How to Hire Laravel Developers?

Laravel has become one of the most popular PHP web application frameworks over the past few years. Its expressive syntax, robust feature set, and emphasis on clean code principles have made it a go-to choice for developers building all types of web apps.

As a business looking to build a new web application, you may be considering hiring Laravel developers. However, finding the right developers can be challenging if you don't know what specific skills and experience to look for. In this guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about recruiting talented Laravel developers for your project.

Before getting into the hiring specifics, it's worth discussing why you should want Laravel skills in particular. As mentioned, Laravel offers many advantages as a web framework that can benefit your business, including:

• Rapid application development. Laravel's vast libraries and intuitive routing speeds up building complex apps. Developers can build apps faster.
• Security. Laravel has robust protection against common web app threats like CSRF, SQL injection, XSS and more.
• Scalability. Built-in support for caching, job queues, rate limiting and more allow Laravel apps to scale smoothly as traffic grows.
• Maintainability. Features like migrations, testing capabilities, and modular code encourage maintainable code over time.
• Community support. As one of the most popular PHP frameworks, Laravel offers richer documentation, plugins, hosting options etc.

The right Laravel developers will be able to leverage the framework's strengths to deliver a high-quality, secure and scalable web application that meets your business needs.

Once you decide you want to utilize Laravel for your application, the first step is determining exactly what you need when hiring a developer or development team.

Skills & Experience Level

• Entry-level (1-3 years). Best for smaller enhancements of existing Laravel code.
• Mid-level (3-5 years). Capable of building custom apps and new Laravel features.
• Senior-level (5+ years). For complex Laravel applications and architecture leadership.

Technical Skill Set

• Laravel framework expertise: Routing, Blade, Eloquent ORM, testing etc.;
• PHP language proficiency;
• HTML/CSS/JavaScript (for front end work);
• MySQL/database abilities;
• basic Linux server admin;
• caching mechanisms like Redis or Memcached;
• familiarity with REST APIs, web sockets and queues;
• understanding of MVC concepts.

Clearly documenting these technical and process requirements will help streamline finding qualified candidates. You should rank requirements by priority to avoid setting unrealistic expectations.

Some good sources to find developers with experience in Laravel or PHP include.

Freelance websites
Websites like Upwork, Freelancer and Toptal have pools of skilled freelance Laravel developers available for hire. You can post your project requirements and have developers apply.

Development agencies
Web and app development agencies often employ teams of Laravel developers. They offer a more full-service and managed approach, which may suit businesses wanting less hands-on involvement.

Staffing firms
IT staffing and recruitment firms like Hiremotely can help source, vet and hire Laravel developers on your behalf. This saves you time while still allowing you to directly interview/hire candidates.

In-house development team
Building up an internal development team with Laravel skills may be the best long-term option for companies wanting ongoing enhancement of proprietary apps and tools. You avoid reliance on third-party freelancers.

Open source contributions
Developers active in the Laravel open source community may be passionate candidates already familiar with best practices for the framework. Checking sources like GitHub is one way to seek them out.

Code samples
Asking candidates to provide code samples from previous Laravel or PHP projects is essential. Review the samples for organization, formatting consistency, appropriate commenting, separation of concerns, security principles, etc. You or your tech team leader can learn a lot from code quality.

Technical interviews
Conduct 1-2 rounds of technical interviews going in-depth into the developer’s Laravel capabilities, PHP knowledge and relevant skill sets outlined in your requirements above. Get specific by asking them to describe technical challenges overcome.

Skills assessments
For an objective evaluation, you can use skill tests to assess Laravel knowledge across categories like routing, migrations, Eloquent ORM queries, blade templating, authentication scaffolding, and more. These help quantify competency.

Reference checks
Speaking to 1-2 references the developer has worked with previously may give color on strengths and weaknesses and how enjoyable the collaboration was.
Following up promptly after interviews and checking references quickly can help secure top talent before other companies hire them.

Once you’ve found a great Laravel hire, make sure the onboarding goes smoothly by providing:

• documentation on existing code structure/architecture, APIs, etc;
• access to internal systems like project boards/trackers;
• training on proprietary tools or in-house solutions;
• list of contacts across teams they’ll collaborate with;
• schedule for 30/60/90 day milestones aligned to project roadmaps;
• also set clear communication expectations for daily standups, project reviews, reporting needs and more.

Investing thoughtfully in your talent search and onboarding ensures your investment pays dividends in productive Laravel developers that become pivotal long-term team members. Leverage the above tips to secure top-tier talent ready to take your web application to the next level using the powerful Laravel framework.