PHP Interview Questions and Answers for Web Developers

Are you preparing for a PHP developer job interview in 2025? Whether you're a fresher starting your web development journey or an experienced developer aiming for a senior role, understanding the most commonly asked PHP interview questions and answers is critical to cracking your technical interviews.

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) remains a dominant server-side scripting language widely used in web development. It powers major content management systems like WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla, and is the backbone of millions of websites and applications across the globe. As a result, demand for skilled PHP developers remains strong—especially for those who understand modern frameworks, databases, and best coding practices.

In this complete guide, we bring you the most frequently asked PHP interview questions and answers for web developers, designed to help you prepare effectively and confidently face your next interview.

Why PHP Is Still Important in 2025

Despite the rise of newer languages like Node.js, Python, and Go, PHP remains a critical component of the web development landscape. Over 75% of all websites still use PHP in some form. Platforms like Facebook (originally built in PHP), Wikipedia, and WordPress continue to showcase their flexibility and scalability.

Modern PHP (especially from version 7 onwards) has improved dramatically in terms of performance, security, and object-oriented programming (OOP) support. That’s why companies continue to look for developers with strong PHP fundamentals, as well as experience with frameworks like Laravel, CodeIgniter, and Symfony.

What You’ll Learn in This Blog

In this post, we’ll cover:

• Basic and theoretical PHP interview questions
• Real-world coding examples and problem-solving
• Advanced questions related to PHP 7 & 8 features
• Database and MySQL-related questions
• PHP with frameworks like Laravel
• Commonly asked scenario-based and practical questions

Let’s dive into the categories one by one.

Basic PHP Interview Questions for Beginners

These questions test your core understanding of the language.

Q1: What is PHP and how does it work?
A: PHP is a server-side scripting language designed for web development. It runs on a web server and generates HTML dynamically.

Q2: What are the key differences between GET and POST methods?
A: GET sends data via URL and is visible, suitable for search queries. POST sends data via HTTP request body, more secure for form submissions.

Q3: How do you declare a variable in PHP?
A: PHP variables start with $ (e.g., $name = "Suraj";).

Q4: What are data types in PHP?
A: PHP supports strings, integers, floats, booleans, arrays, objects, NULL, and resources.

Intermediate-Level PHP Interview Questions

These evaluate your understanding of common PHP functionality used in web applications.

Q5: What are sessions and cookies in PHP?
A: Sessions store user data on the server; cookies store it on the client-side browser.

Q6: What is the difference between include and require?
A: Both include files, but require throws a fatal error if the file is not found, whereas include gives a warning.

Q7: What is error handling in PHP?
A: PHP offers functions like try...catch, error_reporting(), and set_error_handler() to manage errors.

Q8: How do you connect PHP with MySQL?

$conn = new mysqli("localhost", "username", "password", "database");

Advanced PHP Interview Questions and Answers

These questions are often asked for mid-level to senior developer roles.

Q9: What are Traits in PHP?
A: Traits allow you to reuse methods in multiple classes without inheritance.

Q10: How is PHP 8 different from previous versions?
A: PHP 8 introduces JIT (Just-In-Time compiler), named arguments, union types, match expressions, and more.

Q11: What are the differences between abstract classes and interfaces?
A: Abstract classes can have method implementations; interfaces can only declare methods (in PHP <8.0). PHP 8+ allows default methods in interfaces.

Q12: How do you prevent SQL Injection in PHP?
A: Use prepared statements with PDO or mysqli.

Database and Backend Integration Questions

Expect these in any full-stack PHP interview.

Q13: What is the difference between PDO and MySQLi?
A: PDO supports multiple databases (MySQL, PostgreSQL, etc.), while MySQLi supports only MySQL. PDO uses named placeholders, MySQLi uses positional.

Q14: How do you perform CRUD operations in PHP?
Be ready to demonstrate basic Create, Read, Update, Delete operations using form inputs and MySQL.

Q15: What is ORM and how is it used in PHP frameworks?
A: ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) is used to interact with the database using objects rather than raw SQL queries (e.g., Laravel’s Eloquent ORM).

PHP Framework-Specific Questions (Laravel, CodeIgniter)

Q16: What is MVC architecture?
A: Model-View-Controller separates business logic (Model), user interface (View), and routing/control flow (Controller).

Q17: Explain middleware in Laravel.
A: Middleware filters HTTP requests before they reach the controller, e.g., for authentication or logging.

Q18: What is dependency injection in PHP?
A: It's a design pattern where objects receive other objects they depend on, improving code flexibility and testability.

Real-World Scenario-Based Questions

These test your ability to apply PHP knowledge in production environments.

• How would you upload and validate a file in PHP?
• How do you implement secure login with session handling?
• How do you cache data in a PHP application?
• How do you handle time zones and date formatting?

Conclusion

Mastering these PHP Interview Questions and Answers for Web Developers will help you feel more confident and prepared for interviews in 2025 and beyond. From basic syntax to real-world coding tasks, this guide provides the insights and examples needed to demonstrate your PHP expertise.

Whether you're applying for a junior PHP developer position or aiming for a senior web development role, make sure you practice with real projects, stay updated with the latest PHP versions, and understand how to work with databases and frameworks.

Keep learning, keep building, and you’ll be well on your way to acing your next PHP interview!