Learn Laravel From These Free & Paid Resources

Laravel has become one of the most popular PHP frameworks for web development over the past years. Laravel makes it easy to build modern web applications quickly with its expressive syntax, robust features, and extensive community. If you want to master Laravel and add it to your development skillset, you’ll need some great resources to learn from.

In this article, we will cover the best free and paid Laravel learning resources, including tutorials, courses, documentation, and more. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced developer, you’ll find resources here to take your Laravel skills to the next level. Let’s dive in!

What is Laravel?

Laravel is an open-source PHP web application framework that provides structure and tools for building web apps. Some key things to know:

• Expressive routing system for clean URL design
• Powerful templating with Blade
• Robust database abstraction and migrations
• Composer dependency manager integration
• MVC architectural pattern
• RESTful routing and JWT authentication tools
• Cache, queue, and scheduler services
• Hundreds of community packages on Packagist

With these features and more, Laravel makes developing secure and maintainable web apps easier and faster than vanilla PHP.

What are the Benefits of Learning Laravel?

Here are some main benefits of learning the Laravel framework:

• In-Demand Skill – Laravel is one of the companies’ most in-demand PHP frameworks. Knowing Laravel boosts job opportunities.
• Speed of Development – Laravel’s tools and structure let you build robust apps faster than other frameworks.
• Scalable Apps – Built-in services like cache and queues support scalability for larger traffic loads.
• Community & Resources – As a popular open-source project, Laravel has a wealth of learning materials and support available.
• Secure Code – Laravel encourages following security best practices for clean code and reduced vulnerabilities.

By learning Laravel, you equip yourself with a beneficial skillset for web development jobs while boosting your overall value as a programmer.

Learn More: See which Laravel packages you need to install in our best Laravel packages guide. 

Best Laravel Learning Resources (Free and Paid)

Now let’s look at some excellent free and paid resources for mastering Laravel:

1 . Official Laravel Documentation

The official Laravel documentation is the definitive resource for learning and using the Laravel web application framework. It is comprehensive, well-organized, and targeted at various experience levels.

For Beginners:

• The docs provide step-by-step tutorials on installing Laravel, setting up your environment, and building your first applications. These give coding examples and explanations assuming little prior knowledge.
• A dedicated section on basic concepts like routing, controllers, views, and database migrations to help beginners grasp the fundamentals.
• Common issues beginners face, like app configuration, error handling, etc., are covered.

For Intermediate Developers:

• The docs extensively cover Laravel’s features like the Eloquent ORM, Blade templating, authentication, caching, and testing.
• There are tutorials on integrating Laravel with databases, JavaScript frameworks, queues, etc., with code examples.
• Best practices on application structure, security, and performance optimization are provided.

For Advanced Developers:

In-depth references on Artisan commands, filesystem access, Mail, and notifications.

• Documentation on contributing to Laravel as an open-source project.
• Analysis of Laravel design patterns and architectural principles.
• Version upgrade guides with migration instructions and change logs.

The official docs are the most reliable, up-to-date, and comprehensive resource for mastering Laravel at any skill level. The text-based documentation is concise and technical, making it a handy reference manual.

2 . Laravel News

Laravel News is a popular community site for staying up-to-date with the latest happenings in the Laravel ecosystem. With frequent blog posts, tutorials, podcasts, and newsletters, it provides quality content for Laravel developers of all skill levels:

For Beginners:

• The “Laravel for Beginners” series of tutorials covers building complete real-world applications from scratch to teach programming and web development concepts alongside Laravel.
• Easy-to-follow tutorials on Laravel basics like routing, migrations, controllers, and views. Common beginner pitfalls are also discussed.
• Curated Laravel job listings for those looking to start their careers.

For Intermediate Developers:

• In-depth tutorials on advanced Laravel components like Nova admin panel, custom authentication, APIs, and SaaS apps.
• Best practice articles for production deployment, optimization, security, and testing methodologies.
• Reviews and comparisons of applicable Laravel packages and tools.

For Advanced Developers:

• Weekly news roundups on the latest Laravel releases, features, and ecosystem updates so experts can stay current.
• Deep dives into undocumented Laravel functionality are only valid for advanced developers.
• Insightful interviews with Taylor Otwell and other core team members on Laravel design decisions.

While it skews towards being a news outlet, Laravel News balances it with quality tutorials and focused learning content across levels. It is an invaluable free resource for continuous upskilling alongside staying current with the community.

The tutorial presentation and navigation leave something to be desired, but the newsletter summaries help mitigate this. The unbiased coverage also builds trust. For these reasons, subscribing to Laravel News is highly recommended for any Laravel developer.

3 . LaraShout

LaraShout is a blog-style tutorial site focusing purely on the Laravel framework. With theory explainers and practical code walkthroughs, it covers various topics – from basics to advanced concepts.

For Beginners:

• Straightforward tutorials on routing, controllers, views, Eloquent ORM, authentication, and more core concepts.
• Common pitfalls like N+1 queries and session management are covered.
• Screencasts demonstrating complete application built from scratch.

For Intermediate Developers:

• Series on Laravel Collections methods, design patterns, and SOLID principles implementation in Laravel.
• Building custom packages, working with Laravel APIs and Nova admin panel.
• Integration with third-party tools like Redis, Elasticsearch, and Docker.

For Advanced Developers:

• Advanced Eloquent techniques – query scopes, optimizations, custom providers.
• Contribution to Laravel core and framework architectural analysis.
• Server configuration for scaling, optimization, and deployment to production.

The polished, well-structured tutorials make it easy to navigate and absorb concepts. The code is explained clearly with good visual aids. The range isn’t comprehensive but hits each level’s main pitfalls and best practices.

While the update frequency has recently reduced, the existing content is extensive and covers most modern Laravel functionality. For focused, learning-oriented Laravel content explaining why and how LaraShout is highly recommended.

4 . Laravel Daily by Povilas Korop

Laravel Daily is a video tutorial channel by Povilas Korop focusing on using Laravel for SaaS and business applications. With daily updates, it has become a popular free resource.

For Beginners:

• Easy-to-follow screencasts on setting up Laravel, routing, controllers, views, and databases.
• Discussions around MV* principles and separation of concerns for beginners.
• Career and business advice on transitioning to being a web developer.

For Intermediate Developers:

• Building complete real-world business tools like customer portals and payment systems.
• Integration with APIs, third-party libraries, and SaaS services.
• Testing and optimization strategies for web apps.
• Architecting and structuring large Laravel codebases.

For Advanced Developers:

• High-level SaaS-focused topics like multi-tenancy, scalability patterns, and maintenance.
• Latest Laravel releases and features for building robust business tools.
• Niche use cases around reporting, analytics, and automation.

With Povilas’ easy-to-follow project-driven teaching style and industry background, Laravel Daily gives unique insights into using Laravel for business workflows. It covers the whole – from basics to advanced use cases across levels.

Focused, practical walkthroughs demonstrating real-world functionality make it a handy free resource. The only drawback is difficulty searching the growing video database. It is highly recommended for continuous upskilling in applying Laravel for business needs.

5 . Laravel PHP Framework Tutorial by FreeCodeCamp

The Laravel PHP Framework Tutorial by FreeCodeCamp is a free 4+ hour video course that walks through building an Instagram clone while teaching Laravel concepts.

For Beginners:

• It covers installing Laravel, basic routing, controllers, and database migrations step-by-step from zero assumed knowledge.
• The follow-along project showcases how features like authentication and image upload are implemented.
• Explanations are slow-paced, allowing beginners to grasp topics fully.

For Intermediate Developers:

• Shows how to link routes, views, and models to create CRUD operations for photo-uploading web apps.
• Integration of image manipulation with Intervention library demonstrated.
• Database structure and relationships explained for building robust, scalable apps.

6 . Let’s Build with Laravel: A Linktree Clone by Andrew Schmelyun

Let’s Build with Laravel: A Linktree Clone is a free 1-hour video by Andrew Schmelyun that walks through building a Linktree social media landing page app clone using Laravel.

For Beginners:

• It builds directly on assumed conceptual knowledge so that complete Laravel beginners may struggle.
• Fast-paced and focused solely on application functionality over explanations.
• It shows how features like user authentication and link management come together.

For Intermediate Developers:

• Follow along to build a fully working Linktree social media tool clone withLaravel.
• Demonstrates routing, controllers, Blade templates, and database migrations by application.
• Code is available on GitHub to cement and extend learning.

While marketed for beginners, the tutorial is best suited for developers with existing Laravel exposure looking to build skills through a real-world project. The no-fluff pace showcases how an app can be built rapidly on Laravel without hand-holding through the basics.

Some audibility and visibility issues exist in video production. But as a focused walkthrough bringing an actual app idea to life, it works excellently for intermediate developers despite the “beginner” label. Cementing Laravel skills by building the popular Linktree product makes this a hidden gem.

7 . The Laravel Podcast

The Laravel Podcast is a popular free fortnightly show hosted by Matt Stauffer that covers news, tutorials, and discussions around the Laravel ecosystem. With over 150 episodes, it is a staple resource for the community.

For Beginners:

• Early episodes cover core concepts like routing, Blade templates, and database migrations that help beginners grasp key fundamentals.
• Conversations around community news, events, and opportunities.
• Gives a holistic overview of the broader Laravel landscape.

For Intermediate Developers:

• Recent episodes dive deeper into Laravel components like Nova, Forge, and Valet, which are tailored for professional developers.
• Discussions around architectural decisions, dev workflows, and industry best practices.
• Exposure to experts and viewpoints accelerates professional growth.

For Advanced Developers:

• Cutting-edge episodes around contribution to Laravel itself as an open-source project.
• The philosophy behind framework design decisions is explained directly by Taylor Otwell.
• Showcases niche use cases and complex problems solved by Laravel.

8 . Laracasts

Laracasts is the leading paid tutorial site for learning Laravel and modern PHP web development. It has become an indispensable resource with over 1500 video courses/series.

For Beginners:

• The “Laravel 8 From Scratch” series covers the A-Z of building web apps for PHP beginners new to Laravel.
• Easy to digest 5-10 minute videos explaining concepts clearly with engaging instructors.
• Active user forums to get help from the large subscriber community.

For Intermediate Developers:

• Numerous series demonstrate building SaaS products, APIs, custom packages, admin panels, etc.
• Advanced Eloquent, debugging, and architectural principles are covered in depth.
• New cutting-edge features/library tutorials are added regularly.

For Advanced Developers:

• Hardcore series on contributing to Laravel, Lumen codebases, and the framework itself.
• Design pattern analysis and scalability considerations are covered for senior engineers.
• Special guest influencer videos on niche topics.

With polished, expertly structured courses, Laracasts has the depth to accelerate skills across levels – from beginner to advanced. Easy-to-digest videos, downloadable code, and a lively community fill any knowledge gaps.

Despite the paid access, the quality, structured learning, and extensive catalog make Laracasts a universally recommended one-stop shop for mastering Laravel. From fundamentals to advanced use cases, it has everything covered.

9 . Laravel Daily

Laravel Daily is a collection of premium video courses by Povilas Korop focused on building real-world Laravel applications. With GitHub code inclusion and email support, it provides structured learning.

For Beginners:

• The free “Laravel Quickstart” course helps beginners set up and start building apps fast.
• Code demo projects include invoice generators, CRUD apps, task managers, etc.

For Intermediate Developers:

• Series on APIs, SaaS products, admin panels, and other systems design.
• Integrations with Vue, Livewire, and APIs were demonstrated.
• Best practices on deployments and maintenance.

For Advanced Developers:

• Advanced use case analyses on multi-tenancy, scalability, and optimization.
• Low-level dives into Laravel internals – cache, configs, facades, etc.
• Latest feature implementations like maintenance mode.With real-world business application as the driver, Laravel Daily keeps the content engaging and practical across levels. Povilas’ upbeat teaching style shines through in the polished courses.

  The free sample course and money-back guarantee mitigate the lack of free previews. As high-quality, up-to-date video tutorials on building production-grade Laravel software, Laravel Daily is a top contender for intermediate and advanced developers. The business use case focus is a unique differentiator.

10 . Udemy

Udemy is a leading online learning marketplace with over 2500 Laravel video courses created by expert authors at affordable prices. With global reach and structured learning, it has become a go-to platform.

For Beginners:

• Numerous introductory Laravel courses teaching concepts like routing, Blade, and Eloquent from scratch.
• Step-by-step guides on building blogging sites, REST APIs, and web apps.
• Supporting resources like slides and code samples were provided.

For Intermediate Developers:

• Specialized courses on add-ons like Laravel Nova and Vue integration.
• Building real-world apps like social networks and eCommerce sites.
• Troubleshooting deployment and optimization issues covered.

For Advanced Developers:

• Complex architectures for scalability, security, and redundancy.
• Latest feature implementations, packages, and versions covered.
• Analysis of Laravel facades and configuration setups.

With extensive filters and stats, finding the right course fit for each level is easy despite the catalog size. Sample previews and Udemy’s refund policy allow risk-free checking out of courses.

While quality can vary slightly between individual authors, the overall breadth and affordability of Laravel courses are unparalleled. For structured, A-Z learning with enhanced support, Udemy works great across levels. Brand value and global access make it a leading choice.

FAQs

What are Laravel’s system requirements?

The minimum requirements are PHP 7.3+, Composer, MySQL, appropriate PHP extensions enabled, NPM/Node, and a web server like Apache/Nginx. The exact details are in the docs.

Should I learn vanilla PHP first?

Essential PHP is enough to get started. However, object-oriented PHP and namespace knowledge will help you write better Laravel applications.

Is Laravel a good framework for beginners?

The learning curve is fair, even for beginners, thanks to available teaching resources. Laravel skills also directly translate to jobs.

How long does it take to learn Laravel?

Expect around 3-6 months of consistent practice to get job-ready if you already know PHP. Focus on key concepts before advanced features.

Conclusion

Laravel has become one of the most popular and beginner-friendly PHP frameworks for building modern web applications. Its robust feature set lets you develop complex, scalable products faster while encouraging best practices. This article aimed to provide a comprehensive directory of learning resources to master Laravel across skill levels.

We covered excellent free tutorials like the official documentation guides and Laracasts introductory series targeted at getting absolute beginners job-ready. Platforms like Laravel Daily, Udemy, and LaraShout offer more structured, project-driven learning for intermediates looking to learn by application. Podcasts, newsletters, and conferences allow you to stay on top of ecosystem updates effortlessly.

With Laravel’s indispensability for PHP backends and full-stack developer roles, the career boost justifies the investment well. Consistent, hands-on practice focusing on fundamentals before advanced features is key to smoothly navigating the framework’s learning curve. Several free resources lower the barrier here.

Hopefully, this guide gave you a clear direction by highlighting the landscape’s breadth. Feel free to revisit it as a reference point for supplemental materials on your journey to mastery of Laravel. The possibilities are endless once you internalize its intuitive, expressive nature. Happy learning!

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