In current scenario, there are many PHP open sources, PHP softwares and PHP frameworks are available in the market. If you opt right software/open source/ PHP framework as per needs then coding hours can be saved, development will be fast and cost effective and feature enhancements can be easily implemented.

To select right open source, you must have background knowledge of software/open source/ php framework, after that you can advocate best open source as per need.

Please find below table, which will be helpful to identify which PHP open source/PHP software /PHP framework will be best for website/web application development as per your requirement.

Open SourceRequirement
Joomla, DrupalGeneric Content Management System and generic requirement. Drupal and Joomla are very rich in components. In case requirement is generic then most of components are available. You can also find here near by components which meets client requirement and customize it.
WordPressGeneric Content Management System and Blogging. For informative website this is a best software. It’s also rich in plug-in for generic requirement. You can create custom plug-ins and widgets to wrap up custom things. This is most SEO friendly software.
Zen Cart, Os commerceIf you want to create online shopping website or web store then this open source works. Its also providing simple CMS functionality by which you can edit the content. This will be best when in your requirement shopping, order and payments etc feature are key things.
X cart, MagentoFor complex level shopping website and web store development, these softwares are best. In current scenario, Magento is most popular one.
Core PHPFor custom requirement which is not fit in ready made available open source, If website/web application is small in nature, then its recommend to use Core PHP/OOPS based stuffs, because for small website if you introduce PHP framework then it will add un-necessary overheads.
PHP FrameworkFor custom requirement which is not fit in ready made available open source, If website/web application is middle/big in nature,then its recommend to use PHP framework like CakePHP, Zend etc.

I hope this post will be helpful to understand basic fundamentals behind open source of PHP. Kindly contact me if you have any question/query.

Thanks for reading this post.