thecodeholic/php-developer-roadmap

This repository is a learning roadmap for people who want to become PHP web developers. It was created to accompany a YouTube video from 2021 and lays out a step-by-step sequence of topics, each paired with free video tutorials and articles that cover that topic. The path starts from the very basics: how the internet works, what happens when a browser makes a request, and the fundamentals of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. From there it moves into databases, version control with Git, and then into PHP itself, covering syntax, built-in functions, working with files, and making HTTP requests. After those foundations, the roadmap progresses to object-oriented PHP, building beginner projects, then constructing a custom framework from scratch using a pattern called MVC, which stands for Model-View-Controller and describes a way of organizing code. Later sections cover how APIs work, introduce two major PHP frameworks called Laravel and Symfony, and revisit JavaScript more deeply, including exposure to JavaScript frameworks. The roadmap also includes practical tooling topics: getting comfortable with the terminal, choosing a code editor or IDE, using Docker for local development environments, and understanding common design patterns that describe repeatable solutions to recurring coding problems. Each section is a table listing specific resource names, approximate video lengths, and direct links. The resources come from YouTube channels and documentation sites, most of them free. The roadmap does not contain code itself, it is a structured reading and viewing list meant to guide a beginner from zero to a working knowledge of PHP web development. It was originally published when working on content for the creator's YouTube channel.