Which controller to choose for outdoor lighting control with 3 photocells

Hi,
I'm just getting into the world of smart home and so I'm looking for a controller to manage the external lighting along the access road (from the gate under the house). I would like to be able to connect 3 photocells to it (from the gate, gate and around the garage) and control the lighting from an app on my phone (light on/off, light schedule, light time etc). I also don't know how the controller would connect to the network: whether directly over Wi-Fi or maybe some Zigbee/Z-Wave.

Would you be able to suggest me something interesting?

edit:
probably the best solution would be photocells, which could be connected to the controller by twisted pair.