I'll take this comment as a genuinely curious inquiry instead of the veiled insult that others seem to be taking it as. PHP is primarily used for web developme

I'll take this comment as a genuinely curious inquiry instead of the veiled insult that others seem to be taking it as. PHP is primarily used for web development, yes. That doesn't preclude it from offline processing, however. It's quite nice for quick file processing scripts. Modern websites do not necessarily require complex backends. It depends on the site and its purpose. A minimal static site is just as modern as an ecommerce behemoth. Or are you using "modern" as a synonym for "complex?" PHP can compete with languages such as Go, Python, or Ruby in the right circumstances. PHP has a vibrant ecosystem that Go cannot (yet?) match. It has a different feel that may appeal to people that dislike Python's syntax. It can also compare quite well with Ruby, though Ruby on Rails and PHP on Laravel are almost similar enough to make that contest a wash.