is php worth moving off neocities for?

[dogbrain]

i've heard a lot about PHP, but since i've never had the need to use it for anything (and neocities doesn't allow it T__T), i remain unfamiliar. it seems like there are a lot of useful things you can achieve with it though, like loading the same navigation menu on every page without needing to rely on JS, among other things!  i'm curious if you guys use php on your site, and if so, what you use it for, and why you prefer it over other potential methods of achieving the same thing?

i plan on moving off neocities eventually regardless, but i'm not sure how soon that day will come until i familiarize myself with things like this xD

(i'd also appreciate any resources for learning it, if those exist!)

[Melooon]

Unless you're planing to run a multi user community site like a forum, or a very feature heavy blog. Then the answer is no. I would say 80-90% of first-timer PHP sites shutdown within the first year (people get sick of the code, then they get sick of the bills). Unless you are already hammering the outer limits of what you can do with JavaScript, and you already really feel like its holding you back, then hang onto static hosts like you're hanging onto your life, because once you are off static, then the wolves of feature creep, site costs and code maintenance are howling at your door 

[Dan Q]

My background: I love PHP, I've been writing it for 27 years, and I use it all the time.

My verdict: No, you probably don't need it for the things you're talking about.


If all you're looking to achieve with PHP is things like reusing the same HTML in a few places, "listing" content (e.g. a list of blog posts or a gallery), etc., then you'd be better-served by using a static site generator (SSG).

SSGs are easier to learn how to use, less-likely to help you shoot yourself in the foot, and they output plain HTML that you can host anywhere.

Only if you're aiming to do things that can only be done with server-side processing should you make a deliberate move in order to get PHP. E.g. if you want to accept comments from users, or you want to implement a web-based CMS, or you want an authentication system that people can sign up to, etc.

If you switch host for other reasons and happen to get PHP as a bonus, then it's probably worth learning and using for the basic purposes you're talking about! But it's not worth switching just for that.

(If you really are just looking to embed content in multiple places, did you know that Nekoweb supports SSI, which is a much simpler/more-lightweight way to do the same kind of thing!)