Laravel is a time-tested, popular, and reliable PHP framework with an active community. Since the community is active and Laravel is used for powering many websites globally, many code editors and IDEs are available to ease the development process for Laravel developers. These code editors and IDEs are generally developed using Laravel coding best practices, ensuring that your Laravel code remains optimized and free of bloatware.
However, with an ocean of Laravel code editors and IDEs available, finding the right one for your project can get overwhelming. Hence, here is a list to help you find the right Laravel Code Editor and IDE most suitable for your project. Suppose you don’t want to look for the right Laravel tools. In that case, you should hire Laravel developers from a cost-effective development company with proven skills and experience using different Laravel IDEs and Code Editors.
Top Laravel Code Editors
Text editors play a crucial role in any framework. It is the platform where you code your app, and different code editors come with different features, user interfaces, and tools to help aid the development process for Laravel developers. Hence, choosing the right Laravel code editor for your Laravel project is important. Here are some of the top Laravel Code Editors you can try –
Sublime Text
Sublime Text needs no introduction in the world of web development. Being one of the most popular code editors with support for multiple languages, it is one of the simplest code editors to use for Laravel.
It focuses on code editing and provides extensive plugins and extensions for important tasks like syntax highlighting, analyzing code metrics, and finding source files. Sublime Text also has many Laravel-specific extensions to ease your Laravel coding experience.
PHPStorm
PHPStorm is yet another famous code editor in the world of Laravel development. It provides various PHP developer tools and code assistance features that help Laravel developers integrate databases and SQL in their projects. It also comes with a zero-configuration Visual Debugger that provides real-time insights throughout every step of your web app development process, helping you debug and test your Laravel app easily and efficiently.
Notepad++
Notepad++ is a reliable Windows-based code editor created as an alternate for Notepad, which comes pre-installed in Windows. It enhances the features of basic Notepad like syntax highlighting, easy installation, out-of-the-box usable functionalities like multiple document interface, split view, and much more. It has support for over 80 programming languages, out of which Laravel is one.
Atom
Atom claimed to be a hackable code editor and was initially an internal tool for GitHub before they made the project open-source while retaining its management. This new approach to code editor for Laravel and other programming languages is gaining popularity as the developer can thoroughly customize it. Syntax theme, UI, formatting and language-specific settings, and many other aspects can be set per the developer’s preference.
Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code is an open-source code editor almost on par with all the IDEs. Though it takes a lot of time to initialize the software, it is one of the most robust code editors. It provides some unique features like quickly making Git commits and opening folders and subfolders rapidly with ease. The terminal is designed neatly and richly and provides ‘IntelliSense,’ a smart autocompletion tool. Using Visual Studio to write, edit, debug and test Laravel apps is slowly gaining popularity and wider acceptance in the community.
Top Laravel IDEs
IDEs – Integrated Development Environment is a comprehensive coding solution with a text editor, debugger, compiler, and other tools. It makes coding much easier for developers by providing them with all the necessary resources in one place to write their software code. Similarly, there are many popular IDEs for Laravel development. Here are some of the most commonly used Laravel IDEs that you should know about –
NetBeans
NetBeans is an ideal Laravel IDE as it is free, open-source, and feature-packed for writing and editing Laravel codes. It also comes with multilingual support for major languages such as English, Japanese, Russian, Chinese and Portuguese. It is one of the most downloaded IDEs of all time.
Though earlier NetBeans was only associated with Java development, now it supports all PHP frameworks with ease. The tool provides functions like smart code completion, quick fixes, hints and refactoring, getter setter generation, and more.
Cloud9
Cloud9 works as a cloud-based IDE platform allowing developers to write, edit, run and debug their app code using a browser. The tool comes with a code debugger, editor, and terminal. It has pre-installed tools for popular languages such as PHP, JavaScript, Python, and others.
Hence, you can easily set up your Laravel project without manually installing files or configuring the development machine when starting a new project. The cloud-based approach allows developer teams to work on the project from the office, home, or any place with an internet-connected machine.
RapidPHP IDE
RapidPHP code editor/IDE is one of the most robust PHP editors that supports all important PHP features and works at the speed of Notepad. It is a comprehensive solution for coding in HTML, PHP, CSS, and JavaScript with useful tools for reusing code, formatting, debugging and validating your code. The tool comes packed with a debugger and validators, powerful syntax highlighting, code intelligence, and many other tools. It supports almost all PHP frameworks like Laravel, CodeIgniter, CakePHP, and more.
Komodo IDE
Komodo IDE is one of the most popular code editors of various programming languages. It helps developers edit and manage codebases for languages such as PHP, Golang, Ruby, Python, and others. It has full feature support for PHP with web technologies like CSS3, HTML5, and JavaScript. It also supports Laravel Blade and other PHP frameworks. This tool provides unit testing, visual debugging, version control, and more.
Final Words
You can use these top Laravel IDEs and Code Editors to write, debug, test, and optimize your Laravel code to optimize your web app performance. Almost all platforms provide basic fundamental coding tools; however, different tools have different pros and cons that you should analyze before starting your Laravel project.
Suppose you are from a non-technical background and want to invest your time in making better business decisions and formulating strategies for growth. In that case, you should hire dedicated developers from a trusted IT company to work on your Laravel project and decide which IDE best suits your platform.
