Laravel
The most complete, batteries-included PHP web framework.
Laravel provides routing, an ORM (Eloquent), templating (Blade), queues, caching, authentication scaffolding, and much more out of the box — the goal is that a solo developer or small team can build a full application without assembling a dozen separate libraries. It's the dominant framework in the PHP ecosystem and has a large, well-documented community around it.
When to use it
- You want a batteries-included framework that minimizes the number of separate decisions (ORM, auth, queues, mail) you have to make
- You're building a traditional server-rendered web app, possibly paired with Inertia.js or Livewire for interactivity without a separate frontend SPA
- You value Laravel's documentation and conventions — it's often cited as one of the most approachable full frameworks to learn
- You're already in the PHP ecosystem and want the most productive option within it
Considerations
- Being fully-featured means a larger framework to learn than a minimal router-only library
- Eloquent's 'active record' pattern is convenient but can encourage business logic creeping into models if you're not disciplined
- Like any PHP app, understand the shared-nothing request model — long-running background work goes through Laravel's queue system, not in-process background threads
Key concepts
Eloquent ORM
An active-record ORM — each model class maps to a database table and carries its own query/persistence methods.
Artisan
Laravel's command-line tool for scaffolding, migrations, queue workers, and custom commands.
Blade
Laravel's templating engine for server-rendered views, with lightweight directives layered on plain PHP.
Migrations
Version-controlled, code-defined database schema changes — run with php artisan migrate.
Getting started
composer create-project laravel/laravel my-appScaffold a new Laravel project.
cd my-app && php artisan serveStart the local development server.
Common mistakes
- Letting business logic accumulate inside Eloquent models because the active-record pattern makes it convenient — without discipline, models become a dumping ground instead of staying focused on data access.
- Running long background work in-process instead of through Laravel's queue system — PHP's request lifecycle doesn't support long-running in-process background threads the way Node does.
- Skipping migrations in favor of manual database changes — loses the version-controlled, reproducible schema history php artisan migrate is designed to provide.
Ecosystem
Related tools
This guide states trade-offs, not a single "best" answer — the right choice depends on your team, constraints, and existing stack.