Say wat you want of php. But it's (insert personal pejorative option) made for it. Sure Its a_little_inconsistent AndSomewhatChaotic But all the basics for the web are incredible accessible right away. With every other language you have to start with a framework. I find php easier than rails to prototype applications and do fast hacks that need a web face. It's simply the right tool for the job on those occasions. Of…
That's why e.g. Flask exists: it gives you the basics, plus light structure and templating and routing and XSS protection and deployment options and whatever else. With no setup and no boilerplate. It's about as much effort as typing `<?php`.
Obviously Heroku and other PAAS providers are changing the game as far as deployment ease. It should be to see what happens in the next few years on that front.