For startup and small business owners an online presence is mandatory. So a word of advice is not to leave a single leaf unturned to enhance your online presence. For Indian SMEs seeking a middle path between the complexities of Drupal and WordPress sites and the simplicity and dullness of a traditional website, I always suggest custom PHP websites with a range of special features to suit the project requirements. I strongly believe it is one of the best web development platforms and a powerful open source CMS. Earlier known as ‘Personal Home Page’, PHP now stands for Hypertext Preprocessor.

PHP is one of the best web development platforms and a powerful open source CMS.

If you want to build dynamic pages quickly and easily, PHP is the way to go. The server-side web programming language and can be embedded into HTML. Being an open source platform, it reduces the cost of web hosting and associated cost of small businesses, apart from running on both UNIX and Windows servers. The latest PHP5 has added even more features allowing you to build large and complex web applications.

For startups and SMEs, resources are definitely a crucial factor. And keeping this in mind PHP suits them well as it is inexpensive.  Moreover, PHP reduces your server bills and is faster than other programming language. The users can even customize the programming by changing the default codes that is imperative for the security of the website. PHP interfaces very well with MySQL MSSQL, Oracle, IBM etc. MySQL – a commercial grade database application that cuts down your development and deployment cost. Code Igniter and Zend are some of the key frameworks powered by PHP to operate powerful PHP applications.

The syntax of PHP is very similar to the C++ language, which I still believe is the most powerful programming language for websites. Creating web pages with PHP helps the webmasters to crawl your website easily. Why I specifically suggest PHP to small businesses is because it is easy to upgrade features and content across the board. You can use PHP for database-driven websites by adding a lot of functionality into your website and add contact forms and e-mail forms without hassle.

Some of the world’s most famous websites are built using this platform such as Facebook, Yahoo, Wikipedia, WordPress etc. and now smaller businesses are also joining the PHP bandwagon.

Even a few years ago, Indian SMEs were reluctant of their online presence but with time they are realizing the amount of traffic websites can generate and also its profitability and increased ROI. So would you still wait? I would suggest know “NO”. For a better web presence and yes, PHP websites are the way to go.