This guy seems to imply that C code tends to be longer than PHP code. But I don't think that point hits the nail on the head. If a C programmer feels the code is unnecessarily long, they can simply create functions with granularity similar to PHP's features.
I think PHP's value lies elsewhere.
krapp•55m ago
And yes the fact that it's easy to serve a website from PHP is a big part of its value, all else aside.