Laravel, CodeIgniter and CakePHP for custom web applications and APIs.
When a project is more application than website, with workflows, roles, integrations and an API, a PHP framework gives it a structure WordPress plugins can't. Laravel, CodeIgniter and CakePHP all follow the MVC pattern, but they make different trade-offs in size, conventions and ecosystem.
This path starts by mapping WordPress concepts to Laravel (routes, Eloquent, Blade, queues and the scheduler), then compares the three frameworks so you can choose the right one for a client project or an inherited codebase.
Who it’s for: WordPress and PHP developers moving into custom applications, and teams choosing a framework for a new project.
Start with lesson 1: Laravel for WordPress developers: routing, Eloquent, Blade and queues explained
Why Laravel pages get slow as data grows and how to fix it: finding N+1 queries, eager loading, selecting only the columns you need, the right indexes, chunking large jobs and caching expensive queries.
An honest comparison of three PHP frameworks I work with: how Laravel, CodeIgniter 4 and CakePHP 5 differ in structure, database access, ecosystem, performance and hosting, and which one fits which kind of project.
A practical bridge from WordPress to Laravel: how routes replace templates and rewrite rules, Eloquent replaces WP_Query, Blade replaces template parts, and queues and the scheduler replace WP-Cron, with code for a real feature.