Web application development with Laravel PHP Framework version 4

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis work was to learn a new PHP framework and use it efficiently to build an eCommerce web application for a small start-up freelancing company that will let potential customers check products by category and pass orders securely. To fulfil this set of requirements, a system consisting of a web application with a backend was designed and implemented using built in Laravel features such as Composer, Eloquent, Blade and Artisan and a WAMP stack.

The web application was built using the Laravel framework version 4, a modern PHP framework that aims at making PHP development easier, faster and more intuitive. The web application was built following the MVC architecture pattern. Admin panels were created for easily updating and managing the categories and products and uploading product images as well. A public interface was made available also to let registered users to log in and add orders to their carts and proceed to check out using PayPal.

The application is easily expandable and features can be added or removed effortlessly thanks to the Laravel’s ability to manage packages through Composer’s Packagist online repository.

The results proved that Laravel 4 is effectively a premium choice for a PHP framework that helps developers rapidly build secure, upgradable web applications.