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Getting Started with Laravel 11: A Beginner’s Guide

Laravel has become one of the most popular PHP frameworks for building modern, scalable, and secure web applications. With the release of Laravel 11, developers now get an even cleaner and faster framework with updated features, simplified configuration, and improved performance.

If you’re new to Laravel or just starting with version 11, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know to get started.

🚀 Why Choose Laravel 11?

Laravel stands out because it combines simplicity with power. Whether you are building a small blog or a large enterprise application, Laravel makes development smoother.

Some key reasons to use Laravel 11:

  • Cleaner Project Structure – Less boilerplate code.

  • Improved Performance – Optimized framework core.

  • Modern PHP Features – Uses the latest PHP 8+ capabilities.

  • Security First – Built-in CSRF protection, hashing, and more.

  • Great Ecosystem – Tools like Laravel Breeze, Livewire, and Horizon.

🛠️ Step 1: System Requirements

Before installing Laravel 11, make sure your system meets the following requirements:

  • PHP 8.2 or higher

  • Composer (PHP dependency manager)

  • Database (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, or SQL Server)

  • Web server (Apache or Nginx)

📦 Step 2: Installing Laravel 11

There are multiple ways to create a new Laravel project. The easiest is through Composer:

composer create-project laravel/laravel my-laravel-app

Or, if you have the Laravel installer:

laravel new my-laravel-app

Once installed, navigate into your project:

cd my-laravel-app

Run the development server:

php artisan serve

Now visit http://localhost:8000 in your browser, and you’ll see the Laravel welcome page 🎉.

📂 Step 3: Understanding the Folder Structure

Laravel’s folder structure is designed to keep your code organized:

  • app/ → Contains your application’s core logic.

  • routes/ → Defines application routes (web.php, api.php).

  • resources/ → Blade templates, CSS, JS files.

  • database/ → Migrations, factories, and seeders.

  • config/ → Configuration files.

🖊️ Step 4: Creating Your First Route & Controller

Let’s add a simple route. Open routes/web.php and add:

Route::get('/hello', function () {
    return "Hello, Laravel 11!";
});
Route::get('/hello', function () {    return "Hello, Laravel 11!"; });

Visit http://localhost:8000/hello and you’ll see the message.

To create a controller:

php artisan make:controller HelloController

Inside the controller (app/Http/Controllers/HelloController.php):

namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use Illuminate\Http\Request;

class HelloController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        return view('hello', ['name' => 'Laravel 11']);
    }
}

Update the route:

Route::get('/hello', [App\Http\Controllers\HelloController::class, 'index']);

Create a Blade view file resources/views/hello.blade.php:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>Hello Laravel</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Welcome to {{ $name }}</h1>
</body>
</html>

🗄️ Step 5: Working with Database

Set up your database credentials in .env file:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel11_blog
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=

Run migrations to create default tables:

php artisan migrate

🎯 Step 6: Next Steps

Congratulations 🎉 you’ve just set up your first Laravel 11 project! From here, you can explore:

  • Authentication with Laravel Breeze or Jetstream.

  • Blade Templates for frontend design.

  • Eloquent ORM for database queries.

  • APIs with Laravel Sanctum or Passport.

  • Testing with PHPUnit or Pest.

✅ Conclusion

Laravel 11 makes web development faster, cleaner, and more enjoyable. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced developer, this framework provides everything you need to build robust applications.

Start small—experiment with routes, controllers, and Blade templates. Then gradually move towards authentication, APIs, and real-world projects.

👉 Ready to build your first app with Laravel 11? Start today and experience the simplicity and power of modern PHP development.

Tags
PHP
Laravel