[NotATroll]

> Is PHP still a preferred platform for any sort of complex web development?

It's "preferred" as in tons of people get a lot of good work done with it quickly, but wouldn't go out and proselytize how "great" it is or isn't.

PHP is just a tool. A fairly old one at this point. But it still holds up to most of today's standards and is a constantly evolving language.

It's not the hipster language of choice though.