Why Laravel is the Best PHP Framework In 2024?

Ever wondered how a website functions? What all happens behind the user interface that you interact with? Aren’t you a little bit curious about it? Today, we will talk about Why Laravel Is the Best PHP Framework in 2024. 

Well, as they say, the more you know about it, the better it is. For back-end server development, there are many different frameworks that one can use. One of these includes the frameworks that are based on PHP. So, let’s get to know them better, shall we?

As you might be aware, PHP is one of the most popular languages that is used in the back-end server development process. 

Short for Hypertext Preprocessor, it is a scripting language. Now, coming to frameworks, they provide a structure to build your applications.

You can say that they act as a building base for the application that you wish to develop. The most beneficial point of using a framework is that you don’t have to write the code again and again. 

In addition to this, the framework you are using can also contain many Helper Functions to assist the process of developing your application.

What Is Laravel?

As mentioned earlier, PHP offers many frameworks for you to use and build efficient applications. Some of them are as mentioned below;

• Laravel
• CodeIgniter
• Phalcon
• Zend
• Symphony
• CakePHP
• FuelPHP, etc.

Using these frameworks makes the developer’s job a lot easier. Doing so has many advantages as well. Some of them are as follows;

• Speeding up the development process
• Making the entire process much simpler
• Making application maintenance easier
• Providing high-security features
• Automating basic tasks in the development
• Utilizing databases efficiently, and many more.

Now, coming to frameworks, out of the many, Laravel is amongst the top contenders for being the most used PHP framework. 

You must be wondering about the reason for the same. Well, different frameworks have different things to offer to the application development process.

Did you know that there exists a Laravel ecosystem? Yes, that’s right. Well, it’s not like the ecosystem in science. It is more of a collection or a package of the different tools and services that the framework has to offer.

So exactly what does this ecosystem offered by Laravel contain? Let’s find out.

The said ecosystem is categorized into sections to make it easier to classify the tools that it contains. These sections are as mentioned below;

• Official Packages

It contains tools and packages that are offered by the framework that you can use as per your requirements. It contains the following packages/tools:

• 1. Laravel Cashier: It is an interface for billing services.
  2. Laravel Passport: It is a native server that you can use for applications.
  3. Laravel Dusk: It is a browser automation API.
  4. Laravel Echo: It is a JS library that you can make use of.
  5. Laravel Scout: It is used to add models to your application.
  6. Laravel Envoy: It offers you a way to carry out tasks on remote servers.
  7. Laravel Socialite: It is an interface used for authentication with other applications.
  8. Laravel Mix: It is a tool that is used for optimizing and compiling assets in an application.
• Official Dev Environment Tools

Certain environment tools that can assist developers are a part of the Laravel ecosystem. There are two of them that fall under this category and they are as given below;

1. Laravel Homestead: It is the official development environment offered by Laravel. 
2. Laravel Valet: It is used to configure Mac to run Nginx in the background.

• Products by Laravel

This category contains 2 tools and they are as follows.

1. Forge: It is a tool that is used for configuration and deployment purposes of a web application.
2. Envoyer: It is a tool used as a deployer for applications and projects developed using Laravel.

• Official Framework Extensions

2 framework extensions are included in this ecosystem. They include;

• Lumen: It is a micro version of the Laravel framework that offers faster and leaner implementation.
• Spark: It is used to make the billing process easier in a SaaS application.

Why Opt For Laravel Framework?

There have been certain instances where questions like why Laravel or why Laravel is the best PHP framework in 2024 have been raised. 

Some of the reasons why Laravel is chosen over others are as follows:

• Library for Authentication
• Middleware Routing
• Use of Events
• Use of Queues
• Caching
• Efficient ORM System
• Making use of automated testing services.

Like a cherry on the top, Laravel Nova and Laravel Telescope add to the already existing long list of factors that would want to make you choose Laravel over others. 

Laravel Nova is an administration dashboard while Laravel Telescope is a debugging assistant.

Let’s look at some of the factors that contribute to people choosing and making use of Laravel more than any other PHP Framework.

Authorization Technique

Authentication and Authorization are two integral parts that should be integrated and addressed to. Authentication makes sure that the person claiming an identity is true in every form.

Authorization on the other hand is checking to see if the user has privileges or access to certain features, settings, or goals.

By making use of a framework like Laravel, you can be sure that no non-authorized action will take place. 

Laravel’s authorization feature is pretty serious and it only permits the ones that have been granted access.

Object-Oriented Libraries

Libraries play an important and necessary role in developing any type of web application. As we know, a library is a collection of all the resources that you potentially might require during the coding or application development process. 

Using libraries assists the developers and makes it much easier for them. It also results in coding at a comparatively fast pace. Object-oriented libraries belong to object-oriented programming languages. 

Laravel consists of object-oriented as well as the pre-installed libraries. Using pre-installed libraries can cater to multiple issues and can offer you a one-stop solution for the same.

Artisan

You can say that it belongs to the tools and packages category. To give you some more information about Artisan, it is a type of command-line interface which is mostly used for assistance in developing something else, mostly an application.

Artisan prevents the tasks of tediously writing the repetitive programming codes again and again.

MVC Support

Like you might know, MVC stands for Model, View, and Controller. It is one of the approaches used for developing user interfaces. 

This separation is done to categorize the internal information that is needed to carry out the program.

Each section created that is Model, View, and Controller have to handle individual aspects of an application. 

Did you know that most of the industries use MVC for developing their applications? This is because it is easier to implement and understand.

Security

Securing the application that you develop from any potential threat that it may face is important. 

You have to make sure that the users of the application won’t face any problems concerning the security features of the application.

Data privacy is one of the elements that the security features have to prevent. Laravel Frameworks make use of hashed passwords and SQL injection attacks to keep the data safe and secure.

Database Migration

Do you wish to move your data from the stored database to the other? You can do so under database migration, which is the process of transferring databases from one platform to the other.

Reasons for doing so may be different, depending on the different reasons and requirements by a company or an organization. Using a Laravel framework to carry out Database migration is a much easier task and can be done with ease.

Great Tutorials

You can never learn everything. New updates keep making things better to use. As a developer, you must be aware of the new trends that arise in the software development and technological field.

You can enroll in online courses or tutorials. These courses may be paid for or free, depending on the services that they offer. 

When it comes to Laravel, many tutorials explain how to use a wide range of features that the framework can offer.

Blade Template Engine

A template engine is used to produce documents by combining data with templates. 

Using a template engine lets you implement static files along with your application. A templating language is used to carry out this process.

Laravel offers the Blade Template Engine that works very well with HTML and PHP applications.

Responsive Interface

It is one of the many features that is offered by the Laravel Framework. It makes use of the controller method to return an implemented interface with the help of a class. 

Automatic Package Discovery

When it comes to packages in computers or applications, you can say that they are sets of related interfaces and classes that lets you keep your data in one place.

Laravel offers an automatic package discovery option that helps to detect the potential packages that the user wants to install. It can also be used to disable certain unwanted features of the packages.

Multiple File System

Having a large and efficient file system is always beneficial as it lets you segregate and store as much data as you can. 

On top of that, having multiple file systems can make the entire application building process much easier. 

Eloquent ORM

Have you heard about ORM before? Object-Relational-Mapping is one of the many available techniques in the field of computer science. It is used to convert data that is available in incompatible systems into a more compatible one.

This is done by using object-oriented programming languages. Doing so creates a virtual database that can be accessed from within the programming language itself.

Laravel’s ORM system lets you do that. You get to interact with database objects and understand database relationships by using an expressive syntax.

Task Scheduling

We know about the scheduling that the OS of a device carries out so that it becomes easier for the system to process and perform tasks. 

Similarly, in Laravel, a task scheduler is available for executing the tasks periodically.

This scheduler is also given the responsibility of executing configured tasks.

Event & Broadcasting

Live feeds have been introduced to us in the recent past. 

They have been helpful to keep us updated on the things going on around the world. Event trackers are also available to keep track and notify if and when an event is scheduled.

Event and Broadcasting is one of the many features that Laravel offers. 

Integration of these features while developing web applications can help to establish and maintain an active link between the client-side and the server-side. 

It is one of the best features to extract real-time information from web applications.

Testing

Testing an application after it has been developed is as important as any other task that contributes to its development process. 

The reason why it is so important is that there may be errors or faults that can mar the working of your application. 

If encountered at the right time, they can be solved and the efficiency of the application can be maintained. 

The testing process can be carried out in different ways. Unit-testing and command-line utility testing are two of them.

You can hire dedicated laravel developer so that it offers these testing opportunities and official packages to ensure that the developed application is properly functional.

Some of the tests that are available to use contain a way to detect regression and also suggest ways to prevent them in a framework.

Easy Installation

If the installation process of a package or an application is difficult, then users would not be motivated to download it. 

The process must be as simple as possible so that any user can download and avail of the services of that package or application.

This is one of the many features that Laravel offers and is one of the reasons why Laravel is such a popular framework amongst others.

Database Seeding

Did you know that the initial stage of providing the very first values to a database while it is being installed is called database seeding? It is very useful when the database is expected to be populated in the future.

With the use of Laravel, adding dummy data is much easier than it was before. Top Laravel Developers make use of the Faker library to create and test dummy data. This is done to ensure that the application functions properly.

Pagination

Numbering the pages in a document is the very first step of organizing data. 

A document is divided into multiple pages that are numbered to keep a track of the information stored on it. Paging makes it easier to locate and use the required information accordingly.

Laravel offers a paginator that carries out this task. This paginator in Laravel is integrated with ORM and query builder to provide flexible and proper usage of the database. 

Read also: Everything You Need To Know About Laravel Helper Functions

Routing Configuration

The configuration process is carried out to make sure that the router is compatible with other components in the network. URL routing, on the other hand, is the process in which you configure your application to accept URLs.

Laravel can assist you in this as it hosts client-server routings efficiently.

Programming Task Configuration

Managing and configuring tasks is necessary to ensure that the functioning is carried out efficiently and that there are no delays in executing a task. 

Most of the tasks have a deadline and need to be carried out before that.

Laravel offers the option of configuring and managing tasks with ease.

Chintan Gor

CTO, eSparkBiz

Enthusiastic for web app development, Chintan Gor has zeal in experimenting with his knowledge of Node, Angular & React in various aspects of development. He keeps on updating his technical know-how thus pinning his name among the topmost CTO's in India. His contribution is penned down by him through various technical blogs on trending tech. He is associated with eSparkBiz from the past 14+ years where one can get premium services.