PHP Developer

PHP Developer Duties and Responsibilities:

A PHP developer’s duties can depend on their organization and the types of web applications they program, but many of the core responsibilities carry over:

Write and Edit PHP Code

The primary duty of a PHP developer is writing and editing PHP code on the back end of web applications and dynamic sites. The PHP developer considers the web application’s intended function and works to integrate PHP code with existing HTML code. In this aspect of the role, the PHP developer also works with the application’s data structure to ensure reliable performance.

Develop and Implement PHP Modules

PHP developers also work on PHP modules, which are blocks of code that can increase a web application’s functionality and performance for specific tasks. In many cases, PHP developers design these modules to be both reusable and portable so that they can be used for a variety of server-side tasks and be incorporated into future development projects. The PHP developer ensures that these modules work independently and are successfully integrated into the application.

Test and Troubleshoot Applications

Another important duty of PHP developers is testing and troubleshooting applications both before and after deployment. They tend to work with frontend developers to assess whether the server-side elements of the application are working in tandem with the user interface, ensure that the application is receiving, parsing, and storing data correctly, and verify that all code elements are working independently and together.

Coordinate with Frontend Developers and Project Managers

Throughout the development process, PHP developers collaborate with other programmers and project managers to ensure that deliverables are completed according to schedule following a development road map. This process can involve both initial meetings to determine the project’s scope and needs and coordination throughout the implementation and testing processes to resolve server-side issues by updating or reworking PHP code and modules.

Integrate Server-Side Code with Third-Party Modules

The PHP developer also ensures that server-side and backend code elements work in tandem with third-party services. PHP developers work with third-party application programming interfaces (APIs) to access data between servers and applications. For example, if an application uses content from Twitter, the PHP developer writes code using Twitter’s API and ensures that it is successfully integrated into the web application’s code base.

Meet Directly with Clients

In many cases, PHP developers work directly with internal and external clients throughout the development process. In an initial meeting, the PHP developer asks questions to learn how the client expects the web application to perform and develops functional specifications used by the entire project team. The PHP developer may also make suggestions about server-side architecture and data management tasks to improve the application’s overall performance.