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PHP Tutorials for Dummies

Updated on October 31, 2010

You can find PHP tutorials for dummies that will make learning how to build a website a breeze. PHP (PHP Hypertext Preprocessor) code is a language used across platforms but especially useful on the web.

Newbies on the internet usually think that web building code like PHP, HTML, or CSS is out of their reach. They most definitely are not. You can learn PHP code in eight hours of work. That's right, you can do it in a single day. In one single, solitary, simple day you can get a php tutorial built for dummies and the next day have a website up and running built with your own work at php code. PHP web hosting is that easy to learn.

If you go shopping for a PHP tutorial for dummies though there are a few things you should know. First, if you pay for it, it better have a money back guarantee. There are lots of websites out there that make you click a million times to get through a million web pages so you can get some free php tutorials. They are a pain and are usually incomplete, but they are free. So if you are going to pay for a php tutorial (and I think you should...it's worth it) be sure you can get your money back if it doesn't seem to beat a free option. Second, the PHP tutorial should cover the basics. Here's what I think that includes. 

Learn PHP without Going Bug-eyed
Learn PHP without Going Bug-eyed

What a Good PHP Tutorial will Give You

PHP tutorials (for dummies or otherwise) should give you a few key skills and scripts that will get you going on php programming quickly, simply, and easily. Here are a few of the things a good PHP tutorial will teach you:

  • How to write opening and closing tags of PHP and what that does
  • How to make a command start its function
  • How to put words on screen (printing)
  • How to use an FTP program to upload scripts
  • How to build the most simple web page possible
  • How to load to /index.html (your homepage)
  • How to write comment lines that don't affect the code, but give you reminders (// or # or */ /* etc)
  • How to use basic HTML tags in PHP code to format the way text looks
  • How to use variables (they start with $ to easily customize text).
  • How to print images with image src =\" commands.
  • What does a single quote do (prints everything) and a double quote do?
  • How to make lists of numbered and text variables using text arrays.
  • How to work with numbers to perform calculations and produce random numbers.
  • The significance of increment decrement means for php code.
  • How to create user functions
  • How to pass form data inputs for a script17.
  • Then the tough ones: looping and working with files.

All of these can be learned quickly with a simple php tutorial. One of the most popular and well-liked php tutorials for dummies is Robert Plank's Simple PHP. This tutorial costs a little but is worth every penny. Other PHP tutorials will have you piecing together the material and training that Robert Plank puts in one place in Simple PHP. There are other options but Robert Plank is a well known website builder and internet entrepreneur, and his authority and the simplicity of his system (videos, quick tutorials, sample scripts, and so forth) make it a winner. 

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