a web server.  They look the same to everyone who access them with their web browser.  In contrast, using a programming language like PHP to build a web application allows the contents of the website files to be dynamic – that is, they can change based on any number of things like who is logged in, how many times you’ve been to the site, and actions you perform on the site, for example.  Typically, a web application involves a back-end database to store things like web application user accounts and content.

For example, we’ve built GoRoller with PHP, a sports and entertainment pools site.  Users of GoRoller are able to login, play in sports and entertainment pools, be social in a variety of ways, and earn sponsor points.  All of that functionality is achieved using PHP and a database server.  The pools you’re playing in, what teams you pick to win, what you posted as your status, they’re all stored in the database connected to your user account.

If you’re thinking about building a web application of your own, you should consider using PHP.  PHP isn’t the only solution we work with but it is a popular one.  If you need help with your web application, we’d be happy to talk to you about how we can help.  Contact us for more information.