I do not do PHP and only have done a bit a long time ago, but I chuckle at the statement that nobody starts any project in PHP, only to find that a huge amount of new sites are wordpress sites, and they are a gateway to PHP. And do not discard WordPress, because it is amazing in how you can have a productive web site with no programing knowledge. After your site actually generates value then you can hire programmers to create more value. Bam, PHP to the forefront. I do asp.Net core for personal projects these days and I am so jealous of the fusion theme builders for WordPress plus the huge Eco system of plug-ins.

My day job is in embedded and systems engineering, so web is not even my thing, but I find it incredible a workhorse tool like PHP gets so much disdain. Reminds me of the answers Theo de Radt, gave to the enthusiasts: nobody cares about how cool a tool is if nobody is using it. PHP is used by a lot of people, so it is more important than my new favorite darling Nim. Even if Nim sounds awesome its useless and irrelevant from a non enthusiast point of view.