The Laravel Framework - What is it?

What is the Laravel Framework?

Laravel is an open source framework built to provide a scalable and maintainable framework for developing websites, from small scale to larger scale enterprise sites and systems.

Developing a website using Laravel will effectively mean your website is built in the web language PHP, Laravel is a scaffolding that provides a set way of working around the PHP language, other web languages are involved, such as VueJS, Blade, HTML, CSS - however, Laravel only directly affects the backend of a website.

Why use Laravel for My Website?

Using a popular open source framework means your website is built to a high standard that can be maintained and scaled by developers seamlessly, allowing multiple developers to work together in a standardised way.

Custom PHP websites can be messy, unmaintainable and impossible to scale if not built with good practices in mind from the beginning - Laravel eliminates some of the headaches you may face in the progression of your website, due to the nature of the framework and scaffolding.

A developer can still make a terrible Laravel website, which is why it's always a good to research the portfolio of a Laravel developer, before making any decisions.

The Advantage of Open Source Software

Open source software means anyone can contribute to the success of a system, with regular updates and maintained systems, you'll have peace of mind that you're in safe hands and can use the latest version of Laravel to ensure you have the latest security and features.

Most people have heard of WordPress, which is a very popular open source CMS for building websites - however, this system is more focused on making basic brochure websites and the ability for anyone to build a website through the builder tools.

Unfortunately, with the freedom WordPress offers, it means these sites can be slow, have terrible SEO or perform badly, if not made to a good standard by an experienced developer.

Laravel is marketed to developers as a route of development, whereas WordPress is marketed to both developers and business owners.