What is Laravel Used For? | 10 Most Common Applications

What is Laravel?

Laravel is a widely popular and emerging custom web application development framework. It is an open-source full stack PHP framework developed by Taylor Otwell in 2011 to create a substitute for the older PHP framework called Codelgniter. It is a server-side programming structure which is simple to use, secure and multi-lingual. It manages multiple aspects such as templating HTML, routing, sessions, caching and authentication which can otherwise get taxing for web developers.

Renowned and big companies such as Pfizer, BBC, TourRadar and Wattpad have been using Laravel to create their web applications due to its wide applicability in the fields of e-commerce websites, social networking sites, portals and web management systems. Thus, 50% of PHP developers use Laravel regularly as compared to its competitors like Symfony.

What is Laravel used for?

Laravel is used to build:

1. Apps with high security levels
2. Apps for businesses and enterprises
3. Scalable web apps which are already existing
4. Single and multi page applications (SPA/MPA)
5. Internet of Things based infrastructures
6. Websites for startups and small-scale industries

Why do big companies use Laravel?

Top companies such as Ratio and Crowdcube use Laravel due to its exquisite features such as:

1. MVC:Based on Model-View-Controller architectural framework, it enables execution of large scale or complex projects with ease and is not weighed down by heavy codes. It also helps in modifying the codes and templates effortlessly.
2. Secure:It enables the application with secure, efficient authorization and authenticationwith just a few artisan commands. It can handle SQL injections and cyber security risks efficiently due to the in-built CSRF token feature.
3. Integrated file system:Laravel supports cloud storage systems such as Amazon S3 and Rack space Cloud Storageand even local storage, internally. As the API remains the same for different systems, it becomes easy and smooth to toggle between these storage options. All systems can be utilized to service files from varied locations.

The Eloquent ORM:

Laravel’s built-in Object-relational Mapper is considered one of the best for implementation. It allows usage of expressive syntax to interact with the objects in the database.

Built-in Template engine and command line tool:

Blade is a lightweight template engine which provides multiple widgets so that the web page or application is stable, using dynamic seeding of content.

Artisan helps in the automation of repetitive tasks and simple management of migration of database. It also enables creation of custom commands and testing by the developers.

Testing:

Laravel has a built-in testing support system which can easily integrate testing into any web development procedure through its PHPUnit. This ensures early identification and correction of bugs before the issue becomes uncontrollable and a costly affair.

Community support

A large active community of web developers provide timely support to the users, which has expanded exponentially in the past decade. It also helps in cost cutting and avoiding delays with access to its vast pre-loaded libraries.

Here are 10 popular applications built using Laravel:

1. Cachet HQIt is one of the largest free and open source status page for all users which is easy to use, manage and install. It can be utilized to track third party service and providing timely updates.
2. Alison:Being one of the leading e-learning platforms, Alison provides a plethora of upskilling courses and online education resources. The certificate courses range from Business, IT, health to personal development and academics.
3. Barchart:Barchart platform is a world leader in stocks, forex and cryptocurrency research. It aids domestic and international, traders and investors by providing market overview and analysis.
4. Myrank:It is a top notch e-learning platform which provides guidance and assistance for various competitive exams such as Bank PO, GRE, GATE etc. More than 1 lakh tests have been taken on the platform making it India’s top website for self-assessment.
5. World WalkingMade using Laravel, it is a unique platform and community that motivates people to walk. It has features which allow sharing of progress with each other and participating in various challenges.
6. Startups.co:Startups.co is considered to be one of the world’s largest startup companies. They help users to establish their own startups and have helped around a million companies to do so. They have fast and powerful framework which helps in keeping a track of its clients across the globe.
7. AlphaCoders.comAlphaCoders.com is a platform for access to wallpapers, art, gifs, images and related content by bringing the content writers and their fans together.

   They have sections for featured creators and authors and help in revenue generation. This has expanded worldwide due to its unique concept.

8. SwiftdeskIt is an expanding customer support & help desk app which supports customers across live chat, email, SMS, and Facebook messenger, interacting with unlimited brands and knowledge bases. It is built using Laravel and Vue, lowering the cost of help desk software while showcasing it in a modern SPA interface. It also includes embeddable widgets which one can add to websites for helping customers find the relevant information or start a required conversation.

   They have sections for featured creators and authors and help in revenue generation. This has expanded worldwide due to its unique concept.

9. Laravel.ioIt is the leading Laravel community portal for knowledge sharing and problem solving, especially among Laravel developers. It features the latest news, podcasts, articles and has near 50000 users in its community, which is continuously growing.
10. ULearnULEARN is a Learning Management Script (LMS) built using Laravel and React. It provides all the basic features that are required in a latest LMS and more than 6 Lakh tests have been taken on the platform.

Conclusion

The advantages of Laravel make it the most suitable for all types of web application development for corporates, ranging from start-ups to established enterprises. It is equipped with a set of multi-functional tools which simplifies and automates majority of the tasks. In addition, the above websites and companies are proof of its popularity and adaptability. Thus, using Laravel, web developers get the freedom to build high performance website applications quickly and at affordable rates.