Skip to main content
(307) 429-3559Get started

Hire PHP developers

Hire remote PHP developers from around the world

Hire a PHP developer who has shipped and maintained a real application, not only a tutorial. On Arca.ph, profiles of vetted engineers from around the world are free to view, and your own AI assistant, such as Grok Bot, Claude or ChatGPT, searches and sorts them and builds a shortlist. On the marketplace you pay one fee of 15% of first-year pay, once, only if you hire someone Arca.ph introduced.

Get started

What PHP developers work on

A PHP developer writes and maintains the server code behind a website or web app: the pages, the APIs, the admin screens and the jobs that run in the background. PHP still runs a large share of the web. W3Techs reports that PHP is used by 69.1% of websites whose server-side language it can identify (W3Techs).

  • Web apps and APIs. Laravel or Symfony handles a request, checks the input, and returns an error a caller can understand when the input is bad.
  • Content sites and stores. WordPress, WooCommerce or Magento sites with custom plugins and themes that survive the next update.
  • Background jobs. Queues and scheduled tasks that send email, import data or build reports. If a job runs twice, it doesn't charge or write twice.
  • Tests for real cases. PHPUnit or Pest covers the cases the product hits, so a later change doesn't quietly break checkout or a login.
  • Dependencies. Composer with a committed lockfile, so the next install gets the same packages.
  • Upgrades. Moving an older app to a supported PHP version. The PHP project lists 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 and 8.5 as its currently supported branches (php.net).
  • Hours that overlap the team. Every profile shows the hours the developer can work, so a failed job can be a conversation during your day.

When a PHP developer is the right hire

  • Your product, store or content site runs on Laravel, Symfony, WordPress or plain PHP.
  • An older PHP app needs a version upgrade while customers are still using it.
  • Plugins or custom code keep breaking after updates, and nobody on the team wants to own them.
  • The front end has an owner, and the queue is the PHP back end.

Pair this hire with backend developers or full-stack developers.

Skills you can filter on

These are skills developers list in their work history. You can compare them side by side.

PHP · Laravel · Symfony · WordPress · WooCommerce · Composer · PHPUnit · MySQL · PostgreSQL · Redis

Skills to check on a PHP profile

Look for:

  • Shipped PHP in the framework this job uses, such as Laravel, Symfony or WordPress.
  • Recent work on a supported PHP version, and an upgrade they can explain.
  • Tests they wrote, and a bug those tests would catch.
  • A Composer lockfile they can point to, and a package they chose not to add.
  • A security fix they made, such as closing a SQL injection or a cross-site scripting hole.
  • Plain English on the profile, and a test score when one is already there.

You ask for an introduction, then you decide.

What this hire costs

Marketplace: one success fee if you hire

  • Profiles are free to view.
  • You can ask for proctored tests and recorded reference checks.
  • Pay is quoted per month, up to about $3,000 a month.
  • 15% of first-year pay, paid once, only if you hire someone Arca.ph introduced, within 1 year of the introduction.
  • Every hire includes a 3-month replacement.

For example, a PHP developer paid $3,000 a month earns $36,000 in the first year, so the fee is $5,400, once. An introduction is when the developer says yes. See Pricing.

Get started

Three steps to a PHP developer

  1. Create an account. Sign up with your work email. Arca.ph checks that you're a real company, which keeps developers' details safe. Every profile shows pay, the hours the developer can work, English level and test scores when they're on file. Profiles are free to view.
  2. Look, and ask for proof. Browse profiles, or use your own AI assistant, such as Grok Bot, Claude or ChatGPT, to search and sort them and build a shortlist. Arca.ph doesn't shortlist for you. For PHP, ask for a coding test with no AI allowed on a real function, a 2-hour build project with AI allowed, or the Fire Drill (live pair programming on a real-world problem), such as a checkout that charged a customer twice. Arca.ph returns the scores.
  3. Get introduced, then hire. Tell Arca.ph who you want to meet. Arca.ph reaches out. If they say yes, that's an introduction. On the marketplace, if you hire them, you pay one fee: 15% of first-year pay, once. Every hire includes a 3-month replacement. If Arca.ph introduces you to a developer you were already talking with, there is no fee.

See How it works for the details.

Questions to ask a PHP developer

Use these alongside your own technical interview. You make the hiring decision.

  1. Walk me through a PHP app you shipped and still had to maintain. Listen for the framework, the database, and what they would change now.
  2. Tell me about an upgrade to a newer PHP version. Listen for what broke, how they found it, and how they tested before release.
  3. How do you stop SQL injection in this codebase? Listen for prepared statements or the framework's query builder, not hand-built strings.
  4. What happens if a queued job runs a second time? Listen for one result, not two, and what a customer sees if the job stops halfway.
  5. Where do you let an AI tool draft PHP, and where do you throw the draft away? Listen for tests, security, and the parts of the design the tool can't see.

More questions are on Interview questions.

Roles that pair with this one

  • Backend developers. APIs, data models, integrations, and the performance work behind them.
  • Full-stack developers. One engineer across UI, API and database, for teams that need features shipped end to end.
  • Software engineers. Generalists who take a feature from ticket to production and own it after release.
  • AI engineers. Engineers who build LLM features, agents and retrieval systems into real products.

PHP developers: FAQ

Where can I hire PHP developers?

On Arca.ph, profiles of vetted PHP developers from around the world are free to view. Your own AI assistant, such as Grok Bot, Claude or ChatGPT, can search and sort them against your brief, and you ask for introductions to the people you want to meet.

How much does it cost to hire a PHP developer per month?

Pay on Arca.ph is quoted per month, up to about $3,000 a month. If you hire someone Arca.ph introduced, you pay 15% of first-year pay, once. For a developer paid $3,000 a month, that's $5,400. Published pay from named sources is on the developer rates page.

How do proctored tests help with a PHP hire?

A coding test can ask for a PHP function with no AI allowed. The Fire Drill can be a checkout that charged a customer twice. You can ask for an English screening, a thinking-skills test, a coding test with no AI allowed, a 2-hour build project with AI allowed and the Fire Drill (live pair programming on a real-world problem), plus recorded reference checks. A real person watches.

Which PHP frameworks can I look for?

Work histories name Laravel, Symfony, WordPress, WooCommerce, Composer, PHPUnit and the databases they've used. Filter profiles by the ones this role needs.

Where are they based?

Around the world. Every profile shows where the developer lives and the hours they can work.

What if we were already talking with this developer?

If Arca.ph introduces you to a developer you were already talking with, there is no fee.

What if they are not a fit?

Every hire includes a 3-month replacement. If someone Arca.ph introduced isn't the right fit, tell Arca.ph within the first 3 months.

Can Arca.ph run the search for me?

Yes. Done-for-you is 35% of first-year pay, charged once on hire. Arca.ph runs the search and sends a shortlist. You hire and pay the developer directly.

Keep reading

  • Interview questions. Questions for junior, mid-level and senior engineers, and what a good answer covers.
  • Developer rates. Published pay from named sources. Each figure has a date and a link.
  • Pricing. On the marketplace, a one-time 15% fee of first-year pay, charged only on hire.
  • Proctored tests. An English screening, a thinking-skills test, a coding test with no AI allowed, a 2-hour build project with AI allowed, the Fire Drill, and recorded reference checks.

See which developers are out there. Profiles are free to view. Get started or Sign in.

Sources

  1. PHP, "Supported Versions": https://www.php.net/supported-versions.php
  2. W3Techs, "Usage Statistics and Market Share of PHP for Websites": https://w3techs.com/technologies/details/pl-php
  3. Arca.ph, Pricing: https://arca.ph/pricing