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 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:
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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%.
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.
