Hire PHP Developers
Most PHP work is not a new build. It is an application that already earns money, written across several PHP versions by people who have since moved on, and it needs to keep running while it is improved. That is the work our PHP developers do most days.
You get an engineer who joins your repository, your tickets and your stand-up, and who reports to you. We handle the employment, the equipment and the cover. You talk to the developer directly, not to an account manager relaying messages.
What you can hand to a PHP developer here
Six kinds of job make up nearly all the PHP requests we receive. If yours is not on the list, ask anyway.
Version upgrades
Moving a codebase from PHP 5.6 or 7.x to a supported 8.x release: replacing removed functions, fixing type errors that older versions ignored, and updating Composer dependencies one group at a time so each step can be tested.
Laravel and Symfony applications
New modules, queue workers, scheduled jobs, API resources and admin screens inside an existing framework project, following the conventions already in the repository rather than introducing new ones.
APIs and integrations
REST and webhook endpoints, payment gateways, shipping and accounting connectors, single sign-on. Includes the unglamorous parts: retries, idempotency keys, and logs someone can actually read at 2 a.m.
WordPress and WooCommerce engineering
Custom plugins, theme development without page-builder lock-in, and performance work on stores with large catalogues. This website runs on a theme and plugins we wrote ourselves.
Slow pages and slow queries
Profiling first, then fixing: missing indexes, N+1 queries, unbounded loops, cache layers that were never invalidated. We report before-and-after timings, not impressions.
Taking over an orphaned project
No documentation, no tests, original developer unreachable. We read the code, write down how it works, put the deployment under version control, and only then start changing things.
The tools that come with the language
A PHP developer is only useful with the surrounding stack. These are the ones our engineers use on client work.
- Frameworks
- LaravelSymfonyCodeIgniterSlimLaminas
- CMS & shops
- WordPressWooCommerceDrupalMagento / Adobe CommerceOpenCart
- Data
- MySQLMariaDBPostgreSQLRedisElasticsearch
- Testing
- PHPUnitPestPHPStanPHP_CodeSniffer
- Delivery
- ComposerGitDockerGitHub ActionsGitLab CINginxLiteSpeed
- Front end
- BladeTwigLivewireVue.jsAlpine.js
Junior, mid or senior: decide by the task
Seniority is about how much you can leave unsaid. A useful test is to ask what would happen if you gave the person a one-line ticket.
Junior
Works well from a clear specification: CRUD screens, form validation, template changes, bug fixes with steps to reproduce. Needs code review on everything.
Choose when: you already have a lead developer who can review and answer questions daily.
Mid-level
Owns a feature from ticket to deployment. Writes the migration, the tests and the rollback. Asks about requirements rather than guessing.
Choose when: you have a defined backlog and want steady output without close supervision.
Senior
Makes the decisions a specification leaves out: data model, caching, where the risk is. Can take over a system nobody understands and explain it back to you.
Choose when: there is no technical lead on your side, or the application is old, business-critical, or both.
From first message to first commit
You describe the work
Send the stack, the PHP version, and what needs doing. A link to the repository or a staging site helps more than a long brief.
We name a developer
You receive the profile of a specific engineer and speak to them yourself. If the match is wrong, say so and we propose someone else.
A small first task
Start with something real but contained, such as one bug or one endpoint. You see how the person works before committing to months.
Regular rhythm
Work is tracked in your tools. You get a weekly summary of what shipped and what is blocked, and one invoice a month.
What a PHP developer costs
Our rates are published. Pick the role and move the sliders for an indicative budget.
Rate card
| Role | Hourly | Monthly* |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend / WordPress | AED 110 | AED 17,600 |
| Backend / API | AED 118 | AED 18,880 |
| Full-stack | AED 129 | AED 20,640 |
| Mobile (React Native / Flutter) | AED 129 | AED 20,640 |
| DevOps / Cloud | AED 147 | AED 23,520 |
| AI / Automation engineer | AED 165 | AED 26,400 |
| QA / Test engineer | AED 92 | AED 14,720 |
| UI / UX design | AED 103 | AED 16,480 |
*160 hrs/month full-time. Rates are indicative for planning, in UAE dirhams (converted from our US-dollar rates at the fixed peg of 3.6725), before VAT where applicable, and depend on seniority, contract length and timezone overlap. Longer engagements and multi-role teams are discounted — ask.
Is this the right arrangement for you?
We are a good choice when
- You have ongoing PHP work and no wish to recruit and employ someone locally.
- Your application is in production and must stay up while it changes.
- You want to talk to the engineer, not to a project coordinator.
- You are an agency that needs PHP capacity under your own name.
Look elsewhere when
- The job is a few hours, once. A freelancer will be quicker to arrange.
- You need someone in your office every day.
- You want a fixed price but the scope is still changing. We would rather scope it properly first.
- The work must be done only during your night-time hours, with no overlap at all.
What people ask before hiring
Who owns the code?
You do. Work is committed to your repository under your account, and nothing is held back on our side. Ownership and confidentiality terms are written into the agreement before work starts.
Can the developer work in our time zone?
The team works India time. Overlap with Gulf, European and Australian business hours is straightforward; for the Americas we agree fixed overlap hours for calls and do the rest asynchronously.
Our application is on PHP 5.6 or 7.2. Is that a problem?
No, it is common. We will tell you what an upgrade involves and what can wait, but we can also maintain the current version while you decide.
Do you work with code that has no tests?
Yes. We add tests around the parts we are about to change, so the safety net grows with each piece of work instead of stopping everything for a rewrite.
What if the developer is ill or leaves?
The work is in your repository and documented as it goes, so a replacement engineer can pick it up. We arrange the replacement; you approve the person as you did the first time.
How do we stop the engagement?
Engagements run month to month. Tell us before the next month begins and the developer hands over open work and notes before finishing.
Tell us about the PHP work
Two or three sentences are enough to start: what the application does, which PHP version and framework it runs on, and what you need changed. We reply within one business day.