PHP has its own legacy in the history of the World Wide Web. It is already serving as the server-side coding language for almost 77.4% of websites known to W3Techs.
As a general-purpose scripting language, it offers several advantages to developers, one of the biggest being the availability of plenty of web development frameworks. Among the many, some renowned names are CodeIgniter, Symfony, Phalcon, CakePHP, and last but not least, Laravel.
Often referred to as ‘the PHP framework for web artisans’, Laravel is a developer’s beloved framework courtesy of its excellent tools and fantastic features. In this article, we dig a little deeper into Laravel and discuss the reasons that make one pick it for building fully-functional web-based apps quickly and effectively.
Let’s Officially Meet Laravel
You are already familiar that it is a PHP-based web framework that is mostly popular as a backend framework. It follows an MVC pattern, has its source code hosted on GitHub, and enjoys the support of a great community. But what puts it into the limelight is its expressive syntax that makes development an enjoyable affair.
Another great thing about Laravel is its extensive library of well-maintained packages that contain tools to make coding easier, more efficient, and faster by bringing down the complexity of common tasks. We now jump straight to the main reasons that make it so popular.
The Key Reasons to Opt for Laravel
Laravel’s features are the most obvious reasons to choose it. But what follows next are the properties bestowed by those features that reinforce those reasons. We better understand things with examples.
1. It’s Progressive
Laravel’s official site calls it a ‘progressive framework’. What exactly is that? Technically, it is a framework that simultaneously progresses along with its learners. Confused? Here’s a simpler explanation.
Whether you are a beginner looking to upgrade yourself or an expert looking for polished tools, Laravel offers you with everything. Right from detailed documentation and video tutorials to properly defined attributes, Laravel allows developers to progress and work accordingly. That’s why it is called a progressive framework.
2. High Flexibility
Laravel offers developers the flexibility to work with a wide range of tools for front-end development. For instance, it gives the facility to work with Blade, a resourceful templating engine that enables developers to include dynamic content from the database.
It also gives the facility to work with Inertia, JavaScript, and Tailwind CSS to notch things up. Beginners can start with React and Vue since these JavaScript frameworks are easier to work with. However, they are free to experiment with other frameworks as well.
3. Security
In the face of increased cyber threats, security has become a prime concern in the software development industry. Thanks to Laravel’s in-built security tools, developers can reinforce their apps with safety measures.
Laravel developers can use techniques like user authentication, email verification, hashing, and encryption to strengthen an app’s security.
4. Easy Scalability
The larger the business, the more complexities it has, and that’s why the creation of software apps for large enterprises needs polished tools. Also, as a business keeps scaling, so do its operations and so should its software systems.
Laravel serves its clients with plausible solutions to such requirements. It has high-end, specific packages that cater to the diversified demands of enterprises.
Laravel comes to the assistance of developers with its products like Laravel Octane (creating apps with high-powered servers), Laravel Vapor (serverless deployment), and Laravel Echo (WebSockets), which help them create apps with better features, tighter security, and improved functionalities.
5. Powerful Packages
Laravel’s extensive collection of powerful packages is another solid reason to go for Laravel development services. Every package comes with a set of exclusive tools and features that help developers work with precision and accuracy. The list is huge but to give you a clear picture, we have enlisted a few of those.
- Laravel Cashier: Enables better management of subscriptions on Stripe or Paddle.
- Envoyer: A Laravel product that deploys apps within no time and without any fuss.
- Laravel Dusk: Serves developers with automated browser testing facilities without the need to install Selenium as it utilizes a standalone ChromeDriver installation.
- Laravel Socialite: Allows developers to include authentication via networking sites including Facebook, Twitter, Google, LinkedIn, GitHub, and Bitbucket.
6. Testing Methods
When it comes to testing, Laravel supplies developers with all the necessary methods apart from its packages. Whether you want to go for a full HTTP test or feature tests, it has everything in store for you.
Besides having in-built facilities for browser, console, and HTTPS testing, it also offers testing for databases along with mocking.
7. Faster Development with Artisan
Laravel houses another useful feature called Artisan, its command line interface that provides developers with a lot of helpful commands. These commands help bring down the development time by easing some repetitive tasks.
Artisan also assists in structuring some tedious tasks through integration with its other ready-to-use packages.
A Few Benefits of Working with Laravel
Laravel is open-source, resourceful, elegant, and extends support to facilitate working with other technologies. Some of the most obvious benefits of working with this PHP-based framework are:
- Easy, fast, and straightforward development and deployment which means the app reaches the market within a short time
- Robust features for fixing technical issues like site forgery and SQL injections which means your app gets more safety
- Error-free and bug-free apps as it provides different types of testing methods including automated browser testing methods, database seeding along with testing APIs
- Easy availability of the required skill sets; let’s just say that you won’t have a hard time finding good Laravel developers
Take Away
As a backend framework, Laravel has already proven its worth with its flexibility, scalability, and its resources. It truly is a web artisan’s framework. Perhaps that’s why renowned names like Warner Bros, Disney, and WWE use Laravel to power their projects.
Now that you have got your reasons, get started with coding, or finding a development partner (if you’re an investor).
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