Make sure you know the capabilities of the PHP version you're using, as well as your development environment and tools. Understand the strengths and limitations of PHP and use them to your advantage.
PHP
Write Unit Tests
Writing unit tests can help you catch bugs early and understand how parts of your code interact. PHP has several frameworks for unit testing, like PHPUnit, that can help with this. Remember, code that is tested is often more reliable than code that is not.
Use Frameworks When Appropriate
Frameworks like Laravel, Symfony, and CodeIgniter can speed up development and provide useful functions, helping you avoid reinventing the wheel. They also often encourage MVC patterns which can make your code cleaner and more organized.
Validate User Input
Always validate user inputs to protect your website from malicious attacks. Never trust user input without validation and sanitization.
Use Composer for Dependency Management:
Composer is a tool for dependency management in PHP. It allows you to declare the libraries your project depends on and it will manage (install/update) them for you.
Follow PHP Standards Recommendation (PSR)
PSRs are coding standards for PHP. Following PSR ensures that your code is consistent, easy to read, and easy to work with for other developers.