Laravel Development
Laravel is my first choice for building web applications. It's fast to develop with, scales well, and has strong conventions that keep codebases maintainable. I use it for MVPs, SaaS backends, APIs, and custom business applications – the kind of backend and full-stack work that startups and growing products need.
I'm based near Bath and Bristol, and I work with clients across the UK. If you're looking for a Laravel developer who can own the backend and integrate with your team, let's talk.
Laravel for Startups
Laravel is built for speed of development. Strong defaults for routing, migrations, queues, authentication, and API resources mean you get a working application without deciding every detail upfront. That makes it ideal for MVPs and early-stage products where you need to ship and iterate.
I focus on solving the actual problem rather than over-engineering: clear architecture, maintainable code, and decisions that fit your stage. If you're building something new and want a freelance developer who can own the backend and integrate with your front-end, I can help.
API Development
Laravel's API resources, validation, and authentication ecosystem make it a strong choice for building REST backends. I design and build APIs that are consistent, well-documented, and easy for your front-end or mobile team to consume – including authentication (Sanctum), versioning, rate limiting, and clear error handling.
I've written about API design for startups and apply those principles to Laravel projects. If your product needs a solid API backend – whether for a web app, mobile app, or third-party integrations – we should talk.
Scaling Laravel
Laravel scales to serious traffic and complexity. I help teams scale their applications: database optimisation (MySQL, MariaDB), queue workers, caching (Redis, Memcached), and infrastructure choices. I've written about scaling Laravel backends and queues for startups – both relevant when your product grows.
Whether you're preparing for a launch, dealing with growth, or refactoring for performance, I can help with architecture reviews, bottleneck identification, and implementation.
Database & Backend
Laravel's migration system and Eloquent ORM work well with MySQL and MariaDB – the database engines I use most. I design schemas and queries that stay maintainable as your data grows. I've written about database design for startups. For heavier workloads, I use queues, job batching, and read replicas where appropriate.
If your Laravel app is outgrowing its current setup – slow queries, locking issues, or unclear data model – I can help with audits, indexing, and refactoring.
Laravel or Symfony?
For most new work I recommend Laravel. It's faster to ship with, has strong conventions, and scales well. I use Symfony when it's the right fit: existing Symfony codebases, clients who've standardised on it, or problems that benefit from Symfony's modularity. I've written a practical comparison: Symfony vs Laravel: when to choose which.
If you're unsure which framework fits your project, we can talk it through.