PHP Vs HTML – What Is The Difference Between PHP And HTML

By Sruthy

By Sruthy

Sruthy, with her 10+ years of experience, is a dynamic professional who seamlessly blends her creative soul with technical prowess. With a Technical Degree in Graphics Design and Communications and a Bachelor’s Degree in Electronics and Communication, she brings a unique combination of artistic flair…

Learn about our editorial policies.
Updated January 6, 2025

Learn about the differences between PHP vs HTML and how to use them together:

This tutorial aims at explaining PHP and HTML in detail. Both are languages used for developing the web application, we will explore the areas of their use.

We shall also learn about the benefits of the use of PHP & HTML and also take a look at the differences between PHP and HTML. This tutorial would also cover a code example of both HTML as well as PHP.

Let’s begin the tutorial by understanding how PHP and HTML are useful for software developers.

PHP vs HTML

What Is HTML

HTML

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It is a markup language that is used for creating web pages and basically for determining the structure of a web page. For this purpose, HTML uses tags that define how the content of a page would be displayed. These tags are also called elements.

For instance, there are certain elements used to define the heading of a page, links on a page, Tabular structure, etc. The browser reads these tags and accordingly displays the content on the web page.

Thus, HTML is basically used as the front end development language for the websites. It is supported by most browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Edge, etc. It is easy to master and is the base of web programming.

The latest version of HTML is known as HTML5.

What Is PHP

PHP

PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor. It is a scripting language that is widely used to develop web applications. It is used for server-side scripting and is open source. Thus, it can be downloaded and used by one and all without worrying about purchasing its license.

Basically, a PHP file consists of HTML code, CSS, Javascript, and PHP code. The PHP code gets executed on the server and the result is displayed by the browser which is received in HTML format from the server. It also has the capacity to interface with various databases like MySQL, Oracle, etc.

PHP can manage the server-side code execution and display the result sent by the server on the browser. It is also supported by most browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Edge, etc. It is basically used for creating quick dynamic web pages

The latest stable version of PHP is 8.0.0.

HTML Vs PHP – A Brief Comparison

html vs php

Let’s take a quick look at the differences between PHP and HTML.

HTMLPHP
It is a markup language.It is a scripting language.
It can be used to create only static web pages.It can be used to create dynamic web pages.
It is not a programming language but uses tags which the browser can decode and display the content on a web page.It is a programming language but which is interpreter based.
HTML was developed by Tim Berners-Lee in 1993.PHP was developed by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994.
HTML provides support for AJAX integration that enables generating dynamic web pages.PHP can be integrated with AJAX and also databases like MySQL, Oracle etc. to generate dynamic web pages.
It cannot be used for server side programming but just for front end web page development.PHP supports server side programming.
HTML code can and is usually present in a PHP file.PHP code can be used in an HTML file with script tag only as the browser will not be able to decode it unless the script tag is used.
HTML files are saved with a .html extension.PHP files are saved with a .php extension.
HTML is quite easy to learn and use.As compared to HTML, PHP is not easy to learn and use.

HTML – Code Example

html code

There are various tags in HTML. However, let’s take a look at a simple code example to understand how an HTML code looks like.

Given below is an HTML code that shows how we would display the text ‘Hello World’. This HTML file is saved with a .html extension.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
   <body>
     <p> Hello World </p>
  </body>
</html>

Output

Hello World

PHP – Code Example

php code

A PHP file usually contains a PHP script placed in HTML tags. We shall take a look at the simple code example to understand how a PHP file looks like.

Given below is a simple example showing how a PHP script displays ‘Hello World’. As also mentioned above a PHP file usually contains HTML code along with the PHP script. This PHP file is saved with a .php extension.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
   <body>
     <?php
       echo  “Hello World”
     ?>
  </body>
</html>

Output

Hello World

Benefits Of Using HTML

Some of the main benefits of using HTML are given below:

  • Helps to design great looking front end web pages.
  • Allows to format text, create tables, headers, footnotes, etc. on a web page.
  • HTML when used along with CSS, Javascript, and PHP greatly increases its scope of use.
  • It is supported by almost all browsers.
  • It is easy to learn and use.

Benefits Of Using PHP

PHP serves the below purposes:

  • Helps to perform server-side code execution.
  • Enables to generate dynamic web pages.
  • It is capable of interacting with a database.
  • It can encrypt data that is needed as code is executed on the server-side.
  • PHP supports all the major Operating Systems – Windows, Unix, Linux, UNIX, and Mac, thereby providing Cross-platform compatibility

How To Use PHP In HTML

We have read above that HTML is used for front-end development and PHP is used for server-side scripting. We have also seen that PHP code when added to an HTML file cannot be decoded by the web browser however HTML and PHP code can be placed together in a PHP file.

This means that when we use HTML and PHP together then it should be placed in a file having a .php extension or the Script tag should be used to let the browser know that a PHP code is being written.

Thus by using proper HTML and PHP tags within a PHP file, the benefits can be greatly enhanced. Combining both would mean that one can generate a well-formatted front end along with dynamic web pages. Thus one can leverage the benefits of both to create quick dynamic web pages.

How To Convert HTML To PHP

An HTML file can be converted to a PHP file and for this purpose, we have some special online converter tools. A few of such online tools are enlisted below:

#1) Code Beautify

As seen below, code in HTML is written on the left section and when the HTML to PHP button in the center is clicked, a corresponding code in PHP is generated in the right section.

code beautify

Price: N/A (free to use)

Website: Code Beautify


#2) Andrew Davidson

As shown below, the code in HTML is written in the HTML to Convert section and when the Convert Now button is clicked, a corresponding code in PHP is generated in the PHP section.

Andrew davidson 1

Price: N/A (free to use)

Website: Andrew Davidson


#3) Search Engine Genie

This is a conversion tool for beginner programmers. It can convert thousands of lines of HTML code to PHP within a few seconds.

Given below is a snapshot of this online converter tool. As shown below, the code in HTML is written in the section Enter the HTML Code to be converted and when the HTML -> PHP button is clicked, a corresponding code in PHP is generated in the same section.

Search Engine Genie

PHP code gets generated.

Search Engine Genie - Code Gets Generated

Price: N/A (free to use)

Website: Search Engine Genie


#4) Bfotool

As seen below, the code in HTML is written in the section Input data and when the Convert button is clicked, a corresponding code in PHP is generated in the section Output data.

Bfotool

Price: N/A (free to use)

Website: Bfotool


#5) BeautifyConverter

As shown below, the code in HTML is written in the section Enter Html here and when the Convert Html to PHP button is clicked, a corresponding code in PHP is generated in the section Results.

Beatifyconverter

Price: N/A (free to use)

Website: BeautifyConverter


Applications Using HTML

Almost all the applications use HTML (HTML5 being its latest version) as the front end technology.

Enlisted below are some of the well-known applications that have been built using the latest version of HTML5.

  • Apple
  • Amazon
  • BBC
  • Netflix
  • Ikea

Applications Using PHP

Below are some of the well-known applications that have been built using the PHP:

  • Yahoo
  • Wikipedia
  • Facebook
  • WordPress.com

FAQs About HTML Vs PHP

Q #1) Is PHP better than HTML?

Answer: PHP is better than HTML as it is more powerful in terms of its usage.

Given below are the differences:

PHP is a scripting language that can generate dynamic web pages as the code execution takes place on the server and the result is returned by the server in HTML format which is displayed by the browser.

HTML on the other hand is a markup language capable of only front-end web page development and it cannot interact with the server. It can thus display only static content and cannot be used for dynamic web page generation.

Q #2) Why is PHP used in HTML?

Answer: PHP allows dynamic web page generation, which is not possible by using just HTML. Thus by using PHP script along with HTML in a PHP file, the web developers can generate dynamic web pages. The use of PHP also allows access to various databases.

Q #3) Do I need to learn HTML before PHP?

Answer: Yes, it is always advisable to have a basic understanding of HTML tags. This is because, a PHP file generally consists of HTML code, CSS, Javascript, and PHP code. Thus with a prior understanding of HTML learning, PHP would become much easier.

Q #4) Is PHP front end or backend?

Answer: PHP is used for server-side scripting. It is thus a back end scripting language. The PHP file is executed on the server and the server sends back the result in the form of HTML code which is then displayed on the browser.

Q #5) What is PHP written in?

Answer: Code of PHP is primarily written in the C language.

Q #6) What does PHP stand for?

Answer: PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor. Originally, when developed PHP stood for Personal Home Page.

Q #7) Is HTML a programming language?

Answer: No, HTML is not a programming language but is instead a markup language. A markup language is used for creating web pages and basically for determining the structure of a web page. It is just used for front end designing of the web pages and cannot implement logic or conditional statements.

Q #8) Is HTML used today?

Answer: HTML is greatly used to date. Every web page that we see is written using HTML. Scripting languages like Javascript and PHP are used for handling back end programming.

Q #9) Is PHP the same as HTML?

Answer: No PHP and HTML are different in the sense that PHP is a scripting language that is used for server-side programming whereas HTML is a markup language that uses tags for front-end web page designing.

Q #10) Is learning PHP easy?

Answer: PHP, a server-side scripting language is considered a good choice for beginners in server-side programming. So, yes you can go for it even if you are a beginner in programming.

Q #11) Why do we use PHP?

Answer: There are many reasons for using PHP.

The main ones are as stated below:

  • Dynamic web pages can be quickly generated using PHP.
  • It allows server-side code execution.
  • It can interact with various databases.
  • It can encrypt data, which is needed as code is executed on the server-side.

Q #12) Is HTML front end or backend?

Answer: HTML is a front end technology. It is a markup language used for creating web pages and basically for determining the structure of a web page.

Q #13) Which software is used to open the PHP files?

Answer: As PHP files are plain text files, they can be opened in any text editor like Notepad, Notepad++, etc.

Q #14) How is PHP different from HTML?

Answer:

Below are the quick differences between PHP and HTML:

  • PHP is a scripting language | HTML is a markup language.
  • PHP code is executed on the server | HTML code is parsed by the client browser.
  • PHP creates dynamic web pages | HTML creates static web pages.
  • PHP can access a database | Database cannot be accessed using HTML.
  • PHP is comparatively tough to learn and use | HTML is easy to learn and use.

Conclusion

Now, with a clear understanding of what PHP and HTML are, and where each of these is used, hope you will now be able to put your learning to use. As HTML along with PHP is necessary for building dynamic web pages, learning both HTML and PHP becomes necessary.

A brief comparison of HTML and PHP was covered here. This tutorial also explained the benefits of HTML and PHP.

We saw small code examples of how a PHP and HTML file will look like. Some of the FAQ’s that might come to your mind were also covered.

Further reading =>> PHP Vs Python – A Comparison

Was this helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Leave a Comment