When building a website with PHP technologies, how do you choose between a CMS solution (WordPress, Drupal…) vs a framework solution (Symfony, Laravel, Zend)?

PHP framework and CMS are two different things. This is like asking “if I am hungry, should I cook something or order Pizza?” A CMS like WordPress is a content management system, not a programming platform. WordPress is a ready system that allows you to place your content. For additional features, you’ll be required to find a suitable plugin. If you are not so familiar to PHP or with programming on the whole, this is your best chance to create a stunning website without much efforts. Alongside great features, WordPress has it’s limitations too. You need to depend heavily on the available resources. Without a specific plugin, you get stuck at some point.

PHP Frameworks, on the other hand, are predefined collection or rules that make PHP programming easier and more structured. There are numerous advantages of using frameworks. The Re-usability, Security and Platform Independence are among the most-appealing benefits. You need to follow a simple set of rules and your code will be automatically structured. In order to update the version of PHP, you just need updating the core files. No change is required on the code itself.