Building Lamplighter.io on Laravel

We had a great idea for a web-based software application. Now what? The idea was the easy part. Now it's time to execute. Should we use a framework? Should we try something new? How comfortable are we in tying a product to an open source tool?

I discuss the decision-making process behind developing Lamplighter.io on Laravel, the lessons we learned (and are learning) along the way, and why we weren't afraid to shift gears and dive in.

1. @masuga @masugadesign @lamplighterapp SaaS on OSS Building Lamplighter.io on Laravel
2. • Masuga Design Owner Client work, mostly EE • devot-ee.com Proprietor Marketplace for EE • placeimg.com Advisor Side Project • lamplighter.io Guy who stands by in awe Ryan Masuga
3. Comfort Zone
4. • Builds confidence • Cures boredom • Satisfies urge to grow • Increases productivity Benefits of the New Mike Taber, @SingleFounder Speaking at MicroConf
5. Let’s Make a Product!
6. 1. devot:ee Monitor Started with a “basic” project. 2. expressionmonitor.com Expand the idea: tie in w/site to see in one place What’s the Big Idea? We could gather information from—and store information about—all your sites in a centralized spot...
7. Monitor all your sites in one place.
8. • Selfish Solve our own problem(s) • Altruistic Help other shops like ourselves • Realistic From $0 to money quickly What’s Our Purpose?
9. What to Use? Endless choices. • Too rigid • Sole purpose: content • Lots of unused code • Potential license restrictions • Security • Time sink • Little ROI • Why recreate wheel? • Legwork is done • Blank slate • How to decide? CMS Hand Roll Framework
10. Decisions, Decisions... Stay within the realm of feasibility • What do we already know? • This is a business. Let’s not go off a cliff “just because.” • A few options: Zend 2, Symfony 2, and...
11. Laravel
12. • Well documented • Good community support base • Logical, reasonable learning curve • Template language is easy (for front-end people) • Dev friendly stuff: Composer and migrations Laravel It has haters!
13. Laravel Benefits Modern, scalable, powerful routing, Composer integration. We can use the most up-to-date PHP libraries and packages. We can use best-in-class stuff.
14. Beer Truck Rule
15. Let’s Use the Best LARAVEL SSD Drives, CDN, scalable, Nevin. We’re now ready for the Apocalypse.
16. Making the Product
17. Use the Right Tool for the Job
18. LARAVEL
19. Laravel Highlights Determining Factors • Routing • Commands (Artisan) • Eloquent ORM • Front Templating
20. • Nice URLs • Custom Subdomains COMPANY.lamplighter.io • Before and after filters (SSL, authentication, permissions) Routing
21. Routing Nice URLs: Custom Landing Pages https://lamplighter.io/expressionengine/devotee https://lamplighter.io/expressionengine/peers
22. Routing Nested: SSL, Subdomains, Auth, Permissions
23. 1. Put site in maintenance mode 2. Deploy the code changes 3. Install, update, or remove necessary dependencies 4. Make database changes 5. Bring site back up Commands (Artisan) php artisan deploy:heavy --stage=prod
24. Eloquent ORM Relationship-Heavy Application ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) is a tool that lets you query and manipulate data from a database using an object paradigm. What.
25. Eloquent ORM Relationship-Heavy Application
26. Eloquent ORM Relationship-Heavy Application
27. Templating (Blade)
28. Drawbacks
29. One man. One framework. What could go wrong?
30. “...not a widespread issue”
31. “...not a widespread issue”
32. • Don’t Trap Yourself Don’t dig yourself into a hole. • Find the Time to Try Something New If solo, carve out time to learn. If team, experiment! • Don’t be a Fanboy. Moderation in all things, always beware of the Kool Aid. • Use the Right Tool for the Job EE for large client sites; Craft for newer sites. Slim or Laravel for internal projects...when it’s right Conclusion
33. Ship It.
34. We Shipped! January February March April ? ? ?
35. 6% 7% 7% 80% 4 months 5,755 add-ons/plugins 321 sites
36. Laravel Resources • Laracasts - https://laracasts.com/ • leanpub.com/codebright • laravel.com SaaS (+Bootstrapping) Resources • @patio11, kalzumeus.com • @brennandunn • Bootstrapped.fm Forums - http://discuss.bootstrapped.fm/ • Jason Lemkin @SaaStr - http://saastr.com/ Resources
37. Thank You. https://lamplighter.io/peers 50% off first 3 months (until May 15, 2014) @masuga @masugadesign @lamplighterapp http://masugadesign.com https://lamplighter.io