State is one such thing, which has been a part of debate in React Native communities. In my opinion, State is not a debatable topic. In fact, it’s super relevant and useful. 

Especially if you are building a complex application like eCommerce, state is something that keeps on changing a lot from frame to frame or browser to browser. 

In this article, we will understand about React Native State Management and how useful is it in order to build complex React Native applications. 

Let’s dive right in!

What exactly is a State?

The Internet is full of technical terminologies when it comes to understanding the state. Let me do you one better by explaining it in layman terms. 

Picture yourself with a toy box full of your favorite toys. Each toy has a particular condition that it can be in, such as sitting still, leaping around, or producing amusing sounds.

The term “state” in programming refers to a special box that records how objects are acting or what they are doing at any given time. It aids the computer in remembering the state of various programme elements.

For instance, a computer or mobile game you’re playing needs to know if you won or lost, how many points you have, and where your character is on the screen. The state has all of that data preserved.

So, just like your toy box helps you organize and keep track of your toys, the state helps the computer keep track of what’s happening in the program and make sure everything works smoothly!

What is State in React Native?

Similar to the toy example we learned above, the term “state” in the context of React Native refers to the information that controls how components in an application behave and appear. Throughout the app’s lifespan, state management is the process of handling and modifying this data. Your app will be more dependable and robust if you use proper state management to make sure that data is updated, synchronized, and consistent across various components.

The Importance of Effective React Native State Management

Efficient state management plays a pivotal role in maintaining a responsive and scalable React Native application. Following are some reasons why state management in React Native is a crucial part of building applications:

• Better Performance: Effective state management reduces needless component re-rendering, which improves app performance. Re-rendering without control might make your software sluggish and have a bad effect on the user experience.
• Code Maintainability: Using transparent state management techniques makes your codebase easier to maintain and comprehend. A well-organized state management system makes it easier to troubleshoot and add features as your project expands.
• State Reusability: When a state is properly designed, it may be applied to a variety of components, cutting down on duplication and improving code efficiency. This reuse encourages a more well-organized development process.
• Scalability: Scalable state management makes sure that if your programme changes and adds new features, it can do so without causing large interruptions or conflicts.

State Management Techniques in React Native

React Native offers several state management techniques, each catering to different use cases and preferences. Let’s explore some common React Native state management techniques:

1. Local Component State

The simplest form of state management involves using local component state. React Native components have a built-in “state” object that allows you to store and manage data specific to that component. While suitable for small apps with minimal state requirements, this method may become unwieldy for larger applications.

2. React Context API

The React Context API allows you to create global state variables that can be accessed by any component in your app. It eliminates the need to pass props through intermediary components, making state sharing more efficient. Although great for mid-sized projects, managing complex state interactions might be challenging.

3. Redux

Redux is a popular state management library widely used in React Native applications. It follows a centralized store approach where all application state is stored in a single “store.” Components can access the state and subscribe to updates, making data flow more predictable. Redux shines in large-scale applications with extensive state management requirements.

4. MobX

MobX is another state management library that adopts a more flexible approach compared to Redux. It uses observable data structures, allowing components to automatically update when the underlying data changes. MobX is known for its simplicity and is an excellent choice for projects of all sizes.

5. Recoil

Recoil is a relatively new state management library introduced by Facebook. It focuses on providing easy and intuitive APIs for managing state in React applications. Recoil’s key strength lies in its ability to manage complex state structures with minimal boilerplate code.

Best Practices for Effective State Management in React Native

Regardless of the state management technique you choose, following best practices will ensure optimal results:

1. Keep State Localized

Avoid cluttering your global state with data that is only relevant to a specific component. Keeping state localized ensures better isolation and reduces the risk of unintentional side effects.

2. Opt for Immutability

Immutability helps maintain a predictable state by preventing direct modifications to the state data. Instead of mutating state variables, create new ones with the desired changes. Libraries like Immutable.js can assist in implementing immutability.

3. Use Selectors

In complex state management systems, selectors act as efficient filters for accessing specific pieces of state data. They enhance performance by reducing unnecessary re-renders caused by changes irrelevant to a particular component.

4. Leverage Asynchronous Actions

In real-world apps, many state changes might involve asynchronous operations like API calls. Use middleware like Redux Thunk or Redux Saga to handle such asynchronous actions gracefully.

Summing Up

State management is a critical aspect of React Native app development. Choosing the right technique and adhering to best practices will undoubtedly lead to a more performant and maintainable application. Whether you opt for local component state, Redux, MobX, Recoil, or any other approach, always aim to keep your state organized, scalable, and reusable. By doing so, you can ensure that your React Native app stands out and delivers an exceptional user experience, setting it on the path to outrank other websites in its domain.

Remember, while state management is vital, it’s just one piece of the puzzle. Alongside top-notch content, focus on other aspects like responsive design, accessibility, and app performance to create a well-rounded and competitive product in the market. Happy coding!

Whether you actively participate in coding as a CTO or maintain a more strategic overview of your team’s technological approach, you’ve definitely observed how React Native has transformed the way we build applications. The era before React Native was tough with security worries, high costs, and long development time. However, a lot has changed after React Native as it became wildly popular, with a whopping 42% of professionals embracing it in their codebase.

In the year 2022 and after, there are several improvements in React Native, ranging from a new architecture and new libraries. So, what’s changed after all? This guide will cover the most important aspects of React Native development, including the new architecture, best practices, and the cost. 

Let’s dive right in!

React Native Application Development Summary

React Native framework’s core strength lies in its use of JavaScript, a widely adopted programming language, to build native-like apps that run smoothly on mobile devices. By leveraging React Native’s intuitive UI components, developers can create seamless and engaging user experiences, enhancing app performance and user satisfaction. 

Following table illustrates a summary of React Native development, including types, key tools, features, and cost.

Types of React Native Developers	React Native opens doors to various roles for developers, including React Native App Developer, React Native UI/UX Designer, and React Native Module Developer, each with its unique focus and responsibilities.
Key Tools and Components	Declarative Tools, Apex, Lightning Component, Visualforce, APIs & Integration Tools, Salesforce Mobile SDK, AppExchange
React Native Features	React Native is an Open-source framework and is backed by Facebook (Now Meta). React Native is a community driven language, which gives developers a power to maximum reuse the code. Some stong React Native features are live reload, Modular and Intuitive Architecture Similar to React, NPM libraries support, Accessibility, Migration, Start screen, Project extractions, Autolinked Native modules, Upgrade helper, Cocoapads support, and flipper tool for debugging react native applications. React Native also provides redux to manage the state of the React Native app.
React Native Development Cost	The cost of developing a React Native app varies based on complexity and customization. Simple apps can be cost-effective, starting from a few thousand dollars, while highly customized solutions may require a more significant investment.

What is React Native?

React Native is a Javascript framework to create authentic, natively rendered mobile applications for iOS and Android. While React Native is based on React, Facebook’s JavaScript toolkit for designing user interfaces, it focuses on mobile platforms rather than browsers. In other words, web developers can now leverage a JavaScript library they already know and love to build mobile applications that genuinely look and feel “native.” Furthermore, React Native simplifies the process of building for both Android and iOS by allowing developers to share the majority of their code across platforms simultaneously.

What is React Native Development?

React Native development is the design and development of cross platform mobile applications like iOS and Android, using a single codebase. The key concept behind React Native is that it allows developers to write components using JavaScript, similar to web development with React.js. These components are then compiled into native code for each platform, allowing the app to run as a true native application on the respective devices.

Benefits of React Native Development for Companies

React Native offers a myriad number of benefits that make it an attractive choice for mobile app development:

Cross-platform Development: React Native allows developers to create mobile applications for both iOS and Android platforms using a single codebase, saving time and effort in maintaining separate codebases for each platform.

Code Reusability: With React Native, a significant portion of the code can be shared between different platforms, leading to faster development cycles and reduced development costs.

Faster Development: The hot reloading feature in React Native enables developers to see real-time changes in the app without the need to rebuild it, resulting in a more efficient development process.

Native Performance: React Native apps use native components, which provide performance comparable to apps built using native development technologies.

Large Community Support: React Native has a thriving and active community of developers who contribute to its growth, offer support, and share valuable resources, making it easier for developers to find solutions and collaborate on projects.

Third-Party Library Support: React Native offers a vast array of third-party libraries that developers can leverage to add features and functionalities to their apps, speeding up the development process.

Easy Learning Curve: Developers familiar with JavaScript and React can quickly learn React Native, reducing the learning curve and allowing them to start building apps faster.

Simplified UI Development: React Native’s component-based architecture and pre-built UI elements make it easier for developers to design intuitive and user-friendly interfaces.

Agile Development: React Native enables businesses to adapt their applications quickly to market changes on both iOS and Android platforms, fostering agility in the development process.

Cost-Effectiveness: Building apps with React Native reduces development costs, as a single team of developers can work on both platforms, avoiding the need to hire separate teams for iOS and Android.

Benefits of React Native App Development for Job Seekers

React Native app development offers a variety of advantages for job seekers that can improve their career prospects and create exciting new opportunities in the tech sector. Some of the main benefits are as follows:

High Demand for React Native Developers: Due to the popularity of React Native, there is a rising need for knowledgeable developers who can produce cross-platform mobile applications. React Native-skilled job searchers will probably find a tonne of job vacancies and career prospects.

Versatility and Skill Diversification: React Native training enables job candidates to broaden their skill set. Developers that are familiar with this framework can create applications for both the iOS and Android platforms, increasing their versatility and appealingness to potential employers.

Better Salary Growth: Due to the increasing demand for React Native engineers, there is a salary and benefit competition. Businesses are prepared to pay top dollar for qualified individuals who can produce effective and performant mobile applications.

Career Growth and Progress: Job seekers can position themselves for career growth and progress by becoming proficient with React Native. They become qualified for higher-level positions like React Native Lead Developer or Mobile App Architect as they gain experience in developing mobile apps.

Working on Cutting-Edge Projects: Cutting-edge and innovative projects frequently employ React Native. Job seekers in this industry have the chance to work on stimulating and difficult projects that push the limits of mobile app development.

Contribution to Open Source: React Native is an open-source framework, so developers may work on it and show prospective employers their abilities. A job seeker’s profile can be improved by their active involvement in open-source initiatives, which shows their dedication to lifelong learning and development.

Opportunities for Remote Work: Many organizations provide remote work choices for React Native developers, enabling job searchers to look for positions outside of their immediate area and roles that suit their own preferences.

React Native Application Development Architecture

Consider creating a mobile application that is compatible with both iPhones and Android phones. The problem, though, is that each platform (iOS and Android) speaks a different language, just like people from other countries do. Therefore, you would normally need to create two unique versions of the app, one for each platform, if you wanted your app to function on both types of phones.

React Native now steps in to save the day! React Native functions as a kind of magical translator that enables you to create the JavaScript code for your app and then have it transform it into the particular language that each platform can understand. This allows you to develop apps for both iOS and Android using the same codebase.

React Native leverages following key architectural concepts to develop cross-platform applications:

• Virtual DOM: Similar to React for web applications, React Native uses a Virtual DOM. This Virtual DOM is a lightweight copy of the actual DOM and allows React Native to efficiently manage updates and optimize performance.
• JavaScript and Native Modules: The core of React Native is written in JavaScript, but it can interact with native modules written in Java (for Android) and Objective-C or Swift (for iOS). This combination enables seamless communication between JavaScript and the native components of the device.

Key Components of React Native Architecture

To understand how React Native apps are built, let’s take a look at some essential components:

• View: The View component is like a container that helps structure and style other components. It acts as a fundamental building block for creating user interfaces.
• Text: The Text component allows developers to display text on the screen. It supports various text-related features like font styles, text alignment, and text wrapping.
• Image: The Image component is used to display images in the app. It supports local and remote images and offers options for resizing and caching.
• StyleSheet: The StyleSheet component is used for styling React Native components. It uses a similar syntax to CSS but is optimized for mobile devices.
• Flexbox: React Native uses Flexbox to provide flexible layout options for arranging components. It helps in creating responsive and adaptive UI designs.
• Props and State: Props and State are two essential concepts in React Native. Props are used to pass data from parent to child components, while State allows components to manage their internal data.
• Touchable Components: React Native provides touchable components like TouchableOpacity and TouchableHighlight, which allow developers to add touch-based interactions to elements.
• ScrollView and FlatList: ScrollView and FlatList are components used for efficiently rendering lists of data. FlatList is particularly useful for long lists as it only renders the items currently visible on the screen.

Architectural Patterns in React Native

When developing complex React Native applications, it’s essential to follow robust architectural patterns. Some popular patterns include:

• Flux: Flux is a unidirectional data flow architecture that helps in managing the flow of data in the app. It consists of actions, stores, and a dispatcher.
• Redux: Redux is a predictable state container that centralizes the application’s state and allows components to access and modify the state using actions.
• MobX: MobX is a state management library that focuses on making state management simple and reactive. It automatically tracks state changes and updates the components accordingly.

Best Practices of Building Scalable React Native Application

In order to build a scalable React Native Application, developers must take the following best-practices into account:

• Folder Structure: A clean codebase is easier to maintain and allows for more effective teamwork amongst different engineers thanks to a well-organized folder structure.
• Code Splitting: By dividing the software into smaller pieces, code splitting enables users to download only the parts of the app they actually need. Performance and loading times are enhanced as a result.
• Performance Improvement: A smooth user experience must be delivered, which means performance must be optimized. The performance of the application can be greatly improved by employing methods like image optimisation, lazy loading, and minimizing render-blocking.
• Handling Navigation: Any mobile app must have good navigation. The right navigation library must be chosen by developers, and seamless screen transitions must be implemented.
• State Management: State Management is important to store and manage the data that elements need in order to render the values. In particular, the data or value is kept in the component’s state object, which alters depending on the action, and the components re-render themselves.

Cost of Hiring React Native Developers

The cost of hiring a React Native developer depends on a variety of elements, including the complexity of the application, the app’s design, the developer’s experience, and location. In general, the hourly rate might range from as little as $18 to $150 on average. However, there’s still a catch: React Native developers’ hourly wages differ significantly from place to place. Be prepared to pay more if you opt to employ from a country with high living standards, like the USA or Australia.

Consequently, if you live in one of these nations, it would be wise to think about outsourcing development to countries with less expensive labor costs.

Here’s a table explaining the range of costs of hiring RN developers per hour in different countries:

Region	Cost
India	$18-$40 per hour
Russia	$25-$45 per hour
South America	$30-$50 per hour
Australia	$60-$95 per hour
North America	$100-$150 per hour

Conclusion

We hope this extensive React Native development guide has given readers a thorough overview of the advantages, architecture, and expenses of the framework. React Native has established itself as a potent tool for creating cross-platform mobile applications, and its many benefits have led many developers and companies to favor it.

If you are looking to hire top react native developers for your react native app development, feel free to contact us. 

Laravel is a web development framework that prioritizes elegant, expressive syntax and enjoyable experiences. The goal of Laravel is to simplify common tasks in web development, making the process more fulfilling. It features a fast routing engine, a robust dependency injection container, various storage options for sessions and caches, streamlined database schema migrations, efficient background job processing, and real-time event broadcasting.

According to recent studies, Laravel is used by over 40% of developers worldwide and is considered to be one of the top PHP frameworks. In order to ensure the best performance of Laravel websites, it is important to optimize the code and make use of caching, minification, and compression techniques. This will help in reducing the load time of the website, increasing its speed and overall performance, and providing a better user experience to visitors. In this article, we will go through our top 5 tips for laravel performance optimization. First off, let’s talk about why it’s important for developers to optimize performance of a laravel application. 

Laravel Performance Optimization: Why it is a Necessity?

Laravel has been known to be on par with other backend frameworks in terms of performance. However, low-performing Laravel websites can cause trouble in terms of business performance and revenue generation. A slow website can result in a high bounce rate, lower engagement, and decreased customer satisfaction. This can impact the overall performance of a business and result in a loss of potential revenue. That’s why Laravel performance optimization is a necessity in today’s fast-paced digital world. With the increasing competition and high expectations of customers, businesses must trust Laravel framework to build high-performing websites that provide a seamless and engaging user experience. Laravel’s robust architecture, built-in performance optimization tools, and customizable features make it an ideal choice for businesses looking to build websites that are fast, secure, and scalable. By relying on Laravel, businesses can ensure that their websites are optimized for performance and ready to handle the demands of the digital world.

Following are some reasons why businesses must take laravel performance optimization seriously:

• Faster load times: Optimizing the performance of Laravel websites results in faster load times, which leads to improved user experience and reduced bounce rates.

• Improved search engine ranking: Faster websites tend to rank higher in search engine results, which can increase visibility and drive more traffic to a site.

• Increased engagement and customer satisfaction: A fast, responsive website that provides a seamless user experience can lead to increased engagement and customer satisfaction.

• Better scalability: By optimizing the performance of Laravel websites, businesses can ensure that their sites are scalable and can handle increasing traffic and user demands.

• Cost savings: Optimizing the performance of Laravel websites can reduce server costs and minimize downtime, leading to cost savings for businesses.

• Increased security: Optimizing the performance of Laravel websites can help eliminate security vulnerabilities, making sites more secure and reducing the risk of cyber attacks.

• Competitive advantage: By providing a fast, engaging, and seamless user experience, businesses can gain a competitive advantage over their rivals and attract more customers.

Laravel Performance: 5 Tips to Opimize and Make Laravel Websites Faster then Ever!

Laravel is naturally fast, but optimizing your configurations and code can further enhance its speed. This section offers a comprehensive collection of  our 5 laravel performance improvement tips, ranging from simple fixes to advanced techniques, to help you create a streamlined, high-performing Laravel application that meets your customers’ needs.

Tip #1. Use Caching

Laravel allows for caching of application routes, which is a crucial feature for applications with a large number of routes. Normally, Laravel reads all routes from the route files and converts them into an array every time the screen is refreshed or a request is made to the application.

However, Laravel has a convenient command, “php artisan route:cache”, that can be used to read all routes, convert them into an array, and cache them. It is important to remember to run this command whenever changes are made to the route files, otherwise, Laravel will continue to use the old cached routes and the new changes will not take effect. To clear the route cache, use the command “php artisan route:clear”.

Tip #2. Minimize Database Queries

This tip primarily targets optimizing memory usage when handling extensive database queries. If your application requires processing a large number of records, it’s recommended to retrieve and process them in smaller groups, rather than retrieving the entire set of queries all at once. 

Here are some tips to minimize database queries and improve memory usage:

Eager Loading:Use the “eager loading” feature in Laravel to load related data in a single query instead of multiple queries.

Use Indexes:Ensure that you have indexes on columns that are frequently used in WHERE and ORDER BY clauses.

Cache Query Results:Store the results of frequently used database queries in cache to avoid running the same query multiple times.

Use Eloquent Collections:Use Eloquent Collections to process large amounts of data instead of running multiple database queries.

Avoid N+1 Queries:Avoid the N+1 query problem by using eager loading or batch loading related data.

Use pagination:Instead of retrieving all records at once, retrieve them in smaller groups using Laravel’s built-in pagination functionality.

Optimize database schema:Ensure that your database schema is optimized for performance by using appropriate data types and indexing columns.

Tip#3: Use GZIP compression

Compressing data before it is sent from the server to the client can reduce the amount of data that needs to be transferred, improving the performance of Laravel websites.Gzip is a widely used data compression tool. Developers can setup Nginx to utilize gzip and compress the files it sends out in real-time. These files can then be decompressed by compatible browsers with no data loss and the added benefit of a reduced amount of information being transferred between the server and browser. Fortunately, compression support is common across all significant browsers, making it a viable option with no drawbacks.

Tip#4: Select Right Drivers

Optimizing application performance can be greatly influenced by selecting the appropriate cache, queue, and session drivers.

In production environments, utilizing in-memory cache drivers such as Redis, Memcached, or DynamoDB is recommended. Local filesystem caching may be an option for single-server setups, but it will likely have slower performance compared to the in-memory alternatives.

For queueing, it’s better to use the Redis, SQS, or Beanstalkd drivers. The database driver should be avoided in production as it has a history of deadlock issues.

As for sessions, the Database, Redis, Memcached, or DynamoDB drivers are recommended. The cookie driver should not be used in production due to its limitations in terms of file size and security.

Tip#5: Enhance Performance with Compression Headers for Text-based Format

Implementing compression headers can have a substantial effect on the performance of your application. Make sure to activate compression headers for text-based files such as CSS, JS, XML, or JSON on your web server or Content Delivery Network (CDN).

It is not necessary to compress image formats, as they are already compressed, with the exception of SVG files, which are XML documents.

To maximize performance, consider utilizing both gzip and brotli compression methods at the web server or CDN level. Keep in mind that brotli may not be supported by older browsers.

Typically, compression can reduce file size by approximately 80%.

Conclusion

In conclusion, optimizing the performance of your Laravel application is essential to delivering a seamless user experience and ensuring the success of your project. By following the five tips outlined in this blog post, you can greatly improve the speed and efficiency of your Laravel application. Whether you choose to implement caching, configure your server, optimize database queries, or take advantage of right drivers, the improvements you’ll see in the performance of your Laravel application are sure to impress. So take the time to optimize your Laravel application today, and enjoy the benefits of a faster, more efficient web application for years to come.

Coding is an art that takes time and patience to master. Developers face numerous challenges and obstacles when writing code, including various syntax errors, bugs, and logical mistakes. Writing code is no silver bullet, and mistakes are bound to happen. What’s important is to learn from them and improve with each project. 

While Laravel is a powerful framework that enables developers to build robust and scalable web applications, it’s still common for developers to make mistakes. 

In this article, we’ll look at the top 5 mistakes that Laravel developers make and how to rectify them in 2023.

Mistake #1: Not removing/transferring development configurations & variables

One of the biggest mistakes that Laravel developers make is failing to remove or transfer development configurations and variables before deploying the application to a live server. When developing an application, developers often use different environments, including a development environment and a production environment. These environments have different configurations and variables, which can cause errors when deployed to a live server.

Solution: The solution to this problem is simple. Developers should ensure that they remove all development configurations and variables before deploying the application to a live server. Alternatively, developers can use a .env file to store environment variables that are different between environments. By doing so, they can ensure that the application works as intended on the live server.

Mistake #2: Not Creating a Backup of Code

Another common mistake developers make is not creating a backup of their code. This can be disastrous if the code is lost, or something goes wrong with the application. Developers must create a backup of their code to avoid the risk of losing everything.

Solution:Creating a backup of code is a simple process, and Laravel makes it even easier by providing built-in features to create backups. Developers can use the Artisan command line tool to create backups of their code, which can be used to restore the application to a previous state if something goes wrong. There are also many third-party tools available to automate the backup process, making it even easier for developers to protect their code.

Mistake #3. Not using Migration features

Laravel provides developers with the Migration feature that allows them to make changes to the database schema and keep track of those changes. Yet, many developers do not use this feature, which can lead to inconsistent and error-prone databases.

The Migration feature allows developers to write database changes in code and apply them to the database as required. This approach makes it easier to manage database changes, ensures consistency across the application, and reduces the risk of errors. By using the Migration feature, developers can also ensure that the database schema is in sync with the code and that the application works as intended.

Mistake #4: Using Only Single Route File to Handle All Requests

Many Laravel developers use one route file to handle all requests, which can lead to bloated and difficult-to-maintain code. As an application grows, the route file can become complex, making it difficult to add new features or modify existing ones.

Solution:Avoid the temptation to use the default route file for all routing requests. Instead, consider creating multiple route files, each with its own route prefix to separate routing logic and make it easier to maintain. For instance, you can have separate route files for admin and user routes. The process of creating multiple route files is straightforward, requiring just two steps:

• First, create a new PHP file in the routes folder and add the routes. 
• Next, register the route by informing the framework of the new route file, as there may not be a CLI command for this yet. Failure to register the new route file may result in the framework not recognizing it.

Mistake #5: Using Laravel Facade Outside of the Controllers and Middleware

The Laravel Facade is a powerful feature that allows developers to access objects through a static interface. However, many developers use the Facade outside of controllers and middleware, which can lead to code that is difficult to maintain and test.

Solution:The solution to this problem is to use the Facade only within controllers and middleware. By doing so, developers can ensure that the code is more manageable, testable, and maintainable. Moreover, it is recommended to use Dependency Injection in order to have better control over the code, make it more scalable, easier to write code tests and understand it. It is important to note that Laravel Facades are specific to the Laravel framework and should not be confused with the facade design pattern, nor should they be considered as static method usage.

Conclusion

Laravel framework was crafted for developers to help build scalable and high performant websites as quickly as possible. However, with the focus on quickly adding new features, it can be easy to overlook certain details, make certain mistakes, or lose sight of the bigger picture. In the above article, we have examined some common mistakes frequently made by laravel developers and suggests methods for avoiding them. This list can be beneficial even for seasoned laravel developers because even minuscule errors like not creating code backup can extend the development process to certain hours. And that’s not something, you would want to happen to your project. Would you?

If you are looking to hire talented laravel developers, please contact us from our contact page.  

As businesses continue to move their operations online, web application security has become more important than ever. The average cost of a data breach in 2021 was a staggering $4.24 million, according to a study by IBM. This highlights the importance of ensuring that your web application is secure and protected from cyberattacks.

No matter the framework your web application is built on, it can be vulnerable to attacks. However, some frameworks offer better security measures than others. Laravel, a popular PHP framework, is known for its robust security features. In fact, according to a study by Snyk, Laravel has the lowest percentage of security vulnerabilities among all major PHP frameworks.

Despite its strong security features, it’s still important to take additional steps to secure Laravel applications, especially for building enterprise applications that may hold sensitive data. This is where Laravel security tips come in handy. By following best practices for Laravel security, you can further strengthen your web application’s defense against potential cyberattacks.

In this blog, we’ll explore top six laravel security vulnerabilities and how to fix them by making your laravel web application secure. Whether you’re a developer working on a Laravel project or a business owner looking to ensure the security of your web application, this blog will provide valuable insights to help you protect your web application from potential security threats.

Laravel Security Vulnerabilties: Top Six Laravel Security Glitches along with Solutions

No matter how secure Laravel is, developers have found severe security glitches in the framework time and again. As the framework is constantly evolving, developers may not always be up-to-date with the latest security patches and features. Additionally, developers may not be familiar with best security practices or may not have enough time to implement them. 

Here’s why it’s important for developers to be aware about the laravel security vulnerabilities along with the solutions. In following points, let’s discuss some potential security vulnerabilities in laravel web applications along with the ways to handle them. 

Sensitive Data Exposure

One of the top three API Security threats listed by OWASP is excessive data exposure, which occurs when an API responds to a request with more data than necessary, often appearing as a design flaw. If an attacker finds a method that returns specific fields, they can access the data using an unprivileged account. These vulnerabilities can cause severe data breaches, such as leaking user information and legal liabilities.

However, you can avoid similar damages by following these practices:

• Ensure that your entire application runs solely on HTTPS, with a TLS certificate, and HSTS headers to provide secure access for users.
• Laravel provides excellent password security through an adaptive salted hashing function and supports Bcrypt and Argon2, which should be utilized.
• Save time and effort by using Laravel’s built-in encryption functions to encrypt sensitive data that has already been stored.

Broken Authentication

Broken Authentication is a serious vulnerability that allows attackers to bypass the authentication mechanism of a web application, potentially granting them unauthorized access to sensitive information. Hackers can exploit broken authentication in a variety of ways, including intercepting HTTP requests that contain sensitive data transmitted over an unsecured protocol, exploiting the use of weak passwords, and using phishing tactics. This vulnerability is a serious issue in web applications, as attackers can gain access to millions of valid username and password combinations using various automated tools, such as credential stuffing, dictionary attacks, and automated brute force attacks, according to OWASP. 

Here’s how you can secure your laravel web application from broken authentication security vulnerability:

• Prevent against session hijacking:It’s important to enable HTTPS for all requests as a measure that can prevent or defend against session hijacking in Laravel applications. By encrypting all HTTPS requests using TLS, the communication between client and server becomes secure and makes it difficult for anyone to steal session IDs.
• Prevent against stolen login credentials: Stolen login credentials is a kind of vulnerability tactic when a hacker obtains the actual username and password of the victim. Like the previous example, attackers can use various methods and techniques to steal user login information. To prevent this, developers can rely on setting up a strong password policy that involves both uppercase and lowercase letters in passwords, as well as numbers and special characters. 

Broken Access Control

A Broken Access Control is a vulnerability that occurs when a user is granted access to areas of the web application they should not be able to access, potentially exposing sensitive information.

Ten years ago in 2011, Citigroup experienced a severe data breach in which hackers exploited the poorly managed data of over 200,000 customers. This incident highlights the importance of avoiding broken access control, as authorization checks are crucial and it is not sufficient to store customer data simply by changing digits in the URL. To prevent similar incidents, it’s essential to:

• Implement authentication checks to verify the identity of users accessing their accounts while they are logged in.
• Take advantage of Laravel’s Role-Based Access Control packages to manage user permissions.

Security misconfiguration

In the past, it was a common occurrence for unsecured AWS (Amazon Web Services) S3 buckets or Elasticsearch servers to be discovered, containing millions of customer details. This issue became so widespread that AWS eventually made S3 uploads private by default and issued explicit warnings if data was made public.

To minimize the risk of being exploited, it’s crucial to configure applications securely and keep them updated frequently. To achieve this, developers need to keep their server and library dependencies up to date, and disable all debugging output that might reveal details about the system or sensitive configuration values. Laravel offers a configuration setting that makes this process simple.

Cross-site Scripting (XSS)

Cross-site Scripting (XSS) attacks are a serious security vulnerability in web applications, including those built with Laravel. These attacks occur when an attacker injects malicious scripts or code into a web page, which then gets executed in the browser of a victim visiting that page. To prevent such attacks, Laravel offers a number of built-in features that can be leveraged by developers.

One approach is to use Laravel’s Blade template engine, which automatically escapes all output by default, preventing the injection of untrusted data into the page. Developers can also use Laravel’s input validation features to sanitize user input and prevent the inclusion of dangerous code. Additionally, Laravel provides the ability to set Content Security Policy (CSP) headers, which can limit the execution of scripts to only trusted sources. This helps prevent attackers from executing their own scripts on the page.

Another useful tool in preventing XSS attacks is the use of HTTP-only cookies. These are cookies that are set to be accessible only through HTTP, preventing JavaScript from accessing them. By using HTTP-only cookies, developers can prevent attackers from stealing sensitive session information or authentication tokens.

Insufficient Logging and Monitoring

This vulnerability occurs when a web application does not log important security events, making it difficult to detect and respond to potential security breaches. To protect against Insufficient Logging and Monitoring attacks, it is important to establish effective logging and monitoring mechanisms. All actions and events in the application, such as login attempts, data modifications, and system errors, should be logged and stored securely in real-time to enable quick detection and response to any suspicious activity. Additionally, intrusion detection and prevention systems should be put in place to actively monitor network traffic and block any potential attacks. Regular audits and vulnerability assessments can also help identify and address security gaps. Finally, all security incidents and breaches should be fully documented and analyzed to determine the root cause and prevent future incidents. By taking a comprehensive and proactive approach to logging and monitoring, Laravel web applications can better defend against Insufficient Logging and Monitoring attacks.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Laravel is a popular and powerful web application framework, but it’s not immune to security vulnerabilities. As we discussed, there are six major security vulnerabilities in Laravel web applications, including sensitive data exposure, broken authentication, broken access control, security misconfiguration, cross-site scripting (XSS), and insufficient logging and monitoring. However, with the right measures and best practices, these vulnerabilities can be mitigated or even eliminated. By keeping the application updated, securing passwords and sessions, implementing proper logging and monitoring, and conducting regular security audits, Laravel web applications can be well-protected and secured in 2023 and beyond. It’s important to take these security vulnerabilities seriously and stay vigilant to ensure that your web application is secure and protected from potential attacks.

Laravel, one of the most popular PHP frameworks, has consistently evolved over the years to provide developers with a rich set of tools and features for building robust and scalable web applications. With each new release, Laravel introduces exciting features that streamline development, enhance performance, and promote best practices. In this blog post, we will explore some of the trending features of Laravel that are making waves in the web development community.

1. Laravel Livewire:

Laravel Livewire has gained significant popularity among developers due to its ability to build dynamic and reactive interfaces using server-side rendering techniques. With Livewire, you can create interactive components and handle user actions without writing a single line of JavaScript. This feature enables developers to build modern and responsive UIs while leveraging the simplicity and power of Laravel’s syntax.

2. Laravel Jetstream:

Laravel Jetstream, a beautifully designed application scaffolding, provides a starting point for Laravel projects with built-in authentication, two-factor authentication, and team management. It offers two stacks: Livewire and Inertia.js. The Livewire stack focuses on server-side rendering, while the Inertia.js stack combines the best of both server-side and client-side rendering, making it easier to build dynamic and fluid interfaces.

3. Laravel Sanctum:

API authentication and security are crucial aspects of modern web development. Laravel Sanctum simplifies the process of authenticating API requests for single-page applications (SPAs), mobile applications, and token-based APIs. It provides a lightweight and easy-to-use package for issuing API tokens and authenticating users using Laravel’s built-in authentication system.

4. Laravel Fortify:

Building authentication and password reset functionality is a common requirement for many web applications. Laravel Fortify offers a simple and customizable authentication backend that speeds up the development process. It provides pre-built controllers, views, and features like two-factor authentication, session management, and account lockdowns, allowing developers to focus on building the core features of their application.

5. Laravel Telescope:

Debugging and monitoring application performance is essential for maintaining a healthy codebase. Laravel Telescope is a powerful debugging and introspection tool that helps developers gain insights into the requests, exceptions, and performance of their Laravel applications. It provides a beautiful UI for exploring the application’s internals, examining queries, analyzing cache usage, and profiling performance, making it easier to optimize code and identify potential bottlenecks.

6. Laravel Horizon:

Scaling and managing queues can be challenging in high-traffic applications. Laravel Horizon simplifies the process by providing a robust dashboard and supervisor process for monitoring and managing queues in real-time. It allows you to define queue priorities, set worker concurrency, and monitor key metrics, enabling seamless scaling and optimization of background jobs.

Conclusion:

Laravel continues to stay ahead of the curve by introducing innovative features and tools that empower developers to build modern, efficient, and scalable web applications. In this blog post, we’ve explored some of the trending features of Laravel, including Livewire, Jetstream, Sanctum, Fortify, Telescope, and Horizon. These features enhance developer productivity, simplify complex tasks, and promote best practices in web development. By leveraging the power of Laravel’s ecosystem, developers can create exceptional applications with ease. Stay tuned for future releases as Laravel continues to evolve and bring even more exciting features to the table. Happy coding!

So what’s the best way to hire Laravel developers? Finding out what Laravel php experts can bring to your table is always considered as the most sought-after way to hire them, but there are several other factors to consider before hiring.

As a business owner, keeping up with these factors is important as not every php developer is well-versed with laravel. That’s why we’ve written this in-depth article, which will help you to find most-talented Laravel developers without risk.

Before we go any further, let’s quickly define what Laravel developers are.

What are Laravel Developers?

Laravel developers are persons who know how to build web applications with php laravel framework. If you hire the right ones, they can help you build scalable web applications in a given time frame.

Following are some excellent factors to consider when hiring Laravel developers:

• Great Laravel programmers know the basics of HTML, CSS, and JQuery.
• These persons know the ins and outs of Object-oriented programming and PHP.
• Expert Laravel developers have the capability to include support for different languages in the apps.
• Most of them are well-versed with Artisan, a command line interface that speeds up the Laravel development process by removing the redundant tasks.
• These experts can integrate premium features in a web application using built-in object-oriented libraries.
• They can implement authentication and authorization in web applications without any trouble.
• They can utilize a wide range of templates to create dynamic layouts and interfaces.
• They hold expertise to leverage the Laravel schema builder for creating database columns, tables, and indices.

Where to Hire Laravel Developers?

Before hiring Laravel php developers, you’d want to consider evaluating your specific project needs. But first, let’s cover where you can find Laravel developers. Some of the best places to look include[but are not limited to]:

1. IT Job Boards

Job Boards are a great place to outsource talented Laravel developers. Generally, most Job boards carry all the information about the candidates in their database, which saves you a lot of time researching them.

Some popular Job Boards for Laravel freelancers include:

• Freelancer
• Upwork
• Clutch
• Glassdoor
• Craigslist
• Monster
• GitHub Jobs
• Guru
• People Per Hour
• Toptal
• Hired

While most of the boards or job websites mentioned above require registration, they are worth considering as most candidates look for opportunities there.

2. Social Media

Social media can play a huge role in evaluating talented professionals and hiring them. If you’re looking for some of the best SEO freelancers, make sure to watch over platforms like:

• LinkedIn
• Twitter
• Reddit
• Facebook

As a thumb rule, make sure to search with a relevant hashtag like #laraveldevelopers or #phpdevelopers when you post for the need of laravel developers.

In case you are searching on Linkedin, make sure to go through their profile, portfolio, testimonials of people they previously worked with, and skills. The best practice here includes sending them inmails or messages using Linkedin premium or by sending out connection requests.

3. Ask Google

Most Laravel developers showcase their skills through their personal projects or websites, and if they practice what they preach, you’d be able to find out the right ones just by Googling. If you want to hire the ones that are based on your location, just type in “Laravel developers + [location]” to pull up the best results.

For instance, if you want to search for Laravel developers in Eu region, consider googling “Laravel Developers Europe”.

4. Laravel development companies

Another way of searching for talented Laravel developers is to look for Laravel development services. Various companies offer vetted Laravel Developers to companies so that they don’t have to hire them individually. For instance, at CoderScotch, we offer talented Laravel developers as clients need them – from full time to dedicated development team.

You can look for these companies on vendor listing websites such as Clutch, Goodfirms, n-ix, the manifest, etc.

How to Hire Top Laravel Developers?

Hiring top Laravel developers can be a tricky business. For one, most of the Laravel developers are self-taught and one way of evaluating their skills is through their portfolio. Secondly, php development and specifically Laravel development is continuously going through various upgrades and additions, so knowing which Laravel developers keep up with the changing landscape can be difficult.

So how can you make sure to hire top laravel developers?

Here are a few tips:

Evaluate your Project-specific needs

The first step to hiring the right Laravel developer for you is to determine the project-specific needs beforehand. Are you hiring for the long-term or short term? What is your budget?

What kinds of projects are you looking to get built?

In a nutshell, it’s always recommended to hire professionals as per your interest, turnaround time, budget, and skills.

Check their Skills and Expertise

As already mentioned in this article, look for developers who are experts in PHP programming language and HTML. Every Laravel developer worth their salt has a track-record that proves their knowledge and skill.

So how do you check their skills and expertise?

• Evaluate if they have done any projects based on php or laravel
• Visit their website
• Ask for reference from your network or past clients
• Read reviews on their website

Hire Remote

Ever since the coronavirus pandemic broke, the world has gone remote. And this trend will continue to rise as there are many long-term benefits like less expenses, greater control, and more productivity.

A remote laravel programmer is someone who will work on laravel projects remotely or from any part of the country or world. The thing with remote developers is: they charge less than in-house developers. Besides, remote developers are mostly suited for mid to long-range projects. When you consider hiring Laravel developers remotely, you get more chances to increase your revenue.

At CoderScotch, we offer remote Laravel developers that can work on your project tirelessly.

Why Consider CoderScotch for your Laravel development needs?

With this guide, we hope now you’re aware of tips on hiring Laravel developers. CoderScotch is an application development company that’s focused on offering remote laravel developers so that you need not hire them separately. Here are some points that makes CoderScotch devs worth consider for your project needs:

• Global Clientele – As a leading Laravel development company, we have worked with clients from all over the world.
• Work commitment- For us, commitment is not just a saying. It’s our action that defines what we say we are going to do.
• On time delivery– Delivering the deliverables on time is not easy but we make it possible with clean code, timely sprints, and contingency plans.
• Affordable solutions- We believe no business is small or large, so we offer customizable solutions in all sizes.
• Best-in class support– Our clients believe in us because we support them throughout their journey and vision.

If you’re looking to hire top laravel developers, consider reaching us through our contact-us form.

They say learning is continuous but in the real sense, learning has to be consistent. That’s how we keep up with the increasing demands from employers and society in general. From a time, where there was a particular timing associated with learning, we have come to a phase in education, where we have outgrown the concept of time in learning. Today, you can come back home and learn what you’ve missed understanding in your class or dedicate time to learning something totally unrelated to your academics for your personal interests.

Though a cliché, technology has indeed paved the way for convenient learning, where we are no longer required to be confined to physical spaces or timelines to learn new things and take steps towards being educated. The gap has been bridged to a great extent by technology. In fact, it has tremendously shaped the e-learning industry, where new avenues to learn, apply and grow have popped up across the globe.

If you didn’t know, the global worth of the e-learning industry is anticipated tohit $325bn by the year 2025. Over 77% of the institutions in the US had deployed e-learning practices in the year 2017 and over 98% plan to incorporate by 2020. By making learning fun and the time spent on learning new concepts meaningful, e-learning has increased the retention rates of students and aspirants by 60%.

Besides, the E-learning industry is one of the ripest markets today. There has been a 900% growth in the onset of e-learning companies from 2001 to 2017. Today, some of the most crucial courses that define employability for today and tomorrow are offered by online institutions while universities and offline schools are either trying to partner with course providers or figuring out ways to incorporate them into their curriculum.

Concepts like artificial intelligence, machine learning, programming, business intelligence, cybersecurity, blockchain and more are hot courses today and these are all offsprings of the e-learning industry. But how did the industry become what it is today? What were some of the most significant milestones in its timeline? Let’s find out.

 

The Evolution of the E-Learning Industry

No transformation has ever happened overnight. If we could use our smartphones to watch YouTube videos, it’s because of the countless years spent on improving everything that’s associated with this delivery. The progress in e-learning has also been because of several baby-step approaches. A trivia about this industry, the word e-learning was first used in 1999 at a  Cognitive Behavioral Therapy seminar. Ever since the coining of this term, several changes have come and gone to make e-learning what it is today.

Distance Education

One of the earliest concepts of e-learning was distance education, where you could learn subjects without actually visiting a college or school. All the study materials you would need would be sent to you via mail to your residence and you were needed to pay for the education in the same way. When it came to exams, you had to pay the fees and get your passes or hall tickets for the exams and head to the nearest official examination center to give your exam.  

The PC Factor

The rise of personal computers digitized the entire process of distance education. While you were sent physical copies of books via mail before PCs, you were offered compact discs and pdfs as study materials with the evolution of computers. Education became a lot more visual and interesting in the digitization process. This was also the time powerpoint presentations were made to make classes more interactive and engaging. Remember?

The Onset Of E-Learning Tools

The time between 2006 and 2010 was the era of diversification and innovation in e-learning. Moving away from the use of CDs and texts of course materials, this timeline saw the rise of several e-learning tools, which went on to revolutionize learning forever. With the internet gaining popularity fast and computers becoming increasingly accessible at that time, anyone with coding knowledge was able to make learning tools. There were also the introductions of other forms of learning through podcasts, videos and dedicated learning software to make the entire process meaningful.

Some of the notable innovations in this era included:

• Cloud computing
• Digital libraries
• Gamification in learning
• Online videos
• Mobile learning
• eBooks and more

 

From 2011

The dawn of the decade brought in further changes and innovations to the e-learning industry. The internet became faster and computers became cheaper. Geographical and language challenges were no longer hampering learning but were overcome seamlessly with tech. From recorded online videos, e-learning implemented live seminars, workshops or classes for students to learn from wherever they are. Dedicated and optimized software applications also allowed students to get recordings of their live classrooms to help them catch up with courses when they missed. Live interaction with tutors, offline support, forums and communities all developed simultaneously to foster a healthy environment for learning. Today, there are apps that give you access to countless hours of content on any topic of your choice. From learning reiki to swimming online, you could find a course of your choice.

The Role Of Tech In Optimizing E-Learning

The e-learning industry could not have become so disruptive if it weren’t for the advancing technology. Ever since the first generation of computers and the concept of connected computers hit the market, e-learning has been consistently adapting to newer trends to further diminish the challenges in learning. Some of the most crucial advantages of technology in e-learning has been on

Reducing the costs involved in learning 

From having to travel miles to reach the nearest university to being able to afford courses, e-learning has allowed both institutions and aspirants to save money on learning expenses.

Making education accessible

Like we shared earlier, languages and geographical limits were no longer barriers in education. Staying in a suburb in India, you could study from an institution in London your preferred course on machine learning today and get to interact directly with the professors there.

Making learning more entertaining 

Retention was a major problem with distance education, as you couldn’t track people who wouldn’t show up or complete the course. But today, data analytics allows course providers to check if students are progressing in their learning and even base their certifications on the number of hours clocked apart from other factors.

The Rise of E-Learning Web Apps

The simultaneous growth of web development has further enhanced the delivery of e-learning modules and courses to students. 

A wide range of tech stacks like  Angularjs, Nodejs, and Reactjs have a variety of use-cases that can be incorporated to build such e-learning web applications. For businesses, this is the ideal time to venture into the e-learning scene as developing a web-based e-learning application is easier like never before. 

While helping you cut down on development costs, web apps allow you to offer your students the experience of native apps on their laptops or computers. 

These apps have all the functionalities of a mobile app and act as a better way to foster education and learning when compared to their mobile counterparts. 

The Common Features of E-Learning Web Applications

Whether it be about building a dashboard, course, training management system, or learning management system, an e-Learning web application will have following core features: 

Authentication and user profile.

• Authentication and user profile.
• Filtering system
• Dashboard
• Course page
• Payment systems
• Course adding page (for tutors)
• Notifications and reminders
• Admin panel

Personalized Learning And Recommendation Engines

What if you could utilize the philosophy of Netflix and apply that to learning? Well, personalized learning and recommendation engines are designed to do just that. While generic learning modules are ideal for courses like personal development, business etiquette, languages and more, there has to be a more substantial teaching methodology in place if you really want to specialize in a specific field. For niche industries and job profiles, personalization of learning is key.

This is where disruptive technologies of today like Big Data, analytics, machine learning, artificial intelligence and more come into action. To personalize learning, you need data. This data is both the learning pattern of one learner and thousands of other learners. As the machine learning algorithm learns about the learning patterns, behaviors and preferences from one and many users, it consistently gets a better idea about what students need to learn to make their session more impactful.

This is when the tasks associated with recommendation engines get triggered. These algorithms can gauge a student’s strengths and weaknesses in his or her course and recommend a learning path accordingly. If a student is weak on probability but good at trigonometry, the student will be shown more videos and exercises on probability. This way, tutors can also personally assess the skills of individual students and gradually move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to learning. This will also allow students to learn at their own pace without being pressured by their peers.

Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR)

Technologies like AR and VR have been tremendously underutilized. It is only now that there seems to be a renaissance of sorts happening in this field. In the coming years, these technologies are aiming to bridge the gap between digital and reality by allowing students to experience immersive learning. With apps and wearables, students can deep-dive into the structure of an atom and understand in-depth about it, visit an automobile factory to witness how various parts are manufactured and the science behind them, understand geography and history better and more. It will be interesting to see how e-learning leverages the potential of these technologies to deliver futuristic education.

Robotics

With e-learning, robotics is no longer confined to premier institutions. The world is increasingly waking up to the fact that coding and robotics are inevitable skills needed for the future. That’s why kids as young as 10-year-olds get hands-on training on coding and robotics. Today, there are educational robots that allow students to understand coding concepts and solve real-world issues in their lives with technology. While making learning fun, this has allowed the learning of complex concepts like functions and algorithms fun for aspirants.

Conclusion

While we are at one of the most exciting phases of human evolution, it is still interesting to see what tech brings to e-learning this decade. With some of the pointers we’ve mentioned already becoming mainstream, we should wait and witness the impact and quality of education they create. These approaches are also geared towards making students more employable and self-sustainable. What do you think?