Our success is rooted in the fact that we’re an inch-wide, mile-deep kind of agency. When we opened our doors, we pinpointed four markets that we knew we could make a positive impact in. Each of our Consultants would work in one of those four verticals – knowing the market inside out, developing relationships with candidates and even learning to code.
We started with the .NET, Java, Python, and JavaScript markets. Within those, we were able to not only make an impact in the UK but also in Germany and, later, Miami. We always knew we would grow and expand, taking on new verticals as and when the time was right – and when that time came, it was PHP we turned to next. But why?
The state of the market
The language itself (and its mascot the elePHPant) is close to celebrating its 30th birthday, and its usage has remained stable since the release of PHP 7 in 2015. Despite this, its reputation hasn’t always been the best – outdated, poor quality, and complex are just some of the terms that are often thrown around when talking about PHP.
And yet, PHP powers almost 80 per cent of the internet – it’s far from a dying market. As a server-side language, it’s something that most people (even those who work first-hand on websites) will rarely come into contact with. But WordPress, and a host of other content management systems, rely on PHP to keep the cogs turning; the world’s information is presented on Wikipedia using PHP; thousands of email newsletters are sent every day via PHP-based distributor MailChimp.
If you ask us, its reputation couldn’t be further from the truth. We see its dynamism, versatility and flexibility as its key features, and in being used for four out of five websites, it looks like the internet agrees with us. There should be no elephant in this room – the PHP market is huge.
Why PHP?
It’s not just us waving the PHP flag – we’ve got other experts on our side too. Global job board Indeed ranked the role of the entry-level PHP Developer as the fastest-growing tech job in 2020, marking growth of more than 800 per cent. According to ITJobsWatch, roles requiring PHP skills have seen salaries rise by 13.6 per cent year-on-year, compared to roughly seven per cent for those in Java or Python. For senior PHP Developers, that figure rises to as much as 26 per cent.
The rise of eCommerce over the past two years has also had a significant impact on PHP’s staying power. The pandemic accelerated eCommerce growth by between four and six years according to research carried out by Adobe, and with PHP used to give websites access to external databases – stock records, for example – the language came into its own. This use case is best demonstrated by global online marketplace Etsy.
Online shopping is here to stay, and so too is PHP.
Meet Jack
We pride ourselves on our approach to software engineering recruitment. Each of our Consultants works within their market and their market only. Our Principal PHP Consultant is Jack Golding, who has now spent more than two years sourcing, engaging with, and placing the top five per cent of PHP talent at the clients we work with. He knows the market inside out and is learning to code in PHP himself – he’s nothing short of a true expert in his field.
If you’re looking for talented PHP Developers, then Jack and develop can help you find exactly what you need. Get in touch by emailing jack@developrec.net, or by calling 0207 733 0430.