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In the Laravel framework, an efficient and reliable web application requires proper deployment and maintenance to ensure long-term stability. This article will show you how to use Laravel Forge to manage the deployment of PHP web applications and provide related optimization tips.
Laravel Forge is a powerful server management tool designed specifically for deploying, monitoring, and maintaining Laravel applications. It provides a simple web interface that makes it easy to create and manage servers, databases, and various extensions.
To use Laravel Forge, you first need to register an account and link your server. Make sure your server meets the following basic requirements:
Once you’ve met these requirements, follow these steps to deploy your application:
In the Laravel Forge dashboard, click "Servers" and select "Create Server" to set up a new server. You will need to provide SSH credentials and specify the site name, web directory, and application type.
After creating the server and site, Forge will automatically install the web server and PHP. You can check and modify the PHP version via the Laravel Forge interface. If you need to upgrade PHP (for example, to PHP 7.4), you can do so using the following commands:
SSH into your server
Run the following command to add the Ondrej Sury PPA:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php
Update and install PHP 7.4:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install php7.4
Once the site is set up, you’ll need to configure the database. You can use either MariaDB or MySQL. In the site settings, navigate to the database options and set up your database credentials and password.
After configuring the web server and database, Laravel Forge will automatically deploy the code and related files to the web directory. You can select the version control system (like Git or SVN) and specify your repository and branch in the Forge interface.
To ensure your web application is accessible via HTTPS, you’ll need to configure an SSL certificate. In the Laravel Forge interface, select the "SSL" tab to create the certificate. Fill in the required fields, such as domain name and email address, and confirm your email to complete the certificate setup.
If your application requires asynchronous processing (such as sending emails or processing images), you can use Laravel Forge’s Queue Daemon. Simply navigate to the "Queue" tab in the site settings and start the queue process.
To improve performance, you can enable Nginx caching in the site settings, which will cache static content to boost loading speeds.
By using Laravel Forge, you can easily deploy PHP web applications to production, covering steps such as server creation, PHP installation, database setup, SSL certificate configuration, and queue management. With Forge’s powerful features, you can avoid common deployment issues and simplify application updates, monitoring, and maintenance tasks.
