Business owners seek solutions that provide flexibility and modern features. These needs are fulfilled by powerful tools such as PHP and Laravel, depending on the type of project. PHP is the server-side programming language, while Laravel is the robust framework of PHP. Both tools have their pros, cons, and real-world use cases.
In this blog, we’ll learn the principles of Laravel and PHP, and their detailed comparison including code structure, built-in security, performance, scalability, testing support, and learning curve. Alongside, we’ll also look at real-world use cases- emphasizing which companies hire Laravel developer or choose plain PHP for providing modern web solutions.
Understanding the Basics: Laravel and PHP
Laravel is an open-source PHP framework, known for its modern syntax, built-in tools, and developer-friendly testing features. It is used in many notable companies like 9GAG, BBC, and Pfizer. Although it is based on PHP, it provides a complete toolkit for faster and more efficient development of modern applications.
PHP is the programming language, known for its simplicity, robust ecosystem, and wide hosting support. It is used by many well-known platforms such as Facebook, Wikipedia, and Tumblr. It has proved to be cost-effective and time-efficient because it doesn’t rely on external libraries and frameworks.
PHP vs. Laravel: A Detailed Comparison
Both tools have their dynamic features, let’s discuss in detail the essential development factors to understand PHP and Laravel comparison.
1. Code Structure and Organization
Laravel follows Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture. This offers developers the chance to separate logic, UI, and data handling into independent components. It also empowers Laravel developers to apply design and principles like DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) and SOLID. The purpose of these principles is to write and maintain code.
Core PHP doesn’t provide a predefined structure, which allows developers to freely organize files and logic. This is a useful feature when developing small applications. But in the case of larger and more complex applications developers can also face a disorganized codebase.
Keynote: Laravel is preferred because of its organized and structured coding options. Many companies hire Laravel developer because of their ability to maintain code which provides long-term project growth.
2. Ready-to-Use Features
One of the reasons that makes Laravel stand out as a framework of PHP is its built-in features. It has several built-in tools to implement these features such as Laravel Breeze for authentication. These ready-to-use features including routing, database handling, and task scheduling are very helpful as they save development time.
PHP applications are incomplete without features like authentication, validation, routing, and session handling. To build these features PHP developers need to manually implement each of the features. This process requires more time for the developer and might result in unstable implementations.
Keynote: These Laravel ready-to-use tools and features make it more competitive in the market. That is why companies hire Laravel developers because of Laravel’s out-of-the-box solutions. It helps them to focus on building unique features and reduce the chance of bugs and vulnerabilities.
3. Performance and Scalability
Laravel attaches an extra abstraction layer to provide features like routing, dependency injection, and middleware. These features make development easy but also slow down Laravel’s response time. Laravel relies on PHP to handle these abstract layers. On the other hand, Laravel is built by keeping scalability in mind as it can handle high traffic easily.
PHP is a scripting language, which is why it offers high performance. Lightweight PHP scripts are capable of responding quickly without an extra abstraction layer. It is best suited for small-scale applications; however, it demands developers to manually set up scaling when traffic increases.
Keynote: PHP is a perfect choice for small businesses that demand high-performance applications. Laravel is a great choice for large-scale enterprises that prefer scalability.
4. Built-in Security
Laravel protects applications and users’ data from attacks, it is not the choice of developers to implement those features, that is by default. It also offers outstanding authentication and authorization features with the help of different Laravel tools like Breeze, Jetstream, Passport, and Sanctum. These tools streamline logging, registration, email verification, and API token management processes.
In PHP applications, it relies on the developer to apply security features to make applications secure. There are different features such as data sanitization, prepared statements, session handling, password hashing, and anti-CSRF tokens. Developers can manually use these security tools to protect applications from different attacks like XSS, CSRF, and SQL injection.
Keynote: Both Laravel and PHP have security features, but Laravel implements those features automatically and PHP relies on developers to apply these security features to make applications secure.
5. Testing Support and Debugging
Laravel offers built-in PHPUnit for testing. Developers have a wide range of tools; each caters to a different type of testing. Unit testing, feature testing, database testing, and API testing are all possible automatically in Laravel. On the other hand, debugging tools of Laravel like Laravel Debugbar and Telescope make debugging hassle-free.
PHP provides PHPUnit as a testing tool for PHP developers. It requires developers to set up code structure manually. While for debugging developers can have tools like Xdebug or other methods such as var_dump(), print_r(), and error_log(). PHP offers more flexibility for testing and debugging, however, coders require more time for all manuals to be set up.
Keynote: Laravel offers more diversified tools and methods for testing and debugging so to ensure developers build error and bug-free applications. It helps many companies to provide high-quality applications to enhance user satisfaction, which is why the demand to hire Laravel developer is increasing.
6. Community and Ecosystem
Laravel also has a strong and vibrant community that supports its modern features and tools. Tools like Laravel Forge, Vapor, Nova, and Envoyer are playing an essential role in boosting Laravel’s capabilities. It has regular updates, vast documentation, community support, and popular packages making it advanced in web development frameworks.
On the other side, PHP has a robust community of developers. These developers have access to a wide range of libraries, frameworks, tools, and other resources. Its extensive documentation, tutorials, and forums are a great source of information for PHP developers. Still, there is some gap in coding practices, maybe because of the age of PHP.
Keynote: Laravel provides advanced tools and helps companies build future-proof applications with regular updates. Its active community also provides back support to the companies who hire Laravel developer.
Learn more about how Python vs PHP can impact scalability and performance in web development.
7. Learning Curve
Laravel has a steeper learning curve, and the reason is its modern tools, techniques, and features. It ensures that developers build structured and advanced applications. That is why it provides documentation with detailed concepts on Laracast, which helps developers learn Laravel in-depth.
PHP is easy to use and is considered a beginner-friendly programming language. With a basic knowledge of HTML and JavaScript, anyone can start learning and using PHP. It is a great language to build simple web applications.
Keynote: PHP is a beginner-friendly language, while Laravel is the complete solution for modern and long-term projects.
Use Cases of Laravel and PHP
To better understand the comparison of Laravel vs. PHP, it’s essential to mention their best use cases:
When to Use Laravel:
- Large-scale applications and SaaS platforms
- E-commerce websites with high-traffic
- Projects demand security and scalability
- Developers who demand maintainable and readable code
When to Use PHP:
- Simple websites and small-size applications
- Companies that demand high-performance
- Beginner-level developers
- Legacy systems or CMS platforms
Moreover, after choosing a framework it’s important to hire Laravel developer, who is an expert in building modern web applications and understands best practices.
Conclusion
Laravel and PHP both have their own best use cases. Laravel offers MVC architecture, scalability, built-in security, and testing support. PHP provides high performance, ease of use, and a wide range of frameworks and libraries. The debate between Laravel vs. PHP ends here with the reasoning that Laravel is the best option for modern web development. PHP is also the go-to option for projects that want simple, flexible, and lightweight features.
After choosing the right technology for your project you can hire developers from any experienced development agency like Bizmia. It offers skilled Laravel and PHP developers to help you build both lightweight and modern applications that would be a right fit for your business.
