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PHP Developer interview questions & mock practice

A PHP Developer interview in 2026 runs across 4 rounds — php fundamentals, framework round, database & sql, machine coding / project discussion. Below are the most-asked PHP Developer interview questions and a focused prep plan. Rehearse every answer with OnJob's free AI mock interview and get instant, specific feedback before the real one.

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Free interview practice · PHP Developer

Practise your PHP Developer interview now — free

Step through the 13 most-asked PHP Developer questions one at a time, under a timer, just like the real thing. Jot your answer, then reveal what a strong answer covers. No signup needed to practise.

Interview rounds

The PHP Developer interview process

Core PHP, Laravel and MySQL — the backend interview for the large pool of services companies, agencies and product teams in India still running PHP at scale.

1

PHP fundamentals

Language internals, OOP, arrays, sessions, error handling and PHP 7/8 features.

2

Framework round

Laravel (Eloquent, routing, middleware, queues) or CodeIgniter/Symfony depending on the stack.

3

Database & SQL

MySQL schema design, joins, indexing, query optimisation and ORM behaviour.

4

Machine coding / project discussion

Build or walk through a CRUD/REST feature and discuss past projects.

Most-asked questions

Most-asked PHP Developer interview questions

13 of the questions PHP Developer candidates are asked most often in India. Practise answering each one out loud in your AI mock interview.

  1. 1. What is the difference between == and === in PHP?
  2. 2. Explain the difference between include, include_once, require and require_once.
  3. 3. What are the main differences between GET and POST methods?
  4. 4. How do sessions and cookies work in PHP, and how do they differ?
  5. 5. What is the difference between abstract classes and interfaces in PHP?
  6. 6. Explain how Eloquent handles relationships (hasOne, hasMany, belongsToMany) in Laravel.
  7. 7. What is dependency injection and how does the Laravel service container use it?
  8. 8. What are traits in PHP and when would you use them?
  9. 9. How do you prevent SQL injection in PHP applications?
  10. 10. What is the difference between mysqli and PDO?
  11. 11. Explain middleware in Laravel and give a real use case.
  12. 12. What is the N+1 query problem and how do you solve it with eager loading?
  13. 13. How does PHP handle memory and garbage collection for large arrays?
How to prepare

How to prepare for your PHP Developer interview

Know core PHP cold: superglobals, type juggling, array functions, sessions vs cookies and the PHP 8 features (named args, match, enums).

Be deep on one framework, usually Laravel: Eloquent relationships, query builder, migrations, middleware, queues and the service container.

Practice writing clean MySQL: joins, indexing, EXPLAIN output and fixing N+1 queries with eager loading.

Build a small REST API with authentication so you can speak to routing, validation and error handling end to end.

Revise security basics expected of PHP devs: SQL injection, XSS, CSRF tokens, password hashing and input sanitisation.

Practise other roles

Interview prep guides

PHP Developer interview — FAQs

What questions are asked in a PHP Developer interview?

Common PHP Developer interview questions include: What is the difference between == and === in PHP? Explain the difference between include, include_once, require and require_once. What are the main differences between GET and POST methods? How do sessions and cookies work in PHP, and how do they differ? Interviews usually run across 4 rounds — PHP fundamentals, Framework round, Database & SQL, Machine coding / project discussion. Practice all of them with instant AI feedback using OnJob's free mock interview.

How many rounds are in a PHP Developer interview?

A typical PHP Developer interview has 4 rounds: PHP fundamentals (Language internals, OOP, arrays, sessions, error handling and PHP 7/8 features.); Framework round (Laravel (Eloquent, routing, middleware, queues) or CodeIgniter/Symfony depending on the stack.); Database & SQL (MySQL schema design, joins, indexing, query optimisation and ORM behaviour.); Machine coding / project discussion (Build or walk through a CRUD/REST feature and discuss past projects.).

How do I prepare for a PHP Developer interview?

To prepare for a PHP Developer interview: Know core PHP cold: superglobals, type juggling, array functions, sessions vs cookies and the PHP 8 features (named args, match, enums). Be deep on one framework, usually Laravel: Eloquent relationships, query builder, migrations, middleware, queues and the service container. Practice writing clean MySQL: joins, indexing, EXPLAIN output and fixing N+1 queries with eager loading. Then run a full AI mock interview on OnJob to rehearse out loud and get instant, specific feedback before the real thing.

What skills do I need for a PHP Developer role?

Core PHP Developer skills tested in interviews include PHP, Laravel, MySQL, OOP, REST APIs, Composer, Git. OnJob shows you exactly which of these skills stand between you and a 100% match on every live PHP Developer job.

Is OnJob's PHP Developer mock interview free?

Yes. OnJob's AI mock interview is free to start (₹0) and gives you instant feedback on your answers. Pro (₹99/month) adds unlimited interview-prep AI alongside recruiter tracking and unlimited applications.

Free AI mock interview

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Rehearse every PHP Developer question out loud with OnJob's AI mock interview and get instant, specific feedback. Then apply to AI-matched jobs in one click — free to start.

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