Top 10 Laravel Best Practices Every Developer Should Follow

Laravel is a powerful PHP framework that promotes clean, maintainable, and scalable code. Following best practices ensures better performance, security, and developer efficiency. Here are the Top 10 Laravel Best Practices every developer should follow:

1. Use Eloquent ORM Efficiently

• Leverage Eloquent relationships (hasMany, belongsTo, morphTo, etc.) instead of manual queries.
• Avoid N+1 queries using with() for eager loading.
• Use scopes (local & global) for reusable query logic.
• Prefer mass assignment with $fillable or $guarded.

Example:

// Bad: N+1 Problem
$books = Book::all();
foreach ($books as $book) {
    echo $book->author->name; // Queries DB each time
}
// Good: Eager Loading
$books = Book::with('author')->get();

2. Follow MVC Architecture

• Keep business logic in Services/Repositories, not in controllers.
• Use blade templates for views (avoid complex logic in views).
• Controllers should be thin (delegate logic to models or services).

Example:

// Bad: N+1 Problem
$books = Book::all();
foreach ($books as $book) {
    echo $book->author->name; // Queries DB each time
}
// Good: Eager Loading
$books = Book::with('author')->get();

3. Validate Requests Properly

• Use Form Request Validation for complex rules.
• Keep validation rules close to the input (not in controllers).
• Use custom validation rules when needed.

Example:

// Create a Form Request
php artisan make:request StoreBookRequest
// Define rules in the request class
public function rules() {
    return [
        'title' => 'required|string|max:255',
        'author_id' => 'exists:authors,id',
    ];
}

4. Use Artisan Commands & Generators

• Generate models, controllers, migrations, and tests using Artisan.
• Use Resource Controllers (--resource flag) for CRUD operations.
• Create custom Artisan commands for repetitive tasks.

Example:

php artisan make:model Book -mcr
# -m: Migration
# -c: Controller
# -r: Resource Controller

5. Secure Your Application

• Use Laravel’s built-in security (CSRF protection, SQL injection prevention).
• Hash passwords with bcrypt() or Hash::make().
• Avoid raw SQL queries (use parameterized queries).
• Sanitize user input to prevent XSS attacks.
• Use Gates & Policies for authorization.

Example:

// Bad: Raw SQL (SQL Injection Risk)
DB::select("SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = '$email'");
// Good: Parameterized Query
DB::table('users')->where('email', $email)->first();

Note: Avoid raw database queries when possible. If unavoidable, use Laravel's built-in query builder or Eloquent to prevent SQL injection.

6. Optimize Database Performance

• Use indexes for frequently queried columns.
• Avoid SELECT * (fetch only needed columns).
• Use caching (Redis/Memcached) for heavy queries.
• Consider database sharding for large-scale apps.

Example:

// Bad: Selects all columns
$users = User::all();
// Good: Selects only required fields
$users = User::select('id', 'name', 'email')->get();

7. Implement Caching

Cache API responses, queries, and views.

Use Laravel Cache (cache()->remember()).

Clear cache on data changes via model observers/events.

Example:

$posts = cache()->remember('all_posts', 3600, function () {
    return Post::with('comments')->get();
});

8. Write Unit & Feature Tests

• Use PHPUnit & Pest for testing.
• Test critical business logic first.
• Use Database Transactions in tests to avoid side effects.
• Mock external APIs with Laravel HTTP Fake.

Example:

public function test_user_can_create_post()
{
    $user = User::factory()->create();
    $response = $this->actingAs($user)
        ->post('/posts', ['title' => 'Test Post']);
    $response->assertStatus(201);
    $this->assertDatabaseHas('posts', ['title' => 'Test Post']);
}

9. Use Queues for Heavy Tasks

Offload emails, file processing, and API calls to queues.

Use Laravel Horizon for monitoring Redis queues.

Implement failed job handling.

Example:

// Dispatch a job instead of running synchronously
ProcessPodcast::dispatch($podcast)->onQueue('audio');

10. Follow PSR Standards & Code Style

Adopt PSR-4 autoloading.

Use Laravel Pint or PHP-CS-Fixer for consistent code style.

Write clean, readable, and documented code.

Example:

// Bad: Inconsistent naming
public function get_all_books() { ... }
// Good: Follows Laravel conventions
public function getAllBooks() { ... }

Bonus: Environment & Deployment Best Practices

• Keep .env out of version control.
• Use config caching in production (php artisan config:cache).
• Optimize Composer autoloader (composer dump-autoload -o).
• Monitor with Laravel Telescope (for debugging).

Final Thoughts

By following these Laravel best practices, you ensure:
✅ Better performance
✅ Easier maintenance
✅ Improved security
✅ Scalable architecture

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What are the best Laravel coding practices?
A: Follow MVC strictly, validate requests, use Eloquent relationships wisely, and avoid logic in controllers.

Q: How can I improve Laravel app performance?
A: Use caching, database indexing, and avoid N+1 queries with eager loading.

Happy Coding! 😊