Simple PHP Web Application Starter

Introduction

Welcome to the Simple PHP Web Application Starter! This project is designed to help beginners get a head start in PHP web development. It provides a basic structure for a web application with user authentication, a dashboard, and profile management. Whether you're learning PHP or looking to quickly prototype an idea, this starter kit gives you a solid foundation to build upon.

Features

• User Registration and Login
• Email Verification
• Password Reset Functionality
• User Dashboard
• Profile Management
• Secure Session Handling
• CSRF Protection
• Basic Rate Limiting

Prerequisites

• PHP 7.4 or higher
• MySQL 5.7 or higher
• Apache or Nginx web server
• Basic understanding of PHP and SQL

Getting Started

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/simple-php-web-app.git
cd simple-php-web-app

2. Database Setup

1. Create a new MySQL database for your project.
2. Import the schema.sql file into your database:

   mysql -u your_username -p your_database_name < schema.sql
   

3. Configuration

1. Copy config.example.php to config.php:

   cp config.example.php config.php
   

2. Edit config.php and update the database connection details and other settings.

4. Web Server Configuration

Configure your web server to serve the application from the project directory. Make sure PHP is properly set up to handle .php files.

5. Run the Application

Open your web browser and navigate to the application URL (e.g., http://localhost/simple-php-web-app).

Project Structure

simple-php-web-app/
├── config.php
├── login.php
├── signup.php
├── verify.php
├── reset-password.php
├── dashboard.php
├── profile.php
├── logout.php
├── includes/
│   ├── functions.php
│   ├── csrf_functions.php
│   ├── rate_limit.php
│   ├── error_handler.php
│   └── dashboard_functions.php
├── css/
│   └── style.css
├── js/
│   └── main.js
├── logs/
│   ├── error.log
│   └── activity.log
└── schema.sql

Learning and Extending

This starter kit is designed to be a learning tool. Here are some ways to extend and learn from it:

1. Study the code in each file to understand how different features are implemented.
2. Add new features like user roles, admin functionality, or additional dashboard widgets.
3. Improve the UI/UX using CSS and JavaScript.
4. Implement more advanced security features like two-factor authentication.
5. Create a RESTful API to interact with the application data.

Advanced Features

For developers looking to build more complex applications, this starter kit also includes:

• CSRF protection for enhanced form security
• Rate limiting to prevent brute-force attacks
• Custom error handling and logging
• Prepared statements for database queries to prevent SQL injection

Security Considerations

While this starter kit implements basic security measures, always ensure to:

• Keep PHP and all dependencies up to date
• Use HTTPS in production
• Implement proper input validation and sanitization
• Regularly audit your code for security vulnerabilities

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you have improvements or bug fixes, please open a pull request.

License

This project is open-source and available under the MIT License.

Acknowledgments

• PHP for the core programming language
• MySQL for the database management system

Happy coding, and enjoy building your PHP web application!