Moreover, I'd like to point out that even if the vast majority of PHP-backed websites are based on WordPress, WordPress is not an example of good PHP practices at all. Its code-base and coding standards are old and horrible.
Agreed re WordPress, although I haven’t seen their code in YEARS, so maybe their codebase has evolved too.
Re Taylor, if I was a billionaire (or at the very least, extremely wealthy), he’s one of those folks I’d write a no-strings-attached blank check to go build anything he wants—just a brilliant and overall great human. I used to be very active in the Laravel community many years ago, and even way back then, before Laravel was super famous (first Laracon days), I remember meeting Taylor and being thoroughly impressed. Over the years, on multiple occasions, I’ve heard folks at relatively large organizations say they adopted PHP solely because of Taylor and Laravel. Recently, when I saw someone mention in a post that Taylor has a Lambo now, I was so happy for him—it feels great to see him thrive after making the type of impact that he has.
Unfortunately, not so much. They still follow PHP 5-days style, for example they still haven't adopted the short array syntax [], they always use array() which is horrible in my opinion.
The code base is horrible, but the front-facing experience is not so bad (unless you start installing lots of plugins, which tend to add different interface styles and lots of banners everywhere in the admin panel).
Moreover, I'd like to point out that even if the vast majority of PHP-backed websites are based on WordPress, WordPress is not an example of good PHP practices at all. Its code-base and coding standards are old and horrible.