Introduction
Build a real-world, secure and robust vanilla PHP application while learning Clean Software Architecture, Object Oriented Programming, and a custom MVC framework from scratch. This step-by-step course teaches practical best practices, Composer package usage, PHP 8/8.1 features, and unit testing so you can create a reusable, maintainable web application with MySQL and modern tooling.
What you’ll build and why architecture matters
This course guides you to create a complete PHP application from A to Z and to build your own clean, reusable MVC framework. You will learn how to structure code using Clean Software Architecture and the Service layer pattern — the place where your application’s business logic lives. Following PHP standard recommendations (PSR) and best programming practices, the framework you build will be maintainable, scalable and ready for real-world projects like membership sites or “Buy Me A Coffee” style applications.
- Vanilla PHP, secure and robust: practical steps to build without heavy third-party frameworks.
- Clean MVC architecture: separate concerns clearly so controllers, views and models remain focused and testable.
- Service layer pattern: centralizes business rules and keeps controllers thin and reusable.
Core technologies, tools and modern PHP features
Throughout the course you will adopt modern PHP practices and tools to accelerate development and improve code quality. You will use Composer as a dependency manager to install packages and to package your own assets. The curriculum includes practical work with Symfony Mailer, Dotenv, Gravatar and Templating components, demonstrating how to integrate Composer packages into your framework and project.
- Composer and packages: install packages, create a Composer package for assets, and use the magic post-install-cmd to automatically load things like a responsive CSS framework.
- Symfony components: learn email sending with Symfony Mailer and environment management with Dotenv, plus Gravatar and templating utilities integrated into your application.
- PHP 8 and 8.1 features: get practical exposure to the important language features introduced in PHP 8 and 8.1 as they apply to building a modern framework and application.
- Front-end integration: quickly use a modern responsive CSS framework (for example Materialize) by packaging it into a Composer package and loading it via post-install-cmd.
Hands-on learning path and practical outcomes
The course is delivered as screencast videos that “literally cover everything” with no hidden steps, so you can follow the full evolution of a web application. You will build a clean MVC framework, implement OOP principles in PHP, and put the Service layer pattern into practice. Testing is included: you will learn how to test your PHP code with unit tests, ensuring your application is robust and maintainable.
- Step-by-step approach: follow guided videos that take you from initial design to a complete working application and reusable framework.
- Unit testing: validate critical parts of your codebase to increase confidence when making changes and preparing for real-world deployment.
- Real-world readiness: after the course you will be able to reuse the framework for future SaaS projects and freelance work, implementing your own ideas from the course codebase.
Audience, prerequisites and instructor support
This course is ideal for anyone interested in building modern, maintainable web applications in PHP or creating their own PHP framework based on scalable architecture patterns. It is suited to developers building membership websites or applications similar to “Buy Me A Coffee.” Some prior knowledge will help you move faster:
- Recommended: some knowledge of PHP and MySQL.
- Helpful but not required: basic knowledge of CSS and the very basics of programming.
- Tools: a code editor or IDE such as PHPStorm, Visual Studio Code, Sublime or TextMate.
The instructor, Pierre Henry, is a senior software engineer and passionate teacher with 12 years of experience. Once you subscribe, he aims to answer questions within a few hours to help you succeed while building your web application.
Conclusion
By following this course you will build a modern, clean and flexible PHP framework and a complete MySQL-backed application using best practices, Composer packages and unit tests. The hands-on, step-by-step screencasts and instructor support will give you the confidence to create real-world projects, reuse the framework for future work, and advance your PHP/OOP skills for business or freelance success.
