How to Structure a PHP Project: Best Practices and Real Examples

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Organizing your PHP project properly is critical to ensure maintainability, scalability, and ease of collaboration. In this article, we’ll explore how to structure a PHP project, including directory layout, configuration, testing, performance, and security considerations. We’ll also take a look at how modern PHP frameworks like Symfony handle project organization.

🏗️ Project Root and Directory Structure

A clean and logical directory structure makes it easier to navigate and manage your project. Here’s a common structure for modern PHP applications:

/my-php-app
├── bin/                 # CLI tools and scripts
├── config/              # Configuration files
├── public/              # Web root (index.php, assets)
├── src/                 # Application source code
├── templates/           # Templates or views
├── tests/               # Automated tests
├── translations/        # Localization files
├── var/                 # Cache, logs, etc. (ignored in VCS)
├── vendor/              # Composer dependencies
├── .env                 # Environment variables
├── composer.json        # Composer package config
└── README.md            # Project documentation