Web technology is constantly evolving, which means many businesses can build their own simple websites using WordPress and WIX. Many small businesses use these platforms to develop their website to keep costs low because they are perfect for most small websites.
There are many development tools and PHP frameworks that can be used. There are times, though, when a website or web application will require more than a simple Page Builder in WordPress. You may need a bespoke eCommerce platform, complex data handling or a requirement for a suite of APIs for a mobile application. This is when web developers will have a choice to make.
Laravel is arguably THE best PHP framework available today.
As a supplier of Laravel development services, I aim to explain what Laravel is and what it can be used for in this blog.
What is Laravel?
The short answer: Laravel is an open-source PHP framework that simplifies a web developer’s job. Laravel comes with built-in core features, which most projects will use and essentially speed up the development aspect of the project. These features include:
- A built-in authentication. This makes building a website with logged-in areas significantly faster.
- Fully supported eco-system for third-party libraries, packages and “plugins” (In WordPress talk). This eco-system is ever expanding with additional features being created, updated and supported daily by the Laravel developer community.
- Eloquent ORM. This feature allows developers to easily manage database relationships within Laravel’s code. For example, connecting Products to stock items and then back into an Order history can be handled easily using an ORM. This would also allow a developer to quickly search, filter and manipulate data without interacting with a database manually – a significant time saver!
- Built-in testing. Laravel allows developers to provide tests that can be run on demand to ensure the system is running as expected. This can provide a developer with confidence and save on manual QA time (Quality Assurance).
- Cache handling straight out of the box. Laravel provides multiple options for caching data and web pages. This alone can be a lifesaver and a significant feature to lower server costs.
- We have one hell of a story to share about this!
- Laravel Cashier allows developers to quickly build payment processing with everything from standard payments to subscriptions and supporting coupons for the marketing department to run wild with!
Does Laravel have an Admin dashboard?
Out of the box, no.
Laravel is a server-side MVC framework that can help web developers build almost anything. That means we can very quickly build an Admin panel for a project which is 100% customised to your requirements.
There are some options for Admin dashboards and essential Content Management Systems with Laravel, but they are designed to make building admin dashboards faster.
What is Laravel used for?
Laravel is used on more than 685k websites across the internet. Companies like Twitch, Disney, WWE, BBC and New York Times use Laravel in some way.
Businesses from every industry can make the most of a Laravel-powered website or web application. A good Laravel development agency can build:
- Enterprise-level software solutions
- eCommerce platforms
- Content management systems
- Social networking style applications
- Complex data handling
- Web apps like forums, user portals, intranets and dynamic websites
- Standard static websites
- Public and private API development
In Summary
Businesses requiring something that doesn’t fit the standard WordPress, WIX or Shopify platform are usually best served by a platform built using Laravel. I have seen it many times when businesses spend tens of thousands of pounds on WordPress and Shopify developers only to end up on the phone with me here at Teckle HQ talking about a truly bespoke solution.
We are one of the leading Laravel development companies in the UK, so if you would like to discuss if Laravel is a good choice for your project then do get in touch.