Laravel vs WordPress – Which One Should You Pick?

Are you confused between Laravel vs. WordPress? We’ll help you figure it out. Before we start to compare Laravel vs WordPress, let get some basis information between them.

WordPress – WordPress is a content management system (CMS) which is used to create websites primarily. The websites can be developed with WordPress using in-built themes and templates or customised development solutions.

Laravel – Laravel is a PHP framework and is used to develop web based applications and websites. Now, between the WordPress vs Laravel conflict a question arises as to what you should select for your project, when, and why.

When its comes Laravel vs WordPress for start-ups or large scale business, and you want a good website as an output of your business ideas and goals then it’s very crucial to hire a good development company with the best in technology to create revenue-generating website for you. Technologies like WordPress, Laravel, etc.

Since both WordPress and Laravel are powered with great advantages, both are recommended by the help of experts for usage as per requirement on the basis of project and business vision.

What to select and what to avoid is based on resource availability in various aspects. To make sure your project demands are met successfully, it’s important to find developers who are skilled enough.

This article will clear all your doubts regarding the high concurrency Laravel vs WordPress, which is better.

Key Takeaway

• With WordPress, no hard and fast developing experience is required unlike Laravel.
• Simpler learning curve in WordPress as compared to Laravel
• It is easier to write database queries and migrating databases with Laravel if compared to WordPress
• Laravel is packed with various built-in features such as authentication, authorization, validation and more, whereas WordPress is only dependant over plugins for majority of its functionalities.
• WordPress slows down due to plugins, page loading speed of WordPress websites is hampered, while Laravel pages load faster due to easily manageable automated tasks
• Laravel is highly secured and stable because of features like authentication, protection against cross-site scripting (XSS), minimizing cross-site request forgery (CSRF), and much more. However, WordPress websites’ security varies with updates and maintenance of plugins.
• WordPress is good for content based web projects whereas, Laravel proves worthy for large scale custom web projects requiring data management.

Table of Contents:

• A guide for beginners – Laravel vs WordPress
• Advantages of Laravel vs WordPress
• Laravel vs WordPress, eCommerce store requirements:
• Laravel vs WordPress – What is your choice?
• Laravel vs WordPress, let’s find out what works best for whom:
• Laravel vs WordPress in case of creating web application
• Laravel vs WordPress, what to choose for a blog or a news website?
• Is it easy sending emails with Laravel and WordPress?
• WordPress vs Laravel, Is it possible to use them together?
• Conclusion
• FAQs

A guide for beginners – Laravel vs WordPress

Laravel: the high-in-demand framework

Laravel is a famous and trusted, free open-source PHP framework with feature-loaded architecture based on Symfony 2 framework and Model View Controller (MVC) architecture.

With Laravel one can execute complicated tasks with much perfections and ease. Creating advanced web applications was never so quick and easy!

WordPress: the powerful CMS

WordPress is a popular and free to use, open-source content management system based on PHP and MySQL. It’s renowned globally powering approximately 35% of websites on the internet.

WordPress is actually a theme-based management system providing the flexibility of more than 55,000 plugins. This feature enhances the entire website development process with limitless themes and latest functionalities.

Advantages of Laravel vs WordPress

When it comes to Laravel vs WordPress growth graph, WordPress is a popular CMS these days and Laravel, a trending framework popular amongst majority of organisations.

WordPress:

You can do a variety of website building tasks with WordPress. Create different websites based on content, including news websites, blog, business websites, and much more.

It goes without saying that the numerous benefits associated with WordPress render it the most loved CMS around the world with almost 16.000.000 websites powered by WordPress.

There is endless list of companies such as New York Post, TED, USA Today, Time.com, TechCrunch, etc. which are associated with WordPress.

There are reasons why majority of organisations worldwide like to work with WordPress, which we will discuss in this article as we go ahead. But, let us share the major reasons behind companies trusting WordPress, and they are:

• WordPress being SEO friendly
• The fast speed with which developing websites gets easy
• Availability of ready to use themes and plugins

Laravel:

With Laravel, developers employ ‘Object Oriented programming’ along with other modern programming methods. Laravel is loved by developers majorly for:

• Quickly processing large amount of information
• Conveniently executing difficult web application projects
• Creating large scale dynamic websites including Ecommerce sites with thousands of products and listings
• Developing complex websites with flexible back-end processes
• Incorporation of unit-testing feature that enables multiple, simultaneous tests and provides additional stability to web apps
• Another highly sought out benefit with Laravel is that the pragmatic MVC confers it great efficiency as a web development tool.

Apart from that, Laravel focuses on increasing the web development pace with the following exclusive features:

• Authorisation and authentications including API
• Encryption
• Query Builder
• Migrations
• Eloquent ORM

Laravel vs WordPress, eCommerce store requirements:

Going to get a business website for your eCommerce store and confused about Laravel framework vs WordPress?

To make it simple, let us say that both are unique in their own ways. Your project decides which one will suit your needs better.

Both Laravel and WordPress are behind the existence of thousands and thousands of eCommerce stores.

Reason behind this is the wide range of plugins, almost 55000 plugins, which makes the process of developing an eCommerce store extremely convenient.

While creating an eCommerce website, it gets quite complicated to choose what and why. In that case if you want to create a custom website then you can opt for WordPress.

If there is a complex task to handle, then choosing Laravel will be a good idea.

Still there could be many instances when choosing one over the other will be a challenge as both web technologies come with a vast variety of benefits.

You can literally go for any, but it is highly dependent on your business requirement and the platform.

To study the advantages and Laravel vs WordPress performance more closely, let’s find out what you can expect from each technology, what do they have in common, and how one could be better than the other:

Laravel vs WordPress

Laravel vs WordPress, let’s find out what works best for whom:

Easy to grasp

In terms of ease, WordPress is known for its simplicity and that it’s easier to understand rather than Laravel.

In order to work with Laravel while developing a website you’ll have to understand the code. But, with WordPress, you can create a website with the help of website theme itself.

Learning curve

Laravel framework has a good and reasonable learning curve which refers to a constant growth in learning with greater experience.

On the other hand, WordPress has a shallow learning curve because of the fact that even a non-tech user can create and publish their content for free.

Flexibility

It is a known fact that Laravel is comparatively less flexible than WordPress. It gets complicated whenever you have to make any changes or update the content.

However, that’s not the case with WordPress. You can easily edit or update the content anytime as per need.

Modularity

In Laravel, you will find a proper organisation of the developed eventually leading to code growth. Laravel ensures appropriate usage of existing code.

However, management of content in WordPress is the sole responsibility of the developer.

Authentication

Laravel comes with various features including authentication, authorization, inversion of control, etc.

The authentication in Laravel is fully loaded with latest attributes and gets better with every update. However,  in WordPress, the available plug-ins are responsible for authentication.

Database

Laravel offers variety. In Laravel one can design a database in his/her own unique style. Whereas, WordPress contains only static data, so database isn’t needed.

Community

When it comes to WordPress vs Laravel, there’s no denying that WordPress has an extensively huge community if compared to Laravel.

Performance

Coming to Laravel vs WordPress performance, Laravel tends to employ Eloquent for writing database queries and thus, quickly executes the task.

Although, not using Eloquent renders it slow. But if you are looking for a comparison in the case of Laravel vs WordPress speed then it is observed that WordPress already performs sluggishly due to the number of plug-ins.

It is suggested to incorporate strongly-typed plugins to increase its performance speed.

Depending on the Laravel vs WordPress performance and your eCommerce requirement, if you require a content-based website with simple features and functionalities then it is highly advised to choose WordPress.

On the contrary, if there is a demand for web applications or websites with complex functionalities and layout then it is better to go with Laravel.

When you are creating an eCommerce store with Laravel then there are better chances for customisation, though the store could appear complex.

You can add a variety of functionalities which are crucial for a flawless execution and running of the store no matter what size it is. With Laravel you can easily add more features required to take the growth of your eCommerce a notch higher.

Coming back to WordPress, we usually notice that it makes the process of creating and launching an eCommerce store very simple unlike Laravel.

What make it possible is the multiple product support, numerous themes, templates, flexible payment options, and endless user-friendly options.

WordPress also comes with WooCommerce, a famous and free open-source plugin specifically meant for creating eCommerce stores.

It offers 600+ creative themes in the WordPress directory, and also helps in the development of amazing responsive websites with extensive product listings, creating offers plus discount coupons, payment solutions, sales insights, etc.

If you are expecting an eCommerce store with greater than 10,000 products in the catalogue, then you must pick Laravel only.

It will provide you with everything you need to run a loaded store. Featuring thousands of products require custom project which can be solely achieved with Laravel.

Ecommerce stores created with Laravel run faster which, eventually, is the requisite for great user experience, better clientele, and enhanced sales.

Laravel vs WordPress in case of creating web application

1. Both WordPress and Laravel are both known to develop super-functional and manageable web-based projects with great usability and high degree of user-friendliness.
2. Both are user-centered and dedicated website and web apps developing platforms, staying dynamic, efficient, and transparent in their operations.
3. As we all know that a vast portion of websites around the globe are already running on WordPress, there’s no denying the fact that WordPress is considered as the most popular development platform.
4. You can start from scratch with WordPress; however, with due time Laravel framework has also gained popularity in creating web applications of various kinds.
5. WordPress is more of a better option for people who are not tech-savvy. It can allow you flexibility to deal with different types of content including visual media to create futuristic web projects. With that it becomes a lot easier to manage content in the long run as well.
6. With WordPress you can also make the website more SEO friendly by simply using the particular plug-in for WordPress.
7. WordPress is a search-engine friendly platform and could be easily considered as an all-rounder solution which consumes lesser time and resources.
8. When it comes to Laravel blog vs WordPress, WordPress is the clear winner. As we are aware that blogs and reading go hand-in-hand.
9. Blogs need to be read and followed. WordPress allows better and wider audience visibility across all angles.
10. Greater visibility becomes another reason we choose WordPress here. The same implies to all content-based websites and applications.
11. For complex requirements and complicated web applications, you will have to go with Laravel once again. It’s not going to be WordPress’ cup of tea!

After all the sole purpose of Laravel is to make a developer’s task easier when it comes to dealing with complicated web applications.

Similarly, with Laravel vs WordPress benchmark, Laravel happens to be the best option when you are working on a large-scale data management application, an innovative tool for a remote team collaboration, global online dealership and related aspects.

But costing can be a roadblock. Web application development with Laravel costs more. However, with large scale projects, it can be opposite. You can save more time and money with Laravel as your project’s size grows.

Now, in Laravel vs WordPress speed, as we mentioned Laravel is the sure-shot winner because WordPress consumes quite some time to load the plugins variety. Every plugin tends to load various scripts, and this makes WordPress slower.

So, you cannot use WordPress if your web project needs to be fast and dynamic.

In short, and keeping you from getting confused, we suggest that whenever you have to deal with web application development, select between light and heavy tasks first.

After segregating your projects go for WordPress if your projects require light and medium-weight applications, or else go with Laravel if you require developing heavy-weight web projects.

In the aspect of Laravel vs WordPress in app development, we will conclude by saying that both Laravel and WordPress are perfect platforms for developing a range of different sized web applications but it highly depend on the complexity as to which one you should select in the end.

As the project’s complexity grows the need for working with MVC framework also increases. So, if you want to build web applications for SAAS platforms, custom e-commerce solutions, or any related platform where users are required to register for further navigation then only Laravel can be your saviour.

WordPress can also deal with such functionalities, but to only a certain extent, as the more add-ons you will implement the sluggish it will get with lot more limitations that will hamper your development and execution process. With Laravel you can create exactly what you require.

Laravel vs WordPress, what to choose for a blog or a news website?

A broad range of online news channels and blogs are powered by WordPress. As we previously discussed, WordPress should be the best choice when it comes to developing content based websites be it blog or news site.

Both of such sites will be loaded with different types of content including visual media. WordPress was created to make content based websites with simplicity and ease.

Apart from news or blog sites, in the case of other content based websites also, WordPress acts as a saviour and makes it a lot easier to develop and share content as compared to any other CMS.

With WordPress powered websites, you can quickly upload and manage the data too. WordPress is easier to work out within minutes even if you don’t belong to any technical field.

The content based websites are easier to create using WordPress also because of the availability of a wide array of useful plugins, SEO content optimizers, blogrolls, Google Docs exporter, and the list goes on.

It is also suggested to use WordPress for simple content websites because of the vast designs availability, allowing you flexibility to use from the wide colour schemes and attractive features to develop a great, versatile website.

You can, undoubtedly, choose Laravel here too, but that gets costlier and there’s no wisdom to choose something expensive when you can get better results as per your requirement in budget.

It is a well-known fact that content based websites including news and blogs are highly dependent over organic search. You’ll not have to worry about getting search-engine friendly results too.

WordPress will take care of your website being SEO friendly using a free plugin known as Yoast.

On the contrary, Laravel could prove efficient if the project needs complexity and content is just a part of it, but not otherwise.

Read Also:- Understanding the Laravel MVC Architecture

Comparing both in more detail

• You can make use of both WordPress and Laravel to develop high quality websites which are user-friendly, SEO-friendly, and are highly functional.
• In Laravel, the project output is complex and the PHP framework needs to be understood by the developer for coding. Whereas, it is far easier with WordPress to build and manage web applications and sites.
• Greater learning curve in Laravel means it requires more understanding, whereas WordPress has lesser learning curve which allows you to adapt quickly, write content and publish it for free.
• Laravel comes with advanced extensive features such as authorization and authentication along with control inversion and more. However, in WordPress, authentication is associated with the usage of various plugins.
• While considering the SEO aspect in Laravel, it is fact that the SEO gets to define its own routes, which is why it becomes quite time consuming to create a website only based on content. However, it is not the case with WordPress.
• Laravel offers you the flexibility of customising and controlling everything with ease.  You can do the same with content in WordPress too using themes and plugins.
• Laravel provides you the freedom of using and designing the database as per your choice, but with WordPress data remains static.
• Laravel comes with a small community and developers. WordPress has a greater community following along with large number of developers.
• Laravel offers lesser flexibility in terms of content-updates whereas WordPress tends to be more convenient and flexible regarding the same.
• About costing as we mentioned that Laravel could be expensive for your content based projects but WordPress is free to use and comes with many free themes and paid ones too which fall in an affordable range. The projects which require customisation could often be costly but still with WordPress its going to be far more pocket-friendly journey. Laravel resources are also, quite expensive as compared to WordPress.

Apart from all this in Laravel vs WordPress, you will find that both of them are inclusive of free open-source web technologies and are:

• Based on PHP
• Pretty pragmatic
• Running on an object-oriented structure
• Supporting large online communities

Is it easy sending emails with Laravel and WordPress?

A lot can happen over email, isn’t that correct? Of course, it is! The world wouldn’t be the same if there were no emails.

And how easier is it to send one! Simply click on the ‘send’ button and you have conveyed what you wanted to, quickly and securely.

Email feature is the most necessary of them all for almost all kinds of web applications.

One can send emails with WordPress by the help of a default PHP mail() function; however, it’s not advisable generally because of the poor deliverability as many of the emails usually get delivered into the spam folders.

Sending emails via plugins is a much sought after approach. A variety of free resources could be the ESPs, such as SendGrid or Mailchimp, offering their own plugins to send sending emails through the platform.

In Laravel you will find a built-in email function. Laravel uses the SwiftMailer library for sending general emails.

This functionality is currently being used by number of websites and has resulted in great performance with amazing positive outcome.

Laravel developers suggest using API-based drivers like SparkPost or Amazon SES.

WordPress vs Laravel, Is it possible to use them together?

Yes, it is very much possible. Both WordPress and Laravel can be clubbed together for use. Doing so will open up vast possibilities for you to develop and manage your web based project with much efficiency and good results.

It will allow you to manage the backend administration panel through WordPress and the frontend through Laravel.

You can work with a WordPress and Laravel hybrid by the help of Corcel. It’s an open-source PHP collection of classes built above the Eloquent technique from Laravel.

It assists the developers to directly access data from a WordPress database.

Clubbing Laravel and WordPress can prove useful for developers who wish to create a project with WordPress CMS but can side by side handle complexities using Laravel.

A lot of developers have shown interest in the same and have been working successfully by integrating both WordPress and Laravel together.

Combing both platforms offers greater flexibility for a single website or web application, especially for client based projects.

WordPress is better known for its simpler functionalities to perform manageable tasks with great user experience.

However, with Laravel you will take some time to get the grip, but can perform complicated tasks smoothly.

That’s the reason why developers think of bundling both together to create flexible projects. This can offer you better hold on your content not just at the frontend but backend too with far better performance.

Key Takeaways

Let’s summarise our article for go-to information about WordPress and Laravel.

WordPress could be suitable for you if you require:

• Content-based projects such as websites or apps related to blogs, web-presentations, news, media, online portfolio, etc.
• Urgent execution of a project
• A customised website and don’t even possess any strong technical skill
• An eCommerce store for start-up or mid-sized infrastructure

Laravel could be your choice if:

• You want to execute complex projects or want to develop a data-based website such as any management app, booking portals, payment gateway, or more.
• You want to create a customised website or app
• You need to develop web solution for large scale e-commerce.

 A hybrid between WordPress and Laravel could be considered by PHP developers who want to develop content based projects with WordPress and the streamlined workflow of Laravel.

Both Laravel and WordPress are different platforms, but depending on the type of your requirements they can be used accordingly.

Each comes with an advantage of its own. However, Laravel comes out as a winner in terms of speed, flexibility, performance, and security.

Conclusion

To conclude the argument, we would again remind that WordPress and Laravel are both different platforms as one is a framework and another is a content management system.

Why we want to stress on it is that using Laravel will require an in-depth knowledge of object-oriented programming for writing codes and creating the web app.

Laravel and WordPress are usually written in PHP but are considered for different purposes.

Laravel is referred to as a toolbox, and as it consumes time to execute the project, you can go with it if you have time to invest.

Besides, Laravel happens to be a costlier alternative and requires a skilled developer to create applications.

Choosing between WordPress and Laravel depends on your project and the perfect way to decide which one will suit your needs is to simply go through the pros and cons of each.

Consider your business goals, budget, and future implications while selecting the technology you want to go ahead with, as cost matters the most.

With this we anticipate that we have cleared many of your doubts regarding WordPress vs Laravel conflict and that you will be able to make a better choice according to your web project.

FAQs:

Q: Can we create a simple start-up eCommerce store with WordPress?

A: Yes, you may. You can even ask your developer to integrate both WordPress and Laravel to confer better flexibilities to your project.

Q: Do we require technical skills to work with Laravel?

A: Yes, to work with Laravel you need to be technically sound.

Q: Can I integrate email functionality in my store?

A: Yes, you can easily incorporate the email feature using any of the platform