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.

Transcript

1. @masuga
   @masugadesign
   @lamplighterapp
   SaaS on OSS
   Building Lamplighter.io on Laravel
   

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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
   

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3. Comfort Zone
   

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4. • Builds confidence
   • Cures boredom
   • Satisfies urge to grow
   • Increases productivity
   Benefits of the New
   Mike Taber, @SingleFounder
   Speaking at MicroConf
   

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5. Let’s Make a Product!
   

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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...
   

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7. Monitor all your sites in one place.
   

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8. • Selfish
   Solve our own problem(s)
   • Altruistic
   Help other shops like ourselves
   • Realistic
   From $0 to money quickly
   What’s Our Purpose?
   

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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
   

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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...
    

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11. Laravel
    

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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!
    

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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.
    

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14. Beer Truck Rule
    

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15. Let’s Use the Best
    LARAVEL
    SSD Drives, CDN, scalable, Nevin.
    We’re now ready for the Apocalypse.
    

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16. Making the Product
    

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17. Use the Right Tool
    for the Job
    

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18. LARAVEL
    

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19. Laravel Highlights
    Determining Factors
    • Routing
    • Commands (Artisan)
    • Eloquent ORM
    • Front Templating
    

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20. • Nice URLs
    • Custom Subdomains
    COMPANY.lamplighter.io
    • Before and after filters
    (SSL, authentication,
    permissions)
    Routing
    

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21. Routing
    Nice URLs: Custom Landing Pages
    https://lamplighter.io/expressionengine/devotee
    https://lamplighter.io/expressionengine/peers
    

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22. Routing
    Nested: SSL, Subdomains, Auth, Permissions
    

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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
    

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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.
    

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25. Eloquent ORM
    Relationship-Heavy Application
    

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26. Eloquent ORM
    Relationship-Heavy Application
    

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27. Templating (Blade)
    

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28. Drawbacks
    

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29. One man.
    One framework.
    What could go wrong?
    

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30. “...not a widespread issue”
    

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31. “...not a widespread issue”
    

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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
    

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33. Ship It.
    

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34. We Shipped!
    January February March April
    ?
    ?
    ?
    

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35. 6%
    7%
    7%
    80%
    4
    months
    5,755
    add-ons/plugins
    321
    sites
    

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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
    

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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
    

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