7 Best Free PHP Projects With Source Code

PHP is a server-side scripting language that has been around for decades and continues to gain popularity as an easy to learn back-end language that gives a developer more control over their web development or database management project.

In this article, we would be diving into some PHP projects that are great ideas for practice, school projects, and are also very handy and popularly in demand.

Before I forge ahead, there are some basic requirements that would be needed if you want to implement these projects or any PHP project really. I’ve summarized them in this concise list below:

Front end languages: If you’d be building a complete PHP based project on your own, bear it in mind that you’d need knowledge of front end languages like HTML, CSS, and Javascript as they create the User Interface while PHP focuses on the server side.

Web Server: PHP can’t run on a web browser unlike some other scripting languages like Javascript. You’d need to install a local server which is capable of interacting with PHP interpreter. Servers you can install include XAMPP (recommended), WAMP, LAMP or MAMP.

Database Management System: For you to conveniently and efficiently store data, we’d need a database management system. Popular options include MySQL(recommended), Oracle or IBM Db2.

Alright, now that we’ve covered the common things you’d need to implement any PHP Project, let’s get into the best free PHP projects. They are all free and for educational purposes and as such the source code has been made available.

Best Free PHP Projects

1. Simple PHP Blog

This project is simple and packed with great features that make it as easy to use just like a WordPress website. The languages needed are HMTL, CSS, Javascript, and PHP (no database management system needed). The features include:

Intuitive Admin Panel
Login for Admin
Comment moderation
Post/delete blog
Multi-user support.

Download the source code here – download. Go through the following steps after downloading:

1st Step: Extract file
2nd Step: Copy main project folder
3rd Step: Paste in xampp/htdocs/
4th Step: Open the browser and go to URL “http://localhost/phpmyadmin/”
5th Step: Then, click on the databases tab
6th Step: Create database naming “blog” and then click on the import tab
7th Step: Click on browse file and select “blog.sql” file which is inside “database” folder
8th Step: Click on go.
9th Step: Open a browser and go to URL http://localhost/blog/

2. Ticket Reservation System

This is a web-based application that enables passengers to easily make reservations and pay online. Using HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, and MySQL, you’d be able to create a user-friendly reservation system that you can customize for booking Bus, Flight, or Restaurant reservations. The features include:

Online payment
Make/Cancel Reservations
Print Ticket
View Bookings and transactions (Admin side)

Check out the source code here.

After downloading, go through the following to install successfully:

Extract the package folder
Copy the folder to C:\wamp\www
Create a new database in localhost/PHPMyAdmin and import the SQL file in the folder

3. E-commerce website

Build an e-commerce website using PHP, Ajax, CSS, HTML and JavaScript. The features include:

Product catalog details
Shopping carts
User past records
Admin Panel
Manage product details (add or remove product).

Download the source code by clicking here.

4. Online Shopping Project

This allows the customer to shop virtually and all the information pertaining to the product is stored on the server-side. To build this, we’d use HTML, CSS, and Javascript for the front end and PHP and MySQL for the backend.

The sale and purchase transaction is completed electronically and interactively in real-time. The features include:

Management of shopping items
The user gets its email id and password to access their account.
Customer support via email.

Click here to see source code. After downloading source code, go through the following to install:

Download the zip file and unzip the file on your local server.
Put this file inside “c:/wamp/www/” .
Create a Database named “shop”.
Import database shop.sql.
Open Your browser put inside URL: “http://localhost/Online_Shopping/”
To log in as admin put inside URL: “http://localhost/Online_Shopping/admin”

Admin login details:
Login Id : admin; password : priya123

You can change admin login details afterwards.

5. Social Networking Website

Using HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, and MySQL; you can create an awesome social networking site like Facebook. The features include:

User/Admin Login
Search Friends
Friend/Unfriend
Send private messages

After downloading the source code here, follow these instructions to install:

Download and Unzip.
Put this file inside c:/wamp/www/
Open Phpmyadmin
Create a database “faceback”
Select the database “faceback” and click on Import.
Browser file “faceback.sql” from the database folder and click on the “Go” button.
Run(Execute) Project Open Your browser put inside http://localhost/facebook/

6. Online Blood Bank

Operating a blood bank can be a tasking job but, it’s made easy with the help of an online application that regulates all the information pertaining to blood donors, different blood groups available in each blood bank and help them manage in a better way.

We’d make use of HTML, CSS (Bootstrap), Javascript, PHP, and MySQL. Some of the features include:

Donor registration.
Inventory management for blood bank storage.
List of donors who are eligible for donation with contact information.
Online transfer of blood from one blood bank to another.

Click here to download the source code.

After unzipping the file on your local server and creating a database, import database donor.sql from the downloaded database and open this URL in your browser; http://localhost/BDmanagement/

7. Online Voting System

Even if this project comes in last on this list, it’s my personal favorite. Why? Because we all hate polling booths and queuing but, even more, we hate corruption in any voting system. This project is developed using PHP, Javascript, Bootstrap, and CSS.

Some of the features include:

Admin Features: