Practical PHP Course
Part of the PHP Developer (Fullstack) career path →
Stop collecting tutorials and start collecting projects: six PHP builds that give you a portfolio a hiring manager will actually open.
The weakest part of almost every junior developer's application is the projects section. Three tutorial clones and a to-do list, the same three every other applicant has. I have looked at a lot of portfolios over the years, and the ones that get callbacks show range: different kinds of apps, solving different kinds of problems.
That is the entire design of this course. Six builds, each one a different shape.
What you build
You start small with an email list app: take a signup form, write the logic, connect to a database, save real emails. Then comes my favorite section of the course, where you refactor that app into your own MVC framework. Helper functions, a database connection, models to handle data, controllers, a router, and Composer autoloading. Building a tiny framework by hand is the single fastest way I know to make Laravel make sense.
From there the projects widen out. A shortlink microservice in Laravel that creates short URLs, saves them, and redirects visitors. A warehouse CLI app that runs entirely in the terminal, with commands to create, update quantities, and search items. A task manager modeled on Notion, built in Laravel with Breeze authentication, route groups, relational data, and separate layouts for the marketing site and the dashboard. And a movie app that consumes the Watchmode REST API, which teaches you to read someone else's documentation and work with JSON responses, a skill you will use at every job forever.
The last section deploys to Digital Ocean, so at least one of these lives at a real URL.
Why this works for getting hired
Each project practices a different muscle: forms and databases, architecture, third-party APIs, the command line, authentication. Put four of these in a portfolio and you look like someone who has built things, because you have. I collected examples of what a strong PHP portfolio looks like in PHP developer portfolio examples if you want to see the bar.
PHP backend roles typically pay $65,000 to $130,000, and the PHP developer career path shows where this course sits in the bigger route. Fair warning: this is a project course, not a syntax course. If loops and arrays are still shaky, start with the Modern PHP Development course and come back. The projects will still be here.
What you'll learn
- ✓ Build an email list app that validates input and saves signups to a database
- ✓ Write your own MVC framework with helper functions, models, controllers, a router, and Composer autoloading
- ✓ Build a Laravel shortlink microservice that creates, stores, and redirects short URLs
- ✓ Create a warehouse CLI app with commands to add, update, and search inventory
- ✓ Build a Notion-style task manager in Laravel with Breeze authentication, route groups, and separate site and dashboard layouts
- ✓ Consume a real REST API by building a movie app on the Watchmode API
- ✓ Deploy a PHP application to Digital Ocean
Course Curriculum
9 sections · 57 lessons
1
First Section
5 lessons
- How this course is going to work?
- What software we need for practical php course?
- Install PHP 8, MYSQL, XAMPP for Windows
- Install PHP, MYSQL, MAMP, for Mac
- What if I don't know anything about PHP?
2
Build an Email List
7 lessons
- Download Starting Files For Email List
- Email List Scenario
- Email List - Initial Setup
- Email List Project - Working with a PHP FILE
- Email List Project - Write conditional logic in view
- Email List - Connect To DB and Read Data
- Email List - Save The Emails To Database
3
MVC Framework - Refactor
8 lessons
- MVC part 1 - Setting up for our refactor
- MVC Part 2 - Create helper functions and DB Connection
- MVC Part 3 - Create Model To Handle Data
- MVC Part 4 - Create a Model To Handle Data
- MVC Part 5 - Use Composer to Load Classes and Router
- MVC Part 6- Create a Page Controller
- MVC Part 7 - Show Data from Model in View
- MVC Part 8 - Insert Data to DB From View
4
Shortlink - Microservice
6 lessons
- Download initial files
- Linky Part 1 - Setting up laravel project
- Linky Part 2 - Setup Home View and Connect To Database
- Linky Part 3 - Create a short link and save to database
- Linky Part 4 - Show Thank You page with short link
- Linky Part 5 - redirect users to long url
5
Task Manager App
15 lessons
- Download Task Manager Starting Files
- Task App Part 1 - Intro
- Task App Part 2 - Initial Setup Of Laravel
- Task App Part 3 - Building Layouts & Templates
- Task App Part 4 - Create all pages plus setup vite
- Task App Part 5 - Authentication Laravel Breeze
- Task App Part 6 - Fix pages after laravel breeze
- Task App part 7 - Fix Login and Register Pages
- Task App Part 8 - Quick Review About Relational Database RelationshipsA
- Task App Part 9 - Build Relationship Between Users and Tasks
- Task App Part 10 - Connect Tasks Routes to controller
- Task App Part 11 - Separate App Layout with a Dashboard Layout
- Task App Part 12 - Compose view and pass all tasks to dashboard-layout
- Task App Part 13 - Fix All Task Page and Delete Tasks
- Task App Part 14 - Create and Update tasks + Conclusion
6
Warehouse CLI App
5 lessons
- Cli Part 1 - Getting Setup with CLI App
- Cli Part 2 - Create Our First Command
- Cli Part 3 - Insert items to database
- CLI Part 4 - Update Items Quantity
- Cli Part 5 - Search Items in Warehouse
7
Consume Api
9 lessons
- MovieApp Part 1 - Intro To REST APIs
- MovieApp Part 2 - Sign Up For API Key
- MovieApp Part 3 - Setup laravel project
- Movie App Part 4 - Going Over Documentation
- Download HTML CSS FIles
- Movie App Part 5 - Build Prototype layouts & templates
- Movie App Part 6 - Connect to watchmode API
- Movie App Part 7 - Display Movie Results
- Movie App Part 8 - Display Title Details and Stream Locations
8
Deploying PHP Apps
1 lesson
- Deploy on Digital Ocean App Platform
9
More videos
1 lesson
- We are adding more videos
Before you start
- ✓ Basic PHP syntax. If you are brand new, take the Modern PHP Development course first
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know PHP before starting? +
What exactly do I build? +
Why build my own MVC framework when Laravel exists? +
Is this included in the Diamond membership? +
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