PHP Developer – Must-Have Projects
Goal: Show deep PHP knowledge, modern practices (OOP, MVC), security, and real-world
application.
Essential Projects:
1. Custom CMS (Content Management System)
- Core features: user roles, post management, comments, media uploads.
- Use OOP, PDO/MySQLi for DB, secure authentication.
- Bonus: Create a plugin/module system.
2. E-commerce Web Application
- Product catalog, cart, checkout, order management, admin panel.
- Payment gateway integration (use sandbox).
- Focus on secure user management and data validation.
3. RESTful API in PHP
- Build a REST API (e.g., for a blog or todo app).
- JWT authentication, rate limiting, error handling.
- Document with Swagger/OpenAPI.
4. PHP Security Demo App
- Purposefully secure login, registration, and CRUD.
- Show use of prepared statements, CSRF tokens, XSS protection, password hashing.
- Document security best practices.
5. Mini Social Network
- Registration/login, profile, status updates, friend requests.
- Real-time notifications (use AJAX for dynamic updates).
Bonus Projects:
- Laravel or Symfony project (to show framework skills).
- PHP unit testing demo (with PHPUnit).
- PHP-based CLI tool or automation script.
Full Stack Developer – Must-Have Projects
Goal: Prove your ability to handle both frontend and backend, with modern tech, APIs, and
deployment.
Essential Projects:
1. Full Stack MERN or LAMP Stack App
- E.g., Task manager, notes app, or project management.
- Backend: Node.js/Express (MERN) or PHP (LAMP).
- Frontend: React.js/Angular/Vue.js (MERN) or HTML/CSS/JS (LAMP).
- JWT authentication, REST API, responsive UI.
2. Real-Time Chat Application
- Use WebSockets (Socket.io or Pusher).
- User authentication, chat rooms, typing indicators.
- Host on cloud (Heroku, Vercel, or AWS).
3. Portfolio Website (with Admin Panel)
- Show projects, blogs, contact form, admin backend.
- Fully responsive, SEO-friendly, deployed.
4. E-commerce Platform (Full Stack)
- Product listing, filtering, cart, payments, admin dashboard.
- Backend API + frontend SPA (React, Vue, or Angular).
5. Blog Platform with Comments and Likes
- User accounts, CRUD for posts, comments, like system.
- RESTful API, modern JS frontend.
- Deployed with CI/CD pipeline.
Bonus Projects:
- Integration with 3rd-party APIs (weather, payments, maps).
- Progressive Web App (PWA) demo.
- Microservices demo (split backend into small services).
- Dockerized deployment project.
Tips for Both Roles
- Use GitHub for code, with good README, screenshots, and live demo links.
- Deploy at least one project online (Heroku/Vercel/Netlify/AWS).