When starting a new web development project, all the developers must choose the proper framework. Among various web development technologies, PHP has evolved immensely. Nowadays, it is used almost everywhere to build simple as well as complex web applications.

Many PHP frameworks are designed to simplify the development process and reduce the time and effort required to create a responsive application. Every framework comes with its own set of features and a list of components. 

However, to choose the proper PHP  framework for your project, you will have to set priorities and factors such as features you want, ease of use, and many others. If you are a beginner, an open-source framework like Symfony will be a good choice as it is easy to learn and use.

What is Symfony?

Symfony is an open-source PHP framework that has existed far longer than other ones in the business. It has gained the trust of developers for over a decade. It is the only framework that follows the standards of web and PHP completely. 

Symfony is the first choice for most developers due to the availability of many reusable libraries and components that can help them complete various tasks such as authentication, templates, and much more. It is also flexible and can integrate with more significant projects like Drupal, Sylius, etc.

Symfony Features

Symfony features

Developers widely use Symfony because it offers a huge variety of features, making the development process easy. Some of the features of Symfony that make it the best PHP framework are described below.

Includes 30 independent components

Symfony offers 30 standalone components to its users. They are reusable and decoupled PHP libraries that provide the essential foundation for any PHP project. But, of course, it is entirely up to developers’ choice and preference if they want to use these components independently.

Developers can use these components to perform everyday tasks without the need to write lengthy codes. 

Structured MVC Architecture

Symfony is an open-source PHP framework that comes with MVC architecture. MVC architecture is becoming immensely popular among developers as it makes their jobs easier and efficient.

It ensures that the project is developed with a structured file system divided into model, view, and controller. The primary purpose of using an MVC architecture is to speed up and simplify the development process by keeping the business and presentation layers separate from each other. Therefore, allowing users to add new features and functionalities without investing much of their efforts and time.

Profiler

The most difficult challenge faced by developers is maintaining the health of an application. However, with Symfony, developers don’t have to worry about it anymore. Symfony profiler monitors the behavior of the application by mapping the back-end activities and actions.

It appears as an informative panel at the bottom of the project. It can also be expanded into a dashboard to keep track of all the activities such as user authentication, routing, and end-to-end logging.

Composer

Symfony composer is an efficient tool to manage all the components.  You can use it to install various components and external packages in the Symfony framework making it easy for Symfony developers. They can also easily declare the libraries without putting in extra time and effort.

Another best feature is that none of the components are automatically enabled, which means Symfony users can use them according to their requirements.

Which prominent companies are using the Symfony PHP framework?

Developers mainly use Symfony to create solutions for the healthcare sector. However, it has also helped many eCommerce businesses in the development of their websites. Some of the prominent companies that are benefitting a lot from using the Symfony PHP framework are:

Spotify

Spotify uses the Symfony framework to manage its user’s accounts.  According to statistics, there are 286 million active users of Spotify all around the world. So, Spotify is hugely dependent on Symfony to manage a massive number of user accounts for them.

Dailymotion

Dailymotion is another streaming service that is quite popular among people worldwide. It is visited daily by millions of users. As adding new functionalities is quite common for DailyMotion developers, the company decided to switch to the Symfony PHP framework. As a result, it is easier to add new features and functionalities, thanks to its vast collection of components.

Trivago

Trivago is a booking-based Symfony application that is currently serving millions of users. Symfony helps users to have the best experience when searching and comparing different hotel accommodation offers.

Radosław Żurawski - CSO at BitBag
Want to benefit from Symfony like those popular companies? Let’s talk about your project!

Top Reasons why to use Symfony framework 

Website development is a critical task even with excellent development processes. From maintaining the health of the web application to coding, the life of web developers is quite hectic and challenging.

Now, suppose a scenario in which you can write fewer lines of code with minimum chances of errors, have a high productivity rate, and readily available components. Isn’t it great for all the developers? What else would a developer need? 

It is like a dream coming true. Well, any developer can easily make this happen using the Symfony framework. Some of the great reasons why to use the Symfony framework for your project are:

Fast and Easy development

It speeds up and simplifies the development process saving up significant time in the end. In addition, the built-in features of Symfony are pretty user-friendly and help developers performing common tasks efficiently.

It takes less memory as compared to other PHP frameworks. As a result, the Symfony framework allows developers to create efficient, robust, and high-performance applications.

Convenience 

Symfony is a high-end development framework that brings a lot of ease and comfort for developers. Moreover, it allows them to focus more on advanced functionalities of the applications rather than basic features.

Many developers prefer Symfony because it makes overall product development more manageable and more customer-centric. In addition, it offers many tools to keep track of coding errors and security issues. It also helps developers in finding a way to resolve them efficiently.

Reliable

Symfony framework has proven itself for almost a decade now. Many PHP frameworks have diminished in popularity in recent years, but Symfony is still popular and preferred by many developers.

Many frameworks have chosen to take Symfony and build on top of it, such as Laravel and Sylius. However, the last one is undoubtedly one of the most reliable and flexible PHP frameworks available.

Commercially supported

Symfony is one of a few commercially supported frameworks that means you can attain certifications, attend conferences, and receive official tutorials

Customization

Another good reason to use Symfony is its ability to customize projects. Symfony offers tons of great features and functionalities for developers and all kinds of businesses. For example, it provides three types of customization such as:

  • Full Stack: Develop a highly complex project including multiple functionalities.
  • Brick by Brick: For those who want specific features based on their business requirements, they can build their customized framework, including specific features and functionalities.
  • Micro framework: For those businesses who need specific functionality in their applications, they can include a specific feature to develop the particular functionality using Symfony.

Easy to Use

Symfony framework has embedded the best practices to help beginners learn quickly. Furthermore, it offers detailed and comprehensive documentation, which is quite beneficial for both newbies and experienced developers. The documentation is well-structured and straightforward, including a detailed explanation of every component with examples, so it is easy for users to keep them in their minds.

Easy to test

Symfony is widely used by many developers all around the world and also boasts thousands of contributors. Therefore, an impressive number of experienced and knowledgeable people working on the code will be the foundation for your project if you chose to build it on Symfony.

Every line of code is tested multiple times by the experts to ensure that it is error-free and ready to use for the application. 

Symfony helps developers save a lot of their time and effort by automating the functional testing. In addition, it offers various efficient unit, functional, and behavioral testing tools, making it the best PHP framework to build your project.

Large community

Another reason why most developers love the Symfony framework is the huge community support of open-source technology. One of the most critical factors that help keep the framework alive is the massive community driving it.

It is an open-source framework that gives liberty to experts worldwide to make the code better for everybody. In the massive Symfony community, users cooperate to find solutions to problems and build new components to solve emerging issues. 

Is becoming a good Symfony developer hard?

Compared to other frameworks, Symfony requires more continuous learning skills and has many challenges to cope with. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts, tricks, or briefs at hand to learn and cope with all the challenges.

While it may be an exciting and challenging experience for some developers to achieve high technical expertise, others may see it as a big obstacle.  Some of the top skills a good Symfony developer must have are:

Comprehensive technical knowledge

A good Symfony developer should have a comprehensive knowledge of PHP, HTML, CSS, databases, and many others. In addition, each Symfony developer has to master the following:

  • Basic knowledge of front-end technologies such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
  • Database administration 
  • Comprehensive knowledge of back-end languages and frameworks

Versatility 

For a good Symfony developer, it is necessary to show resourcefulness, listen and communicate ideas effectively, and be highly versatile. Therefore, excellent verbal and written communication skills will help you a lot in your everyday working routine.

Having versatility in your skillset, becoming a good Symfony developer will not be difficult for you.

Conclusion

Symfony framework is turning into a viable PHP platform to build performance-rich applications depending on the requirements of companies or organizations. It is a technology that many prominent and successful companies have adopted to build projects of various types. It can help you design a highly responsive website for your business. This highly flexible platform will allow you to create perfectly tailored solutions to your company’s needs and requirements. You can never go wrong by choosing Symfony as the foundation for the next development project. Do you want to find it out? Contact us! Symfony is making the day-to-day life of developers all around the world much more effortless.

We have done many projects on top of Sylius – the Symfony-based eCommerce platform. As we are the Sylius Leading partner, we have created many plugins for everyday use. Check them out on our GitHub!