Meet: Stefan Astefanesei, PHP Practice Lead at ddroidd

As a solutions-led company, we are not bound by one technology, programming language or framework. Instead, we have a global team with extensive knowledge and skills across all areas of tech that we can draw upon to solve even the most complex of technical challenges. Here, we get to know Stefan, PHP Practice Lead at ddroidd, understand why he chose to specialise in PHP and the benefits of this programming language…

Stefan, let’s start with a little intro to you and your background

I'm a senior full-stack PHP developer that builds apps starting from the server side to the customer facing front-end. I love being part of multi-national teams and building projects from scratch, making use of the knowledge I’ve gained over the last 12 years along with my engineering experience.

At ddroidd, I am based in the lasi office and oversee our PHP development team. I provide guidance, help solve different issues and continually look at new features and how to implement them. When a new project comes in, we firstly look at what language the digital platform is currently built in, and if it’s right for the business now and as it scales. The client may already be using PHP or thinking of using it. We build the team around the solution, if PHP is part of the project delivery, then I will lead the team depending on the project requirements.

Why did you want to become a developer?

IT is in my blood. It always came naturally to me from an early age. By fifth grade I was writing code and having a play around with it at home before I learnt how to do it properly. I’m an analytical person and love building stuff and solving problems.

Why did you want to specialise in PHP?

I tried various programming languages before specialising in PHP. I liked that I could see outcomes much faster with PHP. It’s a language built for the web – almost 80% of all digital platforms today had their server-side applications built using PHP.

What are the benefits of PHP?

There isn’t one right language for everything, it depends on the complexity of the project and time to market required, but for me I like that PHP is very versatile and scalable, making it ideal for a range of businesses and industries. The main benefits of PHP include:

1. Easy to learn and use: PHP is an easy-to-learn language that can be easily embedded in HTML pages. It is also open source, making it freely available and can be used without any cost.

2. Platform-independent: PHP is a platform-independent language, meaning it can be used on different platforms such as Windows, Linux, and macOS.

3. Fast: PHP is fast and efficient, as it is a server-side language that is executed on the server-side, and the output is sent to the client-side. This results in faster page loading times and improved website performance.

4. Scalable: PHP is highly scalable, as it can be used to develop small as well as large-scale applications. It also supports all the mainstream database engines.

5. Versatile: PHP is a versatile language that can be used for a variety of web development tasks, including web applications, e-commerce sites, content management systems, and social networking sites.

6. Large community: PHP has a large and active community of developers, which means there are plenty of resources, tutorials, and support available online.

7. Integration with other technologies: PHP can be easily integrated with other technologies such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, mainstream front-end frameworks and various databases.

What types of businesses might choose PHP for their digital platform?

PHP is a popular choice for businesses of all sizes, but with a greater adoption starting from small and medium-sized businesses that do not have a large development team or budget. PHP is a popular choice amongst start-ups because of its low development cost and fast time-to-market. Many popular start-ups, such as Facebook, were initially built using PHP. It is also widely used for building e-commerce websites and platforms like Magento, WooCommerce, and OpenCart to name a few. This is because PHP provides the flexibility and scalability required to build complex online stores with advanced features.

PHP is often used to build content management systems (CMS) like WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla. These platforms are popular among businesses that rely heavily on content marketing to attract and engage their audience.

Overall, PHP is a popular choice for businesses that require a flexible, scalable, and cost-effective web development solution.

Stefan, you specialise in Spryker, tell us a bit more about that?

Spryker is a modern PHP framework intended for B2B, B2C, enterprise marketplaces and unified commerce. It originated in the DACH region, out of Rocket Internet, with a current worldwide adoption. Being a complex framework that requires a high level of knowledge, it makes use out of the box of top technologies like Docker, ElasticSearch, Redis, Rabbit and REST, but it’s in no way limited only to this. For this reason, it is the chosen framework of many big global companies including Siemens, Aldi, Toyota, Schneider Electric, Hilti, Hornbach and many others.

Why did you choose ddroidd?

I loved that ddroidd was the “new kid in town” making waves globally. It’s not too corporate bound by red tape and processes using the same technology it always has. ddroidd is open to new technologies and I’m surrounded by likeminded people with the same drive and passion as me.

Finally, what advice would you give someone looking for a career in tech?

Be open to trying lots of different areas of tech, see if you really like something before focusing a career on it. If you enjoy it then it will be awesome, if you do it because you have to and not because you love it then you won’t be happy.

Want to learn more or understand if PHP is the right programming language for your platform? Add me on LinkedIn and let’s talk.

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Meet: Stefan Astefanesei, PHP Practice Lead at ddroidd