PHP Template Engines: Quick Comparison

The following table compares PHP template engines we will see in this article.

Feature	Twig	Mustache	Blade	Volt	Smarty
Syntax	{{ }}	{{ }}	{{ }}	{{ }}	{$}
Control structures	Yes	Limited	Yes	Yes	Yes
Inheritance	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes
Community	Large	Large	Large	Medium	Medium
Documentation	Extensive	Good	Good	Limited	Good
Performance	Good	Good	Good	Fast	Good

Keep in mind that the “best” PHP templating engine for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences. We recommend trying out a few different options and seeing which one works best for your project.

Wanna learn which ones are the best for you? Continue reading the article, and by the end of it you will have more clarity.

Article Highlights

• A PHP templating engine allows you to separate your presentation and business logic.

• They can improve reusability, collaboration, and maintenance and provide greater flexibility than traditional PHP code.

• Twig, Mustache, Blade, Volt, and Smarty are some of today’s best PHP templating engines.

• Twig is a popular, flexible, and feature-rich templating engine that offers advanced control structures, inheritance, and sandboxing capabilities.

• Mustache is a simple, lightweight, and portable templating engine that supports various programming languages and platforms.

• Blade is a fast and lightweight templating engine that offers powerful control structures and easy integration with the Laravel framework.

• Volt is a high-performance, easy-to-use templating engine designed specifically for the Phalcon PHP framework.

• Smarty is a mature and well-established templating engine with many features, including caching, debugging, and template inheritance.

• When choosing a PHP templating engine, you’ll want to consider factors like syntax, control structures, inheritance, community, documentation, and performance.

Table of Contents

• What is a PHP Templating Engine
• Why Use PHP Template Engine
• Basic Usage of Templating Engines
• Best PHP Template Engines
  • Twig
  • Mustache
  • Blade
  • Volt
  • Smarty
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Conclusion

What is a PHP Template Engine

A Templating Engine is a tool that separates the presentation layer from the application’s logic. It allows developers to create HTML templates that can be reused for multiple pages, making web development more efficient. PHP Template Engines come with variables, loops, and conditionals that allow developers to generate HTML content dynamically.

Why Use PHP Template Engines

Here are some reasons you might want to use a PHP templating engine:

• Separation of Concerns: A PHP templating engine allows you to separate your presentation logic from your business logic. This means you can create templates that focus on how your data is displayed while keeping your PHP code focused on handling the data. 

• Increased Reusability: Templating engines allow you to reuse the same template across multiple pages, saving time and effort. This makes it easy to update your website’s layout or content without changing every page.

• Better Collaboration: By separating your presentation logic from your business logic, different team members can work on different parts of the codebase without stepping on each other’s toes. 

• Easier Maintenance: By keeping your presentation logic separate from your business logic, you can more easily update your website’s appearance without modifying the underlying code. This can help you keep your codebase clean and organized.

• Greater Flexibility: Templating engines provide greater flexibility than traditional PHP code. You can use templates to quickly create or modify new pages without worrying about the underlying PHP code. This can be especially useful if you need to create multiple pages with similar layouts or functionality.

These are just a few reasons you might want to use a PHP templating engine in your next project. By separating your presentation logic from your business logic, you can create more maintainable, reusable, and flexible code that is easier to work with over time.

Basic Usage of PHP Templating Engines

The basic usage of PHP Templating Engines involves defining the HTML template and inserting dynamic content into it. Developers can define variables, loops, and conditionals in the template and use them to generate dynamic content. 

Here is a basic example of a template.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
 <head>
   <title>{{title}}</title>
 </head>
 <body>
   <h1>{{heading}}</h1>
   <p>{{content}}</p>
 </body>
</html>

In this example, the {{ }} syntax is used to define variables that will be replaced with dynamic content. Here is an example of a pseudocode of how to use the template to generate HTML content.

<?php


$template = new TemplateEngine();
$template->setTemplate('template.html');
$template->setData([
 'title' => 'My Page Title',
 'heading' => 'Welcome to My Page',
 'content' => 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.'
]);
echo $template->render();


?>

In this example, the setData() method is used to define the dynamic content for the template, and the render() method is used to generate the final HTML output.

Best PHP Template Engines

Many PHP Templating Engines are available, each with its own features and benefits. Here are five of the best PHP Templating Engines and their pros and cons.

Twig

Intro

Twig is a popular PHP Templating Engine developed by the creators of the Symfony framework. It is designed to be fast, secure, and easy to learn.

Installation

Install Twig using Composer.

composer require "twig/twig:^3.0"

Syntax

To output a variable in Twig, you can use double curly braces {{ }}. For example.

{{ variable }}

You can also use control structures such as if and for loops.

{% if variable %}
  <p>Variable is true</p>
{% else %}
  <p>Variable is false</p>
{% endif %}

{% for item in collection %}
  <p>{{ item }}</p>
{% endfor %}

Example

Here is an example of how to use Twig to generate HTML content.

<?php


$template = $twig->load('template.html');


echo $template->render([
 'title' => 'My Page Title',
 'heading' => 'Welcome to My Page',
 'content' => 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.'
]);

?>

Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
Flexible and powerful	Steep learning curve
Large community and documentation	Slower performance compared to some other templating engines
Supports inheritance and blocks	Requires third-party extensions for some features

Mustache

Intro

Mustache is a PHP Templating Engine designed to be simple and flexible. It uses minimal syntax that is easy to learn and read.

Installation

Mustache can be installed using Composer. 

composer require mustache/mustache

Syntax

To output a variable in Mustache, you can use double curly braces {{ }}. For example.

{{ variable }}

You can also use sections and loops.

{{# section }}
  <p>{{ variable }}</p>
{{/ section }}

{{# items }}
  <p>{{ . }}</p>
{{/ items }}

Example

Here is an example of how to use Mustache to generate HTML content.

<?php


$template = new Mustache_Engine();


echo $template->render('template.html', [
 'title' => 'My Page Title',
 'heading' => 'Welcome to My Page',
 'content' => 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.'
]);


?>

Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
Simple and easy to use	Limited functionality compared to some other templating engines
Supports multiple programming languages	No built-in support for inheritance
Good performance	Limited control structures

Blade

Intro

Blade is a templating engine developed by Laravel, one of the most popular PHP frameworks. It is designed to be easy to use and intuitive, focusing on clean and readable code.

Installation

Blade is part of the Laravel PHP framework and can be installed as part of a Laravel project. To use Blade outside of Laravel, you can use the standalone Blade package. Simply add illuminate/view": "^8.0 to your composer.json file and run composer update to install the package.

Syntax

To output a variable in Blade, you can use double curly braces {{ }}. For example.

{{ $variable }}

You can also use control structures such as if and for loops.

 <p>Variable is true</p>
@else
  <p>Variable is false</p>
@endif

@foreach ($collection as $item)
  <p>{{ $item }}</p>
@endforeach

Example

Here is an example of how to use Blade to generate HTML content.

<?php

$template = new BladeRenderer('/path/to/views', '/path/to/cache');


echo $template->render('template', [
 'title' => 'My Page Title',
 'heading' => 'Welcome to My Page',
 'content' => 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.'
]);

?>

Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
Easy to learn and use	Limited functionality compared to some other templating engines
Part of the popular Laravel PHP framework	No built-in support for inheritance
Good performance	Limited control structures

Volt

Intro

Volt is a templating engine developed by the Phalcon PHP framework. It is designed to be high-performance and easy to use, focusing on speed and efficiency.

Installation

Volt is part of the Phalcon PHP framework and can be installed as part of a Phalcon project. To use Volt outside of Phalcon, you can use the standalone Volt package. Simply add phalcon/volt": "^3.0 to your composer.json file and run composer update to install the package.

Syntax

To output a variable in Volt, you can use curly braces {{ }}. For example.

{{ variable }}

You can also use control structures such as if and for loops.

{% if variable %}
  <p>Variable is true</p>
{% else %}
  <p>Variable is false</p>
{% endif %}

{% for item in collection %}
  <p>{{ item }}</p>
{% endfor %}

Example

Here is an example of how to use Volt to generate HTML content.

<?php

$template = new VoltEngine($view);


echo $template->render('template', [
 'title' => 'My Page Title',
 'heading' => 'Welcome to My Page',
 'content' => 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.'
]);

?>

Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
Part of the Phalcon PHP framework	Limited community and documentation compared to some other templating engines
Fast performance	No built-in support for inheritance
Supports inheritance and blocks	Limited control structures

Smarty

Intro

Smarty is one of the oldest PHP Templating Engines, focusing on performance and flexibility. It is designed to be easy to use and powerful, with a wide range of features.

Installation

Smarty can be installed using Composer. Simply add smarty/smarty": "^3.0 to your composer.json file and run composer update to install the package.

Syntax

To output a variable in Smarty, you can use curly braces {$variable}. For example.

{$variable}

You can also use control structures such as if and for loops.

{if $variable}
  <p>Variable is true</p>
{else}
  <p>Variable is false</p>
{/if}

{foreach $collection as $item}
  <p>{$item}</p>
{/foreach}

Example

Here is an example of how to use Smarty to generate HTML content.

<?php


$template = new Smarty();
$template->setTemplateDir('/path/to/templates');
$template->assign([
 'title' => 'My Page Title',
 'heading' => 'Welcome to My Page',
 'content' => 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.'
]);
echo $template->fetch('template.html');


?>

Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
Wide range of features and options	Steep learning curve
Highly customizable	Complex syntax and verbose code
Large community and resources	Can be slower than other templating engines

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a PHP templating engine and regular PHP code?

In regular PHP code, the logic and presentation layers are typically mixed together, making it harder to read and maintain the code. A PHP templating engine, on the other hand, separates the presentation layer from the PHP code, allowing developers to focus on the logic of the application without worrying about presentation details.

Using a templating engine can make code more modular and reusable since templates can be reused across multiple pages or even projects. Templating engines can also provide additional features, such as automatic escaping and filtering, improving security and reducing the likelihood of injection attacks.

What are the performance implications of using a PHP templating engine compared to traditional PHP code?

In general, using a PHP templating engine can have a slight performance impact compared to using plain PHP code. This is because the templating engine needs to parse and compile the template files, which adds a small amount of overhead. 

However, the actual impact on performance will depend on a number of factors, including the size and complexity of the templates, the number of templates used, and the hardware and software environment in which the application is running.

That being said, many modern PHP templating engines are designed to be highly optimized and offer good performance. Some engines also offer caching features that can help to reduce the performance impact by caching compiled templates in memory or on disk.

How do I choose the best PHP templating engine for my specific project needs?

Choosing the best PHP templating engine for your project will depend on a number of factors, including the size and complexity of your application, your development team’s familiarity with different templating engines, and any specific features or requirements that you have.

Here are some factors to consider when choosing a PHP templating engine:

1. Ease of use: Choose an engine that is easy for your development team to learn and use. Look for clear and concise documentation, a well-designed API, and a large community of users who can provide support and assistance.

2. Feature set: Different templating engines offer different features, so choose one that provides the features you need for your application. For example, some engines offer support for caching, automatic escaping, or internationalization.

3. Performance: Consider the performance of the templating engine, especially if you expect your application to be heavily used or have high traffic. Look for engines that are well-optimized and offer caching features.

4. Integration: If you’re using a PHP framework, consider choosing a templating engine that is compatible with that framework. This can help to simplify integration and ensure that the engine works seamlessly with the rest of your application.
5. Community support: Look for a templating engine that has a large and active community of users. This can provide you with access to support, documentation, and helpful resources, as well as ensuring that the engine is actively maintained and updated.

Ultimately, the best PHP templating engine for your project will depend on a combination of these factors and your specific needs and requirements. It’s a good idea to try out several different engines and evaluate them based on these criteria to determine which one is the best fit for your project.

Using PHP Template Engines

This article is a comprehensive guide to using PHP templating engines in web development. The article begins by explaining what a PHP templating engine is and why you might want to use one. It then provides an overview of the basic usage of templating engines and introduces five of the best PHP templating engines available today: Twig, Mustache, Blade, Volt, and Smarty.

For each templating engine, the article provides an introduction, an example of its syntax, and a list of its pros and cons. It also includes instructions on how to install and use each engine in your PHP project.

In addition, the article offers a comparison chart that highlights the key features and differences between each templating engine. Finally, the article provides some general advice on choosing a PHP templating engine, including factors to consider like syntax, control structures, inheritance, community, documentation, and performance.

Overall, this article is a valuable resource for web developers who want to learn more about using PHP templating engines to create more maintainable, reusable, and flexible code. By exploring the strengths and weaknesses of different templating engines, the article helps developers make informed decisions about which engine to use for their next project.

Hope you have enjoyed this article. Stay tuned for more at FuelingPHP.

PHP Fundamentals Article Series

This article is part of our series on learning the fundamentals of PHP web development. If you are stepping into your PHP journey. Check out the articles in this series to get deeper into PHP.

• Learn PHP Web Application Development
• Is PHP Easy to Learn
• Why does PHP have a bad reputation
• 5 PHP Template Engines Compared
• How to Filter Arrays in PHP with array_filter() Code Examples
• Object-Oriented PHP Programming Tutorial
• PHP Data Structures
• The 3 types of arrays in PHP
• Single vs Double Question Mark in PHP
• Join & Append PHP Strings
• Using PHP in_array