5 Common Laravel Mistakes Beginners Make (and How to Avoid Them)

Even experienced developers stumble when learning Laravel. After mentoring hundreds of developers, I've identified the top 5 mistakes that cause 90% of beginner frustrations. Learn these pitfalls now to save hours of debugging later!

1. Not Using Eloquent Relationships Properly

The Mistake:

// Controller
$posts = Post::all();
foreach ($posts as $post) {
    $author = User::find($post->user_id); // N+1 query problem!
}

Why It's Bad:

• Creates N+1 queries (1 query to get posts + N queries to get authors)
• Slows down your app exponentially as data grows

The Fix:

// Eager load relationships
$posts = Post::with('user')->get();

// Blade view
@foreach ($posts as $post)
    {{ $post->user->name }} // No additional queries
@endforeach

Pro Tip: Use Laravel Debugbar to spot N+1 issues.

2. Putting Logic in Routes/Controllers

The Mistake:

// routes/web.php
Route::post('/posts', function() {
    $post = new Post();
    $post->title = request('title');
    $post->body = request('body');
    // 50 more lines of validation, image processing, notifications...
    $post->save();
    return back();
});

Why It's Bad:

• Creates fat controllers that are hard to maintain
• Makes code untestable
• Violates Single Responsibility Principle

The Fix:

1. Move validation to Form Requests:

php artisan make:request StorePostRequest

2. Use Service Classes for business logic:

class PostService {
    public function create(array $data): Post
    {
        return Post::create($data);
    }
}

3. Dispatch jobs for background tasks:

ProcessPostImages::dispatch($post);

3. Not Using Laravel's Built-in Features

Common Oversights:

• Manual file uploads instead of $request->file()->store()
• Writing raw SQL when Eloquent can handle it
• Creating custom auth instead of using Laravel Breeze/Jetstream
• Reinventing pagination instead of using ->paginate(15)

The Fix:

Bookmark these essential Laravel features:

• Filesystem
• Collections
• Task Scheduling
• Notifications

4. Poor Database Structure

The Mistake:

Schema::create('products', function (Blueprint $table) {
    $table->id();
    $table->string('name');
    $table->string('category'); // Bad: Should be foreign key
    $table->string('price'); // Bad: Wrong data type
    // Missing timestamps()
});

Best Practices:

1. Always use proper data types:

   • decimal('price', 8, 2) for money
   • boolean('is_active') for flags

2. Set up relationships correctly:

$table->foreignId('category_id')->constrained();

3. Add indexes for frequent queries:

$table->index(['name', 'status']);

4. Never forget:

$table->timestamps(); // created_at and updated_at
$table->softDeletes(); // For "trash" functionality

5. Ignoring Security Practices

Dangerous Mistakes:

// 1. Not validating input
Post::create($request->all());

// 2. Mass assignment without fillable/guarded
class Post extends Model {
    // protected $fillable = []; // Missing!
}

// 3. Raw queries vulnerable to SQL injection
DB::select("SELECT * FROM users WHERE email = '$email'");

The Fix:

1. Always validate requests:

$validated = $request->validate([
    'title' => 'required|string|max:255',
    'body' => 'required|string'
]);

2. Use mass assignment protection:

protected $fillable = ['title', 'body']; // Whitelist
// OR
protected $guarded = ['id', 'user_id']; // Blacklist

3. Parameterize queries:

DB::table('users')->where('email', $email)->first();

4. Additional must-dos:

• Use @csrf in forms
• Hash passwords (Hash::make())
• Escape output in Blade ({{ $unsafeVar }})

Bonus: Debugging Like a Pro

When things break (they will!), use these tools:

1. Laravel Telescope (debugging dashboard)

   composer require laravel/telescope
   php artisan telescope:install
   

2. Logging:

   \Log::debug('Value:', $myArray);
   

3. DD() Helper:

   dd($request->all());
   

Conclusion

By avoiding these 5 mistakes, you'll:
✅ Build faster applications
✅ Write maintainable code
✅ Prevent security vulnerabilities
✅ Save hours of debugging

Action Steps:

1. Audit your current project for these mistakes
2. Install Laravel Debugbar/Telescope

🚀 What's your most painful Laravel lesson? Share below! 👇