My favourite PHP and software engineering blogs in 2025

If you prefer practical insights over hype, and clear writing over buzzwords, here’s a curated list of programming blogs you may like. Many of these lean toward PHP or backend work, but all of them share the same vibe: useful, grounded, no fluff.

PHP-centric Blogs

Stitcher.io (Brent Roose)

If you work with PHP and haven’t read Stitcher.io yet, add this to the top of your list. Brent writes in a very down-to-earth, developer-to-developer style. His posts on PHP internals, pitfalls, and new language features are some of the clearest around. You always walk away with something practical.

Matthias Nobacks blog (Matthias Noback)

If you enjoy diving deeper into architecture, testing, design patterns, and the “why” behind backend development, Matthias Noback’s blog is a gem. His posts are thoughtful, well-explained, and great for sharpening how you think - not just PHP, but software design in general.

Freek.dev (Freek Van der Herten)

Freek.dev is run by a PHP developer and Laravel enthusiast, Freek Van der Herten. The blog is focused on Laravel, PHP, JavaScript and backend/web dev topics. It offers a mix of quick-win tutorials, deep dives, commentary on PHP / Laravel ecosystem, and advice drawn from actual professional experience.

DC Blog (David Carr)

David Carr’s blog offers straightforward tutorials across PHP, Laravel, MySQL, and more. If you appreciate blogs that focus on doing rather than theorising, you’ll like this one.

Broader Software & Tech Blogs

Fathom analytics technical blog (Jack Ellis)

Fathom’s technical blog - mostly written by Jack Ellis - is one of the most underrated sources of real, practical engineering insight on the web. If you haven’t read it yet, check out their blog here

BUT. Honestly (Nicola Mustone)

BUT. Honestly is a collection of calm, thoughtful essays on web development, programming & more. Nicola has a no-nonsense, no-hype writing style that’s refreshing in a world full of “10x developer” noise.

Martinfowler.com (Martin Fowler)

It’s not PHP focused, but Martin Fowler’s site is a classic - practically required reading for anyone who writes backend code or cares about software design. It’s full of essays on architecture, refactoring, patterns, testing, team dynamics, and large-system thinking.