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Pragmatic PHP

Build Real PHP Apps

Practical Project-Based PHP Training

Learn PHP by building a complete, production-ready web application from scratch — no frameworks, just real world skills.

Join other developers who've learned PHP the pragmatic way.

About This Course

Pragmatic PHP is a hands-on, project-based training series designed to teach PHP by doing. Instead of jumping between disconnected snippets or abstract theory, you’ll learn by building a real, production-ready web application from the ground up — the way professional developers work.

From the very first lesson, you’ll apply core PHP concepts in context. You’ll explore how all the moving parts of a full application fit together — from routing requests and managing state, to interacting with data and handling authentication — so you understand both how and why things are done.

This isn’t a surface-level tutorial series. It’s structured so that each piece you add reinforces what came before and prepares you for what comes next, just like real software development.

💥 What You’ll Build & Learn
As the project evolves throughout the series, you’ll implement real features and see how PHP works in practice, including:

- MVC and custom routing — organize your code and control app flow
- Database integration — insert, update, and query data with confidence
- Sessions & state management — keep track of users and data across requests
- Authentication basics — build secure login and registration workflows
- Form handling & validation — process input safely and elegantly
- Reusable components & maintainable structure — write code you can build on
- Deployment considerations — prepare your app for real-world hosting

By the end of the course, you won’t just understand PHP syntax — you’ll understand how to apply PHP to solve real problems, structure professional applications, and maintain code over time.

👉 Who This Course Is For
This course is ideal for:
- Developers who know the basics of PHP but want real-world experience
- Programmers who’ve learned concepts in isolation and want to connect the dots
- Anyone ready to move beyond toy examples into real application development
- Developers who want to build maintainable, real-world PHP applications without relying on heavy frameworks

If you’re looking for quick tips or isolated feature demos, this isn’t the right fit.
If you want depth, continuity, and real engineering context, you’re in the right place.

🎬 Course Format
- 9 structured modules
- 30 long-form videos
- 7+ hours of in-depth instruction
- Practical project-based progression — see how features interact
- Clear lessons with real workflows — no superficial shortcuts
- Core PHP fundamentals applied in context — not just theory
- Immediate access to all lessons

The videos are intentionally long-form, allowing ideas to be fully explained and implemented — because real understanding doesn’t happen in five-minute clips.

Ready to take your PHP skills to the next level? Join me in this practical, hands-on series! ⚡

Master

9

modules

Includes

30

videos

Over

7.3 hrs

of content

Course Roadmap

Most PHP tutorials focus on isolated concepts — a form here, a database query there — without showing how everything fits together. This series takes a different approach.
In Pragmatic PHP, you’ll build a real, working web application step by step. Each module builds directly on the previous one, introducing new concepts only when they’re needed and immediately applying them in context. This mirrors how real applications are developed — incrementally, intentionally, and with maintainability in mind.
Rather than jumping between unrelated examples, you’ll see how routing, controllers, views, sessions, and data all work together inside a cohesive application.
Below is the full module breakdown, showing how the project evolves as new capabilities are added.
instructor image
"Good code isn’t about knowing more — it’s about making better decisions."

TekFoundry, Founder

Meet Your Instructor

Hi, I’m Bob Cravens — a software developer, consultant, and educator with years of experience building and maintaining real-world web applications.

I run a technology consulting company where I help clients design, build, and evolve production systems. That experience directly shapes how I teach. The patterns, tradeoffs, and decisions you’ll see in this course aren’t theoretical — they’re the same ones I use when building software that has to be understood, maintained, and extended over time.

I created Pragmatic PHP because I’ve seen too many PHP tutorials focus on isolated features or outdated patterns without ever showing how a complete application actually comes together. Knowing syntax is one thing. Knowing how to structure, evolve, and maintain a working application is something else entirely.

In this series, I teach PHP the same way I use it professionally — by building something real, making intentional design decisions, and explaining not just what to do, but why it’s done that way. You’ll see tradeoffs, common mistakes, and practical techniques that don’t always show up in short, polished examples.

My goal isn’t to rush through topics or overwhelm you with abstractions. It’s to help you develop a clear mental model of how PHP applications work — so you can approach your own projects with confidence and clarity.

If you’ve ever felt stuck between “beginner tutorials” and “real applications,” this series was built for you.

If you want to get in touch, shoot me an email bob.cravens@tekfoundry.com.

PHP Development

Why This Series?

Most PHP tutorials fall into one of two categories: they either focus on disconnected examples with no real context, or they jump straight into frameworks without explaining what’s happening underneath.

That approach leaves many developers stuck — able to follow along, but unsure how to build or maintain a real application on their own.

Pragmatic PHP was created to solve that problem.

This series is intentionally long-form and project-based. Instead of rushing through concepts, we slow down and build a complete application step by step. You’ll see how decisions are made, how pieces fit together, and how real applications evolve over time.

By working without a framework, you’ll develop a strong understanding of PHP fundamentals — routing, application structure, sessions, data handling, and authentication — so you’re not just copying patterns, but actually understanding them. That foundation makes frameworks easier to learn later, not harder.

This series isn’t designed for quick wins or surface-level familiarity. It’s designed for developers who want clarity, confidence, and the ability to build real PHP applications from scratch.

If you’ve ever felt like you “know PHP” but still struggle to put everything together, this series was built for you.

Ready to start watching?

Monthly Plan — Watch 30 videos in this series today. Yearly & Forever Plans — Get instant access to all videos in this series plus 196 total TekCasts videos available today. Learn more topics, explore other series, and build faster—no waiting. Learn more about subscription options

Monthly Plan

Access all released content as new videos are published. Perfect if you’re learning at a steady pace.

$7 $25 monthly
Start Free Trial ⏳ Videos unlock as they’re released
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Yearly Plan

Instant access to all videos in every series, including unreleased content. No waiting—build at your pace.

$99 $149 yearly
Get Instant Access ⚡ Instant access to all series
Limited Time

Forever Plan

Pay once and get instant access to everything— all current and future series, forever.

$225 $399 once
Unlock Everything 🔓 Instant access + future content included