Profiles in ~48 hoursVetted shortlist after your brief
Start within a weekAfter a short interview or trial
You own the codeIP assignment and NDA
Scale with 30 days noticeAdd or release engineers
Trusted by founders and enterprises worldwide
About hiring PHP engineers
Everything to know before you hire PHP talent
Hire PHP developers when you need dependable web back ends, content platforms or an aging application brought up to date. Speqto engineers work in modern PHP with Laravel, Symfony and WordPress, and they handle upgrades from unsupported versions, for businesses that want working software without a disruptive rewrite.
Current PHP has strict types, enums, readonly properties, attributes and a fast engine with opcache and JIT. Composer provides proper dependency management and PSR standards give libraries a shared structure. A well-run PHP project today looks like any other disciplined back-end codebase, with tests, static analysis and automated deployments. Done properly, a PHP upgrade is a series of small, tested steps rather than a risky weekend project.
That matters because a huge share of the web still runs on PHP, including commerce stores, publishing sites, CRMs and custom business systems. Many of them sit on unsupported versions, where security fixes have stopped. Good PHP developers know how to bring these systems forward safely, one dependency and one test at a time. That experience is valuable because most real PHP work is not greenfield; it is untangling an application that grew for years without tests or a clear structure.
How we vet PHP developers
We begin with language fundamentals and current features, then frameworks. For Laravel that means Eloquent relationships, queues, policies, migrations and avoiding N+1 queries. For Symfony it means services, the container, Doctrine and event subscribers. WordPress candidates show they can write plugins and themes without editing core. We also check that candidates communicate well about risk, since upgrading an old PHP site means telling stakeholders what might break and how to verify it.
Everyone is asked about quality tooling: PHPStan or Psalm, PHPUnit or Pest, coding standards, and deployment with zero-downtime releases. Security questions cover SQL injection, XSS, CSRF, file upload risks and password hashing. A live coding task and a code review decide who reaches your shortlist. Developers who write clear README files, deployment notes and database migration scripts make life easier for the next maintainer, and we weigh that heavily.
Starting an engagement
Share your current stack, PHP version and goals, and we will send relevant profiles within about two business days. Developers join your repositories, CI and communication channels, and run weekly demos so you always see working progress. A typical first month covers environment parity, a dependency audit and a prioritized list of risks, followed by the first set of tested changes released to production.
Hire one developer for maintenance and features, or a team including QA and DevOps for a larger build or upgrade. We need 30 days notice to scale a team. NDAs are available on request and all IP transfers to you. Developers use AI assistants for tests and refactors, with human review required. This approach keeps the business running while the technical foundations improve underneath it.
Why teams hire from Speqto
A bench, not a single freelancer
If an engineer is unavailable or the fit is wrong, a replacement comes from the same bench, with knowledge handed over.
SaaS products, portals and APIs using Laravel, queues, events, Sanctum or Passport authentication and Pest or PHPUnit tests that run on every push.
Symfony systems
Structured, long-lived applications using Symfony components, Doctrine and API Platform where strict architecture and many contributors matter. Boundaries are documented for new joiners.
Legacy PHP upgrades
Moving PHP 5 or 7 applications to supported versions, adding tests first, replacing removed functions and tidying dependencies using Composer.
WordPress and WooCommerce
Custom plugins, themes and store integrations that respect core updates, perform well and are safe to maintain. Updates are tested before they reach production.
API and integration work
REST APIs and connections to payment gateways, ERPs, CRMs and shipping providers, with retries and clear logging for failures.
Performance and security hardening
Query tuning, caching with Redis, opcache configuration, dependency scanning and fixes for common web vulnerabilities. Findings are fixed in priority order.
Skill set
Skills and tools your PHP hire brings
Matched against your stack during screening, not listed for decoration.
PHPHP 8.3
Laravel
Symfony
COComposer
DODoctrine
MySQL
PostgreSQL
Redis
PHPHPUnit
PEPest
PHPHPStan
WordPress
How we vet
Five filters before you see a profile
You only interview engineers who have already cleared code review, a live problem-solving session and a communication check.
1Role brief matched to our bench
2Code and project review
3Technical assessment
4Live problem solving
5Communication and culture check
How to hire
Hire PHP talent in four steps
A short, low-risk path from your brief to a working engineer. If the first engineer is not right, we replace them.
1
Share your brief
Tell us the role, stack, hours overlap and how long you need the engineer. A 20-minute call is usually enough.
2
Get vetted profiles
In about two business days you receive candidates with assessment notes, code samples and availability.
3
Interview and trial
Speak to the engineers yourself. Start with a short paid trial and continue only if the fit is right.
4
Onboard and ship
Your engineer joins stand-ups and repositories, demos weekly and is backed by a delivery lead.
Included
Every engineer comes with
No hidden extras: the basics of a safe, managed engagement are part of the package.
NDA and IP assignment
Signed before details are shared; everything built is yours.
Weekly progress reports
Plain-language updates and a demo of working software.
Replacement from our bench
If the fit is wrong, a new engineer joins with a proper handover.
Your tools and repositories
Your Git, tickets and chat; we adapt to your process.
Equipment and payroll handled
Hardware, leave and compliance stay with Speqto.
30 days notice to scale
Add engineers or release them as your roadmap changes.
Compare options
Speqto, freelancer or in-house hire
Speqto dedicated engineer
Freelancer
In-house hire
Time to start
About one week
Days, but quality varies
Often two to four months
Vetting
Practical assessment and senior review
You test every candidate
You run the whole process
If someone leaves
Replacement from our bench
You start the search again
Gap until the next hire
Management
Delivery lead plus your direction
Entirely yours
Entirely yours
Scaling
Add or release with 30 days notice
One person at a time
Slow and costly to reverse
IP and NDA
Assigned to you by contract
Depends on the agreement
Standard employment terms
Equipment and payroll
Handled by Speqto
Their own
Yours
FAQ
Hire PHP Developers FAQs
Straight answers on cost, timelines, IP ownership, team setup and how we work. Cannot find yours? Ask a solutions architect directly.
Yes, for web applications, content platforms and commerce, particularly with Laravel or Symfony. It has mature hosting, a large talent pool and good performance. For heavy real-time or compute-bound work, other languages may suit better.
Laravel or Symfony: which is better?
Laravel is quicker to start and has a rich batteries-included ecosystem, which suits most product teams. Symfony offers stricter structure and reusable components, which suits large, long-lived systems. Both are solid; team experience often decides.
Can you rescue a PHP application nobody understands?
Often, yes. We begin with a code and dependency audit, add characterisation tests around critical flows, set up a staging environment and fix the most dangerous issues first. Only after that do we refactor or replace modules.
Do you support WordPress as well as custom PHP?
Yes. Developers write custom plugins and themes, integrate external systems and tune performance. We avoid modifying core or relying on large numbers of third-party plugins, since those cause most maintenance and security problems. We also remove unused plugins to shrink the attack surface.
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