In PHP, What is the difference between declaring methods inside class like public function

Question

Editorial Team

Asked: May 31, 20262026-05-31T19:08:42+00:00 2026-05-31T19:08:42+00:00

In PHP, What is the difference between declaring methods inside class like

public function VS function

For example:

public function contact()
{
    $data['header'] = "Contact";
    $this->load->view('admin/admin_contact', $data);
}

VS

function contact()
{
    $data['header'] = "Contact";
    $this->load->view('admin/admin_contact', $data);
}

Is it better practice to use public function or function and why?

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Editorial Team · Answer 1 · 2026-05-31T19:08:43+00:00

Editorial Team

Methods declared with any explicit visibility keyword is best practice. It looks and feels better and it doesn’t confuse people.

Most PHP5 coding conventions (e.g. Zend, Symfony…) require the public keyword, so it’s familiar.
It means that variable and method declarations use the same syntax.
It’s more explicit and forces developers to consider their method
visibility.

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