Top 7 PHP development IDEs in 2021

by JONATHAN PAUL Jonathan Paul working at PHPProgrammers, a leading

There are several reasons why PHP is the most favoured web development platform today and one of these reasons is the availability of a wide range of IDEs that make development more efficient. And here are the top ones shared by an expert developer of a leading PHP development company.

PHP or Hypertext Preprocessor is the most widely used server-side scripting or programming language used for building dynamic and static websites and web applications. It is open-source in nature, highly flexible, scalable, has got a simple syntax, is well-documented, and has got huge community support. However, apart from these reasons behind the popularity of this language, another key reason to choose PHP or a PHP development company is the availability of a wide range of IDEs or Integrated Development Environments that aids in smart code completion, and validation or errors in real-time. Also, these tools or IDEs are packed with features that enable easy and efficient coding and debugging.

Following are the handpicked PHP IDEs that developers must use in 2021. Take a look at these.

Cloud 9:

Cloud9 is the cloud-based PHP editor that enables developers to write, run and then debug the PHP codes on any browser. The IDE helps programmers to work from anywhere and using any internet-connected device.

Features of Cloud9:

Programmers can adjust the panels in any desired direction by simply using the drag and drop feature.
This IDE comes with an integrated debugger for setting a breakpoint.
It also has an in-built terminal that lets developers see the command output right from the server.
Cloud9 supports keyboard shortcuts that make things easier.
The development environment can be shared with the entire team.
It offers a wide variety of themes.
It has an in-built image editor for cropping, resizing and rotating the images as per the requirements.

Komodo IDE:

Komodo is the IDE that supports web development technologies like JavaScript, HTML, Drupal, Zend, CSS, and more. It helps in easy and quick debugging of the codes.

Features of Komodo:

Komodo helps developers to easily inspect, test, and debug the codes.
It has tons of add-ons for customising the features as per the project requirements.
Programmers can also define their workflows with the file and project navigation.
Developers can even make the required changes in the HTML files using this IDE.
The software also allows developers to place the numeric bookmarks to go to the specific code lines quickly and easily.
Detects and highlights multiple languages within the files..

Eclipse:

Eclipse is the PHP website development Integrated Development Environment that highlights the syntax programmer has written. This is one of the most widely used software that also allows easy debugging of the program.

Highlighted features of it:

It offers readymade code templates.
It validates the syntax automatically.
The tool also helps with code refactoring, which is a process to improve the internal code structure.
It enables programmers to manage the codes and the project remotely.
And it can be used on Linux, Windows, as well as on OS X.

Netbeans:

Netbeans is the PHP tool that ensures easy writing of the PHP programs or codes. This software comes with a project window that displays a list of the existing projects.

Its features:

Developers can see the PHP class structures easily with this tool.
The IDE highlights the PHP keywords and variables.
Programmers can also format a line or a piece of the codes with keyboard shortcuts.
The tool completes the brackets automatically.
This software also has ready-made templates that aid in the easy writing of the scripts.
It has service windows, which show all the available external services.

Atom:

Atom is a pretty simple PHP text editor that can be easily customised without modifying the config file.

Features:

It comes with the integrated package manager.
The tool supports cross-platform editing.
Developers can find, replace, and preview the texts typed in any file across the whole project.
It allows the command palette for running the available commands.

PHPStorm:

It is a cross-platform Integrated Development Environment for PHP. It enables developers to use the front-end technologies like CSS, HTML, Sass, etc. Programmers can also do unit testing of the codes with this tool.

Features:

It supports MySQL.
Supports almost all the PHP-based frameworks like CakePHP, Magento, Joomla, Symfony, and more.
The software comes with an in-built code formatting feature.
It also offers hints for methods and variables.
The editor also completes the codes automatically.

Zend Studio:

It is a PHP Integrated Development Environment that ensures easier web development with PHP and is considered as one of the top PHP editors that offer smart and automatic code completion and validation of errors in real-time.

Features:

Supports the latest version of the scripting language.
It has advanced source control integration, which helps developers to work with the SVN or Apache Supervision.
Zend Studio can be run on Mac OS, Windows, Linux, and many other platforms.
Supports Symfony and Laravel frameworks.
It can work with cloud platforms such as Microsoft Azure, Red Hat OpenShift, etc.

A good PHP IDE must have an easy syntax, should allow the developers to use shortcuts for easy access, should give the real-time program output, must have libraries for easy coding with PHP and do more to make PHP programming easier and more effective for the programmers. And the above IDEs ensure the same. With advanced features and functionalities, these 7 IDEs stand out to be the top ones in 2021.

Jonathan Paul is a certified and proficient PHP developer associated with the top PHP development company in Australia, PHPProgrammers. The author has written this article to let you know about the best PHP development IDEs developers must use in 2021.