Why do we use Laravel?

Arlind Musliu Portrait
Arlind Musliu

May 19, 2020 · 5 min read · 198 views

Laravel Blogpost Image

The PHP Framework That's Transforming Web Development

Laravel has emerged as a game-changer in the realm of web development. As a PHP framework adhering to the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern, Laravel offers a rich set of functionalities that streamline the creation of web applications. This framework is not just about simplifying the development process—it's about enhancing it with a suite of tools that address the complexities of modern web development. With Laravel, developers have access to built-in features for authentication, sessions, routing, caching, and more. It has grown beyond its initial framework status into a full-fledged ecosystem with services like Vapor, Forge, Tinker, Mix, Telescope, Dusk, and others, catering to a wide array of development needs.

Laravel: A One-Stop Solution for Web Development

Laravel stands out when tackling the complexities of building advanced websites. It addresses critical aspects of development such as structure, security, performance, and database interactions with elegance and efficiency. For those who have experience with PHP, Laravel's capabilities are nothing short of impressive, often making it an indispensable tool in a developer's arsenal.

Learning Laravel with Laracast

Laracasts is an invaluable platform for those looking to master Laravel. It provides a vast collection of video tutorials that illustrate the best practices for utilizing the framework and integrating it with other technologies. These tutorials are designed to help both beginners and experienced developers refine their skills and knowledge.

The Laravel Community and Documentation

One of Laravel's greatest strengths is its extensive documentation and active community. If you encounter challenges or seek to deepen your understanding of the framework, these resources are readily available to assist you. Following Laracasts and adhering to Laravel's documentation, developers can refine their code and leverage the full potential of the framework's features.

User Authentication with Laravel

Building a secure authentication layer for your application is a critical step in web development, and Laravel simplifies this process through its built-in authentication services. While developers can manually interact with these services to craft a custom authentication layer, Laravel provides a more straightforward path with its free, ready-to-use packages. These packages include Laravel Breeze, Laravel Jetstream, and Laravel Fortify, each offering a different level of functionality to cater to the varying needs of developers. These solutions offer a robust and modern foundation for the authentication layer, allowing developers to kickstart their projects efficiently.

For developers embarking on the journey of implementing authentication in their Laravel applications, the following options are available:

  • Laravel Breeze: Ideal for those who prefer a straightforward and minimalistic approach, Laravel Breeze provides the basic authentication features.

  • Laravel Fortify: Serving as a headless authentication backend, Laravel Fortify delivers a wide range of authentication services.

  • Laravel Jetstream: As an advanced application starter kit, Laravel Jetstream extends the capabilities of Laravel Fortify with a modern and feature-rich user interface. It also supports an integration with Laravel Sanctum for API token authentication.

By providing these diverse and customizable authentication options, Laravel ensures that developers have access to a secure, adaptable, and user-friendly authentication system that aligns with the specific requirements of their web applications.

Advanced Email Services and Database Management with Laravel

Laravel provides seamless integration with various email services such as Mailgun, Mandrill, SparkPost, Amazon SES, and SendMail, ensuring developers can efficiently handle notifications. When it comes to database management, Laravel's Eloquent ORM facilitates smooth transitions between different databases, such as from MySQL to SQLite, and adeptly manages relationships within the database.

Refactoring Your Laravel Codebase with Collections

Laravel Collections provide an elegant and powerful way to manipulate arrays, elevating the coding experience for developers. Collections wrap native PHP array functions, introduce new ones, and present a fluent interface for array operations. These collections are immutable, meaning they create new instances with the desired changes rather than altering the original collection. The result is a more intuitive and maintainable codebase, free from common array-related confusions such as order of parameters and mutable function returns.

It's important to use Laravel Collections to improve code readability and efficiency. For instance, creating a collection from an array is as simple as using the collect() helper or the Collection::make() static method for an object-oriented approach. Collections also support iteration with foreach loops and their own each() method, providing a more Laravel-centric way of processing items. Additionally, Collections offer a suite of methods for handling numbers, such as sum(), average(), min(), and max(), allowing developers to perform mathematical operations with ease. With these tips, Laravel developers can write more concise, readable, and maintainable code.

Conclusion

Laravel's comprehensive features and user-friendly approach make it a top choice for web developers. Whether crafting a personal blog or a sophisticated web application, Laravel delivers the tools and adaptability required to build a secure, effective, and intuitive website.

This article is part of the "Which technologies do we use and why?" series where we explain the technologies that we use daily.


Bring Your Ideas to Life 🚀

If you need help with a Laravel project let's get in touch.

Lucky Media is proud to be recognized as a Top Laravel Development Agency

Arlind Musliu Portrait
Arlind Musliu

Cofounder and CFO of Lucky Media

Technologies:

Laravel
Heading Pattern

Related Posts

Stay up to date

Be updated with all news, products and tips we share!