Laravel Tutorial 2024: Complete Guide for Beginners to Advanced

Laravel has become the most popular PHP framework in 2024, powering millions of web applications worldwide. Whether you're a complete beginner or looking to level up your skills, this comprehensive Laravel tutorial will guide you through everything you need to know. Table of Contents

1. What is Laravel?
2. Why Choose Laravel in 2024?
3. Laravel Installation Guide
4. Laravel Basics for Beginners
5. Routing in Laravel

What is Laravel? Laravel is a free, open-source PHP web framework created by Taylor Otwell in 2011. It follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern and provides an elegant syntax that makes web development enjoyable and creative.

Key Features: Elegant Syntax: Write clean, readable code MVC Architecture: Organized, maintainable structure Eloquent ORM: Intuitive database management Built-in Authentication: Secure user management out of the box Artisan Console: Powerful command-line tool Blade Templating: Simple yet powerful templating engine Testing Support: Built-in PHPUnit testing Large Ecosystem: Thousands of packages available

Why Choose Laravel in 2024?

1. Most Popular PHP Framework

Laravel consistently ranks as the #1 PHP framework on GitHub with over 75,000 stars. The community is active, supportive, and constantly growing.

2. Rapid Development

Laravel's built-in features and extensive package ecosystem mean you can build applications 3-5x faster than with vanilla PHP.

3. Enterprise-Ready

Companies like Disney, Twitch, and The New York Times use Laravel for production applications. It scales from small projects to enterprise solutions.

4. Excellent Documentation

Laravel's documentation is comprehensive, well-organized, and beginner-friendly. Every feature is thoroughly explained with examples.

5. Strong Job Market

Laravel developers are in high demand with average salaries ranging from $70,000 to $120,000+ per year (US market).

Laravel Installation Guide

System Requirements Before installing Laravel, ensure your system meets these requirements:

PHP >= 8.2
Composer (dependency manager)
MySQL/PostgreSQL/SQLite
Node.js & NPM (for frontend assets)

Installation Methods Method 1: Laravel Installer (Recommended)

bash# Install Laravel installer globally
composer global require laravel/installer

# Create new project
laravel new my-project

# Navigate to project
cd my-project

# Start development server
php artisan serve

Method 2: Via Composer

bash# Create project via Composer
composer create-project laravel/laravel my-project

# Navigate and serve
cd my-project
php artisan serve

Method 3: Laravel Sail (Docker)

bash# Create project with Sail
curl -s "https://laravel.build/my-project" | bash

# Start Docker containers
cd my-project
./vendor/bin/sail up

First Steps After Installation

bash# Configure environment
cp .env.example .env
php artisan key:generate

# Run migrations
php artisan migrate

# Install npm dependencies
npm install
npm run dev

Visit http://localhost:8000 to see your Laravel welcome page!

Laravel Basics for Beginners Project Structure Understanding Laravel's directory structure is crucial:

my-project/
├── app/               # Application core code
│   ├── Http/         # Controllers, Middleware
│   ├── Models/       # Eloquent models
│   └── Providers/    # Service providers
├── config/           # Configuration files
├── database/         # Migrations, seeders
├── public/           # Public assets, index.php
├── resources/        # Views, CSS, JS
│   ├── views/       # Blade templates
│   └── js/          # JavaScript files
├── routes/           # Application routes
│   ├── web.php      # Web routes
│   └── api.php      # API routes
├── storage/          # Logs, cache, uploads
└── tests/            # Automated tests

MVC Pattern in Laravel Model: Represents data and business logic

class Post extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = ['title', 'content', 'user_id'];
    
    public function user()
    {
        return $this->belongsTo(User::class);
    }
}

View: Presents data to users

<h1>{{ $post->title }}</h1>
<p>{{ $post->content }}</p>
<p>By: {{ $post->user->name }}</p>

Controller: Handles requests and responses

// app/Http/Controllers/PostController.php
class PostController extends Controller
{
    public function show(Post $post)
    {
        return view('posts.show', compact('post'));
    }
}

Routing in Laravel

Basic Routes Routes are defined in routes/web.php:

// Simple GET route
Route::get('/', function () {
    return view('welcome');
});

// Route with parameter
Route::get('/user/{id}', function ($id) {
    return "User: " . $id;
});

// Route to controller
Route::get('/posts', [PostController::class, 'index']);

Route Methods

phpRoute::get('/posts', [PostController::class, 'index']);      // List
Route::post('/posts', [PostController::class, 'store']);     // Create
Route::get('/posts/{post}', [PostController::class, 'show']); // Show
Route::put('/posts/{post}', [PostController::class, 'update']); // Update
Route::delete('/posts/{post}', [PostController::class, 'destroy']); // Delete

Resource Routes (Shortcut)

php// Creates all CRUD routes automatically
Route::resource('posts', PostController::class);

Named Routes

Route::get('/dashboard', [DashboardController::class, 'index'])
    ->name('dashboard');

// Use in views
<a href="{{ route('dashboard') }}">Dashboard</a>

// Redirect to named route
return redirect()->route('dashboard');

Laravel Resources & Community

Official Resources

1. Laravel Documentation
2. Laracasts Video Tutorials
3. Laravel News
4. Laravel Podcast

Community Platforms

• LaraCommunity - Connect with Laravel developers worldwide
• Laravel.io Forum - Ask questions and share knowledge
• Laravel Discord - Real-time community chat
• Reddit r/laravel - Community discussions

Useful Packages

1. Laravel Debugbar - Development debugging
2. Laravel Telescope - Application monitoring
3. Spatie Packages - High-quality Laravel packages
4. Laravel Livewire - Full-stack framework without leaving PHP
5. Inertia.js - Build SPAs with Laravel

Conclusion Laravel continues to be the most popular and powerful PHP framework in 2024. With its elegant syntax, comprehensive features, and strong community support, it's the perfect choice for building modern web applications.

Next Steps:

• Build your first Laravel project
• Join the LaraCommunity platform
• Contribute to open-source Laravel packages
• Follow Laravel best practices
• Keep learning with Laracasts

Ready to dive deeper? Explore more Laravel tutorials, join our community, and start building amazing applications today!