PHP runs WordPress, Drupal and MediaWiki, the software behind Wikipedia, and Laravel and Symfony are how teams build new applications in it. Before either framework, a PHP backend developer needs the language, SQL, a Linux terminal, Git and Docker. This path teaches them in that order, free, in your browser, with a certificate for each course.
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A path certificate at the end, plus 8 along the wayEach step is an existing Coddy course, and the first step's Start button opens the PHP course. Take them in order, or start from the one you are missing: progress is saved per course either way.
SELECT, WHERE, JOIN, GROUP BY and subqueries against live tables, then the indexes and schema design that keep them fast. The queries carry over to the MySQL or MariaDB database WordPress requires, and they are what Eloquent and Doctrine send behind the scenes.StartDedicated pageWrite real code, query databases, build websites, and master AI prompts. Our interactive lessons cover every skill modern developers need.
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Promotion zoneRead, listen, test yourself, ask the AI, or look up anything you've already covered. Every lesson meets you where you are.
A variable is a named container that stores a value you can reference later in your program.
In Python, you create one by writing the name, an equals sign, then the value you want to store.
The value can change over time. Reassigning the name simply points it to a new value.
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match, named arguments, enums and readonly properties, and Laravel and Symfony are built from classes and interfaces. The PHP course's Object Oriented Programming section is the part those frameworks assume.For web backends, yes. Each request starts from a clean slate, which makes a PHP application simple to reason about and cheap to host, and Laravel and Symfony are mature, well-documented frameworks. PHP's reputation comes from old code: the modern language has types, enums, a JIT compiler and Composer for packages. It is a weaker fit for long-running processes and heavy concurrency, where Go or Node.js are more common.
In most PHP backend jobs, Laravel or Symfony: new PHP applications are usually built on one of the two, and job descriptions tend to name one. WordPress work is the exception, with its own plugin and theme APIs. This path teaches neither framework yet, on purpose: both assume object-oriented PHP and SQL, which are its first two steps.
No. WordPress is the biggest PHP application and a large job market of its own, in themes, plugins and agency work, but Laravel and Symfony run SaaS products, online stores, internal tools and the APIs behind mobile apps. All of it rests on what this path teaches: PHP itself, a relational database, Linux servers, Git and containers.
PHP for the WordPress and Laravel job market, simple hosting and a request model that is easy to reason about; Node.js if you already write JavaScript for the frontend and want one language across the stack, or need many long-lived connections such as WebSockets. Both are common on web backends, and the SQL, Linux, Git and Docker steps on this path carry over to either.
Starting from zero, at an hour a day: the PHP course takes five to six weeks, SQL two to three, and Linux, Git and Docker about a month together, so roughly three months for the foundations on this path. Job-ready usually means Laravel or Symfony and one real project on top, such as a small application with logins, a database and a deployment.
Yes. Every course on it is free: the PHP lessons, the SQL and terminal exercises, Bugsy's hints and a certificate for each course you finish, each verifiable at its own URL. PHP runs server-side, so there is no XAMPP, Apache or MySQL to install.
Yes. Finish every step and you get one free certificate for the whole Backend Developer path. It lists each course you finished on the way, and links each course's own certificate, so anyone can check every skill it names. You can add it to your LinkedIn profile. It is a certificate of completion from Coddy, not an accredited qualification.
