Although I don't use PHP, I'm impressed by its staying power and the improvements in speed (which are substantial compared to other dynamic languages). It has almost universal support amongst web hosts. It can be deployed by simply uploading your code to a directory on your web host. It's a widely criticised language, but still accounts for the vast majority of server side code (80% according to some sources).

And in 2020, it's still the only language that gives your users a relatively easy method to self-install web apps or products. (Sorry, but Cloudron, Sandstrom, Docker etc will never match your customers definition of 'easy'.)

Having a ridiculously easy web app installation process for servers would unlock countless opportunities for developers to reach more users or customers. PHP is closer than most. No other language has tackled it (or cares).

This is an excerpt from a blog post by programmer Jeff Attwood:

"If you want to produce free-as-in-whatever code that runs on virtually every server in the world with zero friction or configuration hassles, PHP is damn near your only option. If that doesn't scare you, then check your pulse, because you might be dead."

To broaden choice, Attwood argues we should:

"build compelling alternatives and make sure these alternatives are equally pervasive, as easy to set up and use as possible."

That was written in 2012 (https://blog.codinghorror.com/the-php-singularity/).

It's 2020 and none of the alternatives are 'as easy to set up and use as possible' for server-side installs as PHP. Why?