Somebody stole your bank details. They took out a loan in your name and now you must pay it back. Sounds like something out of a nightmare? We’ve all agonized over this idea at least once. No one wants this to happen, yet it sometimes does, especially on the internet. You can never be too careful, regardless of whether you’re dealing with your own passport scan or other people’s personal details.
One of the ways to keep things safe is through a secure login and registry process. Let’s say you’ve made an app that needs to store some pretty personal info. You definitely won’t want any of these to fall into the wrong hands. One way to solve this is to build a secure system from scratch. Of course, this can cost a fortune. A quicker and more cost-efficient solution would be to use Laravel authentication.
What is Laravel?
Laravel is an open-source PHP framework. One of its core features is to add authentication to any piece of software, app, or website without breaking a sweat. How much does it cost? Believe it or not, it’s free. What is more, Laravel is known for its simplicity, clarity, and getting things done. It’s then no wonder that it’s among the most popular frameworks on the planet. As of 2023, Laravel is the single most starred PHP project on GitHub.
Think of it as a collection of pre-made components, each of which is already written and well-tested by a large PHP community. The framework strictly follows the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architectural pattern. It also comes with its own (very extensive) documentation. Sounds about as foolproof as it gets.
Basic terminology
Before starting to implement Laravel authentication, you should be aware of a few basic terms and their definitions.
Authentication — security element used to confirm the user’s identity
Authorization — permission to access
Client — browser, mobile, or desktop app used to make requests to the API
Resource owner — user
Resource server — server holding and protecting resources
Authorization server — server issuing access tokens
Scope — permission to carry out certain predetermined actions
Grant — the way of providing the user with the access token
Access token — object containing security credentials
Authorization code — temporary code used to gain possession of the access token
Ready-made features
As a PHP framework, Laravel has a number of ready-made features which make the developer’s job a lot easier. Its high level of abstraction serves to protect the team from excessively complex code. The features shipped “out of the box” include automated database migrations, eloquent ORM, and ready-made authorization policies. You can also count on a robust scheduler, predetermined queuing, and efficient reverse routing.
All this, coupled with a friendly online community and detailed documentation, makes the task of implementing authorization much easier. It’s no wonder the framework is so widely used.
Getting the most out of Laravel starter kits
As if this wasn’t enough, Laravel also comes with two starter kits. The first is Laravel Breeze, a minimal yet powerful collection of authentication features, ideal for smaller websites and apps. It covers login, registration, password reset and confirmation, as well as email verification.
Laravel Jetstream, on the other hand, is made with more advanced users in mind. The kit offers everything Breeze has, plus two-factor authentication, session management, API support, and team management. Great way to streamline everything and make custom software development even easier.
How to set up Laravel authentication
Now let’s get down to business. How do you make it work? Without going into the intricacies of coding, we should mention a few simple steps for implementing your new authentication system.
- The first thing you need to do is install Laravel Project. Open the terminal and create a brand-new project.
- Next, you ought to configure database details. You’ll achieve this by going to the project root directory, opening the .env file, and entering the desired values. Furthermore, you’ll have to run the database migration command.
- Once you sort this out, move on to creating an auth scaffold command. This is where you’ll design the login and registration pages, as well as the dashboard.
- Next, install the NPM dependencies. Make sure you compile CSS and JS files.
- Conclude by running the project and thoroughly testing the authentication system.
Of course, these are just the basics and you can definitely customize everything to your requirements.
How does Laravel compare to other PHP frameworks?
Angular, CodeIgniter, Laminas Project (formerly Zend Framework), CakePHP, and Symfony are just some of the PHP frameworks in competition with Laravel. What sets Laravel apart from all of them? Unlike other PHP frameworks, Laravel uses the so-called Model–View–Controller (MVC) pattern to create authentication mechanisms.
This means that the domain/application/business logic is fully separate from the rest of the user interface. Laravel uses session-based authentication, which allows you to create signed URLs, and prevents cross-site scripting (XSS) by avoiding cross-site request forgery. Last but not least, it copes well with multilinguality. No need for separate code for your English and Spanish login page.
The benefits
It’s not too difficult to conclude that such a flexible framework, rich with pre-built packages and features, can bring numerous benefits. From cross-site screening protection to user authentication logic, Laravel authentication prioritizes the security of web resources. The framework also enables simplified mail integration and boasts the ability to create mail servers.
It’s capable of high performance under heavy server loads — all while requiring only moderate levels of software maintenance. Regardless of whether you’re developing your new website or application, you can use Laravel to create the necessary code in a matter of days. This will boost security while also making the interface extremely user-friendly.
