Laravel development for web applications, portals and APIs
- Custom web apps, portals and APIs on PHP
- Queues, scheduled jobs and database migrations included
- Blade, Livewire or Inertia, or API-only with any front end
- A tested codebase you own
When Laravel is the right choice
Laravel is a strong choice for software that encodes your own process:
- A customer or partner portal with accounts, roles, documents, orders or bookings.
- An internal system replacing spreadsheets and e-mail chains, with background jobs for reports, imports and reminders.
- An API behind a mobile app or a JavaScript front end. The Laravel documentation itself describes using it as an API backend for a Next.js application; see Next.js.
- A team or hosting environment that already runs PHP, so no new runtime is introduced. See our PHP development page.
When Laravel is not the right choice
Laravel is not the answer to every web project:
- A brochure or shop that a platform already does well. WordPress, Shopify or Magento will be cheaper to run than a custom build; see eCommerce solutions.
- A product whose team writes JavaScript or TypeScript everywhere and wants one language. NestJS may suit better.
- A tiny script or webhook. A full framework is more than that needs.
- A project with no one to maintain it. Custom software needs an owner, whoever the developers are.
What we build with Laravel
Portals and dashboards
Logged-in areas with roles and permissions, forms, file uploads and reporting.APIs and integrations
Endpoints for apps and partners, plus jobs that sync with your store, CRM or accounting system in the background.Rebuilds of ageing PHP
Moving an old PHP application onto a maintained framework in stages. See website modernisation.Reporting
Pull the numbers from several systems on a schedule, write the summary, and point out what changed and why it might matter.Back-office reconciliation
Match payments, orders and invoices across systems and prepare the mismatches for review.Your workflow
If a task is repetitive, rule-heavy and checked by someone anyway, it is a candidate. The AI readiness audit ranks the candidates.What Laravel gives you out of the box
The official documentation lists the built-in tools: dependency injection, an expressive database abstraction layer (Eloquent), queues and scheduled jobs, unit and integration testing, and real-time events. Database migrations keep the structure of your database in version control, so a change is repeatable on every environment. Starter kits provide sign-in and registration so the first week is not spent on logins.
For the user interface there are two common routes. Blade templates, with Livewire or Inertia where you want a more app-like feel, keep the work in one project. Or Laravel serves only an API and a separate front end, for example Next.js or Vue, consumes it. We choose by who will maintain the front end, not by fashion.
Running it well
A Laravel application needs a queue worker for background work, a scheduler, a cache, and sensible environment configuration kept out of source control. We set these up, host on AWS or your own servers, and add monitoring. Because Laravel follows strong conventions, another developer can pick the project up later, which is the main protection for you against being locked to one supplier. If the application will feed an assistant or automation, see AI assistants.
How we work
- Scope first: we agree what the first release must do, what can wait, and what it depends on, in writing.
- Build in increments: you see working software on a staging site regularly, not one large hand-over at the end.
- Test as we build: automated tests for the logic that matters, and a manual check of the journeys your customers use.
- Hand over properly: the code in your repository, documentation, and a walkthrough so your team or ours can carry on.
What we have built
We have built many websites with Laravel. We describe our work in general terms here and do not publish client names or figures; ask us on a call what is relevant to your project.
Frequently asked questions
Is Laravel good for large applications?
Its documentation describes it as built for professional applications and large workloads, with queues, caching and horizontal scaling. How far it scales in practice depends on the design, the database and the hosting, which we plan with you.
Can Laravel be used with a React, Vue or Next.js front end?
Yes. Laravel can serve as an API for a separate JavaScript front end, handling authentication, data storage and background work, while the front end handles the interface.
Laravel or WordPress?
If you need content editing and standard features, WordPress is usually quicker and cheaper. If you need custom rules, accounts, integrations or an API, Laravel is the better base. Some projects use both, with WordPress for content.
Can you take over an existing Laravel project?
Yes. We start with a code review covering tests, dependencies and security updates, then agree a plan to stabilise it before adding features.
Sources
Technology facts on this page are taken from the official documentation:
Have a process that needs custom software?
Describe how the work happens today. We will say whether Laravel, a ready-made platform or something smaller is the right size.
