when to use index.php instead of index.html

Question

I am relatively new to php. There is a very basic thing that has been troubling me. I understand that php is used to make web sites dynamic. I also understand that php is on

Answer 1

It will not hurt a website if you serve every page as .php. Apache is very fast to serve any php, let alone one which contains only static html.

As a beginner you may find php will benefit you, by allowing you to creating simple templates. Site header and footer includes for instance could be written in one file, then included in all the other pages.