Hire expert freelance Laravel developers for your company

When your next project web app calls for Laravel developers, Cad Crowd is here to connect you with talented professionals

Laravel is popular among experienced and new developers alike primarily because it's both beginner-friendly and sophisticated at the same time. It's beginner-friendly thanks to the large variety of built-in tools to achieve speedy web app development and sophisticated because those tools handle everything, from user authentication and encryption to feature testing and database optimization. Laravel is also a free and open-source technology with a large number of users actively contributing to its development.

But not every developer is as skilled and experienced as the next. An excellent server-side framework can only do wonders if it is given to competent professionals. Cad Crowd helps you separate seasoned developers from rookies and ensures you only get the right talent with the right personality for your next project.

What is it?

Laravel is a free and open-source server-side PHP framework primarily designed to build complex, high-end applications using built-in tools and features. The term “high-end” doesn’t specifically refer to fancy and multimedia-heavy user interfaces; yes, Laravel has what it takes to build sophisticated UIs, but more importantly, underneath all of that, it has a truly robust back-end system with secure data encryption as well as reliable user authentication/authorization mechanisms.

Among Laravel's most praiseworthy features is the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern. As the name suggests, the MVC breaks down an application or software into three major parts: Model (data), View (interface to access and modify the data), and Controller (the operations performed on the data). An easy analogy for MVC is preparing food. Let's say a user orders a classic cheese pizza (Model); as soon as the order is registered from the front end as a request, the server side (Controller) deconstructs the order into a series of orders/tasks. The first step is to grab and prepare the dough, followed by inserting the round-shaped base into the oven and finally adding cheese on the top surface. A ready-to-eat pizza (View) is finally served to the client. 

MVC, in simple words, is a method of categorizing or structuring an app into separate logical areas. It not only provides a snappy user experience but also a more organized way to add features, debug the app, and achieve scalability. Because things are kept separated based on their function, the app is much less fragile. 

Can you hire a Laravel developer for an entry-level position?

We did say earlier that Laravel is beginner-friendly, so it only makes sense if you plan to hire developers for some entry-level positions and prepare them to be part of the in-house team. Laravel is, at its core, PHP. An entry-level Laravel developer is not someone who is completely new to web app development, specifically the server side of the project. If you want to hire for junior positions, the bare minimum requirement is a working knowledge of PHP.

Most new developers are capable of using Laravel, but without a good grasp of PHP, they will be completely dependent on the built-in features and tools. They can also probably implement new features using codes shared on online forums and communities, but this isn’t a sustainable way of developing and maintaining an app. You want a developer who knows what’s going on under the hood of the framework to make use of it to its full potential.

Is it better than its alternatives?

You don't have to use Laravel, but there are some good reasons that may persuade you to do so. Let's start with the clean and expressive syntax; for developers, this allows for an easier way to write and document codes. Using Laravel as server-side technology, developers can deliver high-quality web apps and reliable software/applications relatively quickly. In the long run, simplicity translates to budget-conscious and time-efficient web app maintenance. 

Another great advantage is that Laravel comes with loads of built-in features and tools to build complex web apps with less code. Ready-to-use tools mean the developers never have to build the back-end from scratch, so they can instead focus on delivering a quality server-side system with tested functionalities and robust security. For example, the Object-Relational Mapping process treats database tables as classes for easier data manipulation and access. The result is quick routing and responsive UI/UX development.

Furthermore, developers can benefit from the large ecosystem behind the open-source Laravel. They're spoiled with third-party tools and libraries each time they need to add new functionality to an application. Combine that with a modular packaging system and excellent dependency management, and you'll be surprised to see how Laravel makes developing complex, high-end, scalable applications look easy.

Other features include:

• Built-in support for user authorization and authentication systems
• CLI (command-line interface) in Laravel is called Artisan, which comes with dozens of ready-to-use commands
• PHPUnit, a widely-used PHP testing framework with various tools, is available by default
• Artisan automatically generates boilerplate codes for migrations, so developers never have to manually create code skeletons
• Server-side development with Laravel means you’re using secure AES-256 and AES-128 encryption standards. In case that’s not good enough, the framework gives built-in helpers to encrypt and decrypt data as needed.

Laravel empowers developers to write feature tests to simulate how the codes (and the entire application) work from the user's perspective long before deployment. If you can see how the application behaves in a controlled preview, you can review everything and propose changes as if you’re using the full version.

How Cad Crowd does it

As far as the basic hiring process is concerned, there really isn’t much of a difference between Laravel programmers and developers specializing in other web development frameworks. The step-by-step procedure remains essentially the same as follows:

• Define the staffing necessity: this goes without saying, but a clearly-defined project requirement, including timeline, scope of work, and technology stack, helps make sure you only attract the right talents for the job. More importantly, it prevents non-qualified candidates from applying, so you don’t have to spend much time filtering through unnecessary resumes. Another important thing is to state whether you need full-time, part-time, or freelance developers.
• Detailed job description: be very clear about the details of the open position. If you're hiring for a one-time project, explain in detail what you expect from the developers, such as work hours and deliverables. A good job description should include the required skills, experience level, educational background, and additional qualifications like certifications. Also, mention if remote work is an option.
• Talent search: the first route to take involves posting about the open position on online job boards, freelance websites, developer forums, and, if necessary, social media, including LinkedIn.

This is the part where Cad Crowd has quite a different approach from most companies. As a staffing agency, Cad Crowd maintains a sizable database of talents, both active and passive candidates, as well as a network of Laravel professionals with varying experience levels and degrees of expertise in the United States and beyond. Our recruiters can tap into the resources and target specific developers based on the given project requirements and job descriptions. As a matter of fact, we can entirely do away with the traditional job posting and go directly to the targeted search approach. Our database contains thousands of developers well-versed in Laravel and other back-end technologies, along with the portfolio and track records to back their claims.

• Resume reviews: depending on the open positions, we review candidates' resumes and portfolios to look for developers who have worked on similar projects. Cad Crowd makes certain they actually contributed something to the projects with their knowledge in Laravel instead of us falsely boosting their portfolios by listing a project or two where they had minimum involvement.
• Background and reference checks: targeted search or not, the shortlisted candidates still have to pass our thorough background checks and work reference verification as part of the screening process. We find that reaching out to their previous employers is often the most efficient way to understand the candidates' ethics and capabilities. More specific questions lead to a more comprehensive answer as well. In addition to general inquiries like skills and reliability, our recruiters always ask specific work-related questions regarding the candidates' level of expertise in Laravel, teamwork performance, stress tolerance, etc.
• Code sample evaluation: when hiring developers for any project, Cad Crowd requires the candidates to undergo small programming/coding tasks. We evaluate the code samples to determine quality, style, and overall adherence to web/app development best practices. Every coding task is designed to test the candidates' basic understanding of Laravel.
• Preliminary interview: since the open position is for Laravel developers, the interview questions primarily revolve around the development framework itself, PHP, database management, APIs, and back-end technologies. We can include more questions to dig deeper into the candidates’ soft skills, including communication and adaptability.

Notes: Cad Crowd conducts the code samples evaluation and preliminary interviews only to complement the technical assessments and job interviews designed by the client. The selected candidates (after the screening process through the initial tests) usually have to pass another series of examinations supervised by your internal hiring manager. To design an effective test, your hiring manager must be familiar with Laravel and back-end development; again, Cad Crowd can assist with preparing an effective assessment to improve your chances of hiring only the right talents for your project.

Another thing to mention is that, with your permission, Cad Crowd can help prepare the paperwork for the onboarding (employment contract) and compensation for the selected candidate at the end of the hiring process. Apart from primary factors like skills and experience, we take into account other important points like market rates based on the candidate's location (if remote work is an option) and roles in your company to determine compensation estimation. This is to make sure the candidate receives a competitive rate appropriate for the work.

That said, every little detail of the process is subject to change in accordance with your specific needs. If you must implement additional steps or omit some of them for the sake of efficiency, Cad Crowd is only happy to comply with your request and customize the staffing solution as much as necessary. We understand that it's not just about getting the job done but having it done properly for the sake of efficient future growth.