Can I Build a Mobile app with Laravel?
Laravel can only be used for developing backends for mobile applications. You can use Laravel on the backend with either Xamarin, React Native, Flutter, Ionic, or Cordova on the frontend.
You can also use Android studio or other native platforms for the frontend development of your mobile app and use Laravel to serve and process data through API requests.
Since its release in 2011, Laravel has grown in popularity usage to become the most popular PHP web framework.
Laravel is used to build full-stack web applications using the PHP programming language. You can also use Laravel to build backend services for mobile and desktop applications.
The Laravel Framework is loved and respected by many developers because of its simplicity and elegant syntax.
It is used by many applications and companies, some of the popular applications using Laravel Framework include Bankrate, Disney, The New York Times, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and many others.
Laravel is easy to work with and it is good for rapid development, it is a very good choice for the backend services of mobile applications, you will be able to build scalable applications quickly without writing a lot of code.
CAN I USE LARAVEL WITH REACT NATIVE?
Yes, Laravel and React Native make a perfect combination. You can use React Native on the frontend of your app and Laravel can be used on the backend.
Laravel makes it easy for developers to make APIs that can be consumed in mobile applications.
CAN I USE LARAVEL WITH FLUTTER?
Yes, you can use Laravel with Flutter easily. Using APIs built with Laravel, you can access all the data that you need in a Flutter app. You can use Flutter on the frontend of your app and Laravel can be used on the backend.
CAN I USE LARAVEL WITH IONIC?
Yes, Laravel is a server-side framework that you can use to develop the backend services of your Ionic application. You will not be able to use Laravel blade templates directly in Ionic, but you can get all the data you need from Laravel using HTTP requests.
ALTERNATIVES TO LARAVEL FOR MOBILE APP BACKEND?
There are many alternatives to Laravel for developing backend services for mobile applications. You can either use server-side programming languages or server-side web frameworks. Here are some of the popular ones.
NODE.JS
According to a 2022 survey by Stack Overflow, Node.js is the most popular and commonly used server-side technology, it is used by 46.31% of professional developers.
Node.js is an open-source Javascript runtime environment that runs on the V8 Engine. It is cross-platform and is used to run Javascript outside of the web browser. Node.js can be used to make the backend services for your mobile app and other applications.
It is commonly used in the Javascript stack such as the MERN (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node) and MEAN (MongoDB, Express, Angular, Node) Stack. To make it easy to work with Node.js, frameworks such as Express.js, Sails.js, Koa.js, etc. are popularly used.
If you like working with Javascript, you can use React Native on the frontend of your mobile app and Node.js with MongoDB on the backend. With this, your entire app development process will be in Javascript.
PYTHON
Python is a great choice for making backends for mobile applications. There are many python frameworks that you can use, popular ones include Django, Flask, FastAPI, and CherryPy. Django is the most popular Python framework for making server-side applications.
Django can be used for mobile app development but only on the backend of a mobile app. You can use the Django Rest Framework on the backend with either React Native, Flutter, Ionic, or Cordova on the front end.
Django is used to build full-stack web applications using the Python programming language. You can also use Django to build backend services for mobile and desktop applications.
Django was used to build part of the backend for the popular social media platform Instagram.
RUBY
Since its invention in 1995 by Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto of Japan, Ruby has grown in popularity and usage to become the third most widely used server-side programming language after PHP and ASP.NET.
According to statistics from w3techs.com, “Ruby is used by 5.9% of all the websites whose server-side programming language we know.” This makes it a great choice for making backend services for mobile applications.
Ruby on Rails is a popular choice for many startups working on mobile apps. It makes developing backends for mobile apps simple, straightforward, and quick.
It has been used by companies such as Airbnb, Shopify, Twitter, Github, Basecamp, Dribbble, Hulu, Kickstarter, Zendesk, Fiverr, SoundCloud, and many others.
Its syntax is simple, elegant, and English-like, similar to that of Python. Getting started with Ruby and Ruby on Rails for app development is very easy and you will serve a lot of development time using this language and its framework.
GO
GO is another popular choice for making backends for mobile applications. It is an open-source programming language supported by Google, Go is used to power fast and scalable applications.
Some of the companies using Go include Google, PayPal, American Express, Meta, Microsoft, Uber, Twitter, wild Life, Netflix, Twitch, Salesforce, Dropbox, Capital One, Cloudflare, Riot Games, and many others.
ASP.NET
ASP.NET is the second most used server-side implementation after PHP, it is used to build fast, secure, and scalable applications. You can also use ASP.NET to develop REST APIs for a range of clients, including browsers and mobile applications.
ASP.NET uses the .NET and C# programming language. Some of the companies using ASP.NET include Stack Overflow, GoDaddy, Tencent, Siemens Healthineers, VQ communications, LightSail, AstroReality, and many others.
CONCLUSION
It can be seen that Laravel is a good choice for making backend services for mobile applications. You can use Laravel with any of the mobile app development platforms such as React Native, Flutter, Ionic, Xamarin, Cordova, or native platforms like Android Studio and Xcode.