Best free resources to learn Laravel from the ground up
Tags: laravel, todayilearned
Published: 2019-08-23 13:41:41

I know what you`re thinking. Not another one of those lists, right? We promise no Udemy courses were added in this article and no egos were hurt in the race for the crème de la crème Laravel resources.

##Learn the old-fashioned way##
Most beginners shy away from using documentation as a learning tool. Some say it`s like trying to learn a foreign language by memorizing all the words in alphabetical order.

However, documentation is the go-to resource when in doubt, so it pays off to get familiar with it right from the beginning. Laravel is well-known for its accessible, plain English [documentation](https://laravel.com/docs/5.8), which makes it a great place to start reading your way into becoming a Laravel developer.

Another old-fashioned way is by reading books. Dayle Lerees series, [Code Happy](https://daylerees.com/codehappy), [Code Bright](https://daylerees.com/codebright) and [Code Smart](https://daylerees.com/codesmart), covers Laravel versions 3.0 to 5.x. and is available online for free. But that is not even the best part. In Dayle`s own words, expect cheesy jokes and knowledge bombs.

After going through the basics, check out [Design Patterns in PHP and Laravel](https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/design-patterns-in/9781484224519/) (you will need to register for a free trial). If you have ever worked on a web app and found yourself hating your past self, then you will probably enjoy this book.

##Learn together with others##
At its most basic, coding is problem-solving. After the first problem, there will be another and another after that. This means you want someone to have your back while you handle the double frustration of learning a new tool while trying to solve a problem with it. And someone to share the growing pains with.

A big part of Laravel standing is owed to its very active and open community. That is why most popular Laravel packages have zero marketing budget and rely entirely on word of mouth, like [Backpack for Laravel](https://backpackforlaravel.com?ref=updivision). This is a great resource when you`re starting out, as it gives you an outlet to bounce ideas off each other. Think of the Laravel community as a giant rubber ducky.

- The [Laracasts discussion threads](https://laracasts.com/discuss) host the hottest Laravel-related topics.
- The [Laravel subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/laravel) is a great place to find answers and post links to your projects.
- The [Laravel.io forum](https://laravel.io/forum) is part of a community portal maintained by volunteers and Laravel enthusiasts.

##Learn by following a mentor##
Gone are the days when you had to follow a mentor into the wilderness to reach ultimate enlightenment. Now you can follow a mentor on Twitter and get inspired to become a better Laravel developer.

In fact, Laravel Daily put together a list of [top Laravel developers](https://laraveldaily.com/15-most-important-laravel-people-to-follow-online) worth following. These are people extremely active in the community, who regularly speak at conferences, serve as leads behind numerous open-source projects, co-host podcasts and write tutorials.  

By following their projects, you can get a guided tour of the Laravel ecosystem. 


##Learn by watching how it`s done##
[Laracasts](https://laracasts.com/) is the Netflix of the Laravel world. Equally popular and with just as much binge-watching potential, the screencasts are a great place to see how it`s done by a pro. Jeffrey Way, the creator of Laracasts and Laravel veteran, spent years perfecting his teaching skills at [Tuts+](https://code.tutsplus.com/categories/laravel). 

The screencasts cover everything Laravel and more (like managing an open-source project!) in a straightforward and friendly manner. Each course has at least a couple of free lessons, although you will need to pay for the entire course.

A different way of “watching how it`s done” is reading code written by someone else. [Awesome Laravel](https://github.com/chiraggude/awesome-laravel) is a curated list of cool Laravel resources, including dozens of open-source packages broken down into categories (Testing & Debugging, Authentication & Authorization, etc.). Basically, you can create your own reading source code curriculum.    

##And then do it yourself…. Learn through projects##
Now it`s time to put what you have learned to work. If you are having a hard time deciding on a project, check out [this list](https://updivision.com/blog/post/6-web-apps-you-can-start-building-right-away-with-argon-dashboard-pro-laravel) we made. The list includes six web apps you can start building right away using the admin dashboards for Laravel we developed together with [Creative Tim](https://dev.to/creativetim_official).    

We also created three free starter kits: [Material Dashboard Laravel](https://www.creative-tim.com/product/material-dashboard-laravel), [Argon Dashboard Laravel](https://www.creative-tim.com/product/argon-dashboard-laravel) and [Black Dashboard Laravel](https://www.creative-tim.com/product/black-dashboard-laravel), because we wanted to give beginner developers a painless way to start out with Laravel.

Instead of hand coding every component and investing time in doing the integration, you have a boilerplate which does the dirty work for you. The out of the box CRUD for managing users is a must for any app you`re going to build, while the frontend components can be easily combined and customized so that everything looks on spot.

We also included detailed documentation for every component and commented code so you can follow along. This is a unique learning resource which allows you to see how it`s done and then do it yourself. Think of it as a crash course in Laravel.

Sharing is caring, so if you found any other good & free Laravel resources, please let everyone know in the comments.