WordPress vs Laravel for Developers and Non-Coders

WordPress and Laravel are two of the most popular platforms for building websites and web applications, but they serve different purposes and cater to different audiences. It’s important to know the difference and see which one is best for your own website’s needs. In this article, you’ll see WordPress vs. Laravel head-to-head, for developers and non-coders.

Before getting into comparing WordPress vs. Laravel for developers and non-coders, it’s important to know a little bit about them.

WordPress

WordPress is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) that enables users to create and manage websites without needing to write code from scratch. It provides an intuitive dashboard and a vast ecosystem of themes and plugins, allowing for easy customization of design and functionality. Originally developed as a blogging platform, it has evolved into a versatile tool used to build everything from simple blogs and portfolios to complex e-commerce stores and corporate websites.

Laravel

Laravel is a free, open-source PHP web framework that provides a structured and expressive foundation for building complex web applications. It follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern, which helps developers organize code and separate concerns for better maintainability and scalability. By providing a rich set of built-in tools and features like an elegant ORM for database interaction, a powerful command-line interface, and robust security measures, Laravel significantly simplifies common development tasks and accelerates the creation of modern, enterprise-level web applications.

Here’s a comparison chart on the features that both WordPress and Laravel offer:

WordPress has been known as being very user-friendly. Here’s a breakdown of features for both the non-coder and developers:

For the Non-Coder

For non-coders, WordPress is the clear winner. Its core strength lies in its accessibility and ease of use. You can set up a professional-looking website without ever writing a line of code.

Key Features for Non-Coders:

• User Interface: The WordPress dashboard is intuitive and easy to navigate. You can manage content, customize your site's appearance, and install new features with a few clicks.

• Themes and Plugins: WordPress has a vast ecosystem of themes and plugins. Themes control the design and layout of your site, while plugins add new functionality, like contact forms, SEO tools, or e-commerce capabilities. You can find plugins for almost anything you can imagine.

• Gutenberg Editor: The block-based Gutenberg editor makes creating and editing content a visual process. You can add text, images, videos, and other elements by simply dragging and dropping blocks.

• Community and Support: Due to its massive user base, there's an abundance of tutorials, forums, and support resources available. If you run into a problem, someone has likely already found a solution.

For the Developer

While non-coders can use WordPress out of the box, developers can leverage its flexibility to build custom solutions. However, it can sometimes be more challenging than using a framework like Laravel.

Key Considerations for Developers:

• Codebase: WordPress has a large, and some would argue, somewhat dated codebase. It wasn't built with modern development practices in mind, which can make it challenging to implement complex features or follow best practices like object-oriented programming.

• Customization: While themes and plugins offer a lot of flexibility, building highly customized functionality often means creating custom plugins or themes. This can lead to conflicts and make updates more difficult.

• Performance: A WordPress site's performance can be heavily impacted by the number and quality of plugins installed. A poorly coded plugin can slow down your site.

• Learning Curve: To truly master WordPress development, you need to understand its specific hooks, filters, and template hierarchy. This is a different kind of learning curve than mastering a general-purpose framework.

Laravel has been a favorite amongst developers, but here’s a breakdown of this platform for both non-coders and developers:

For the Non-Coder

For a non-coder, Laravel is not a suitable choice. It's a framework, not a ready-to-use application. To use Laravel, you need to be a developer.

Key Considerations for Non-Coders:

• No GUI: Laravel has no graphical user interface (GUI) for creating or managing a website. You must write all the code yourself.

• Technical Knowledge Required: To use Laravel, you need to know PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and have a solid understanding of web development concepts like databases, routing, and APIs.

• No Drag-and-Drop: There are no drag-and-drop builders, themes, or plugins. Every element of the application must be coded from scratch.

For the Developer

Laravel is a modern, elegant, and powerful framework that empowers developers to build robust, scalable, and secure web applications. It follows best practices and provides a solid structure for development.

Key Features for Developers:

• Model-View-Controller (MVC) Architecture: Laravel is built on the MVC pattern, which separates the application logic from the user interface. This makes the code more organized, maintainable, and easier to work with.

• Artisan CLI: Laravel comes with a powerful command-line interface called Artisan. It automates repetitive tasks like creating controllers, models, and database migrations, saving developers a significant amount of time.

• Eloquent ORM: The Eloquent Object-Relational Mapper (ORM) makes it incredibly easy to interact with a database. You can work with your database using expressive PHP syntax instead of writing raw SQL queries.

• Security: Laravel includes built-in features to protect against common web vulnerabilities like cross-site request forgery (CSRF) and SQL injection.

• Scalability: The structured nature of Laravel makes it ideal for building large, complex applications that need to scale. It's a great choice for Software as a Service (SaaS) products, e-commerce platforms, and internal business tools.

• Testing: Laravel has excellent support for testing, allowing developers to write automated tests to ensure their code works as expected and prevent future bugs.

The choice between WordPress and Laravel boils down to your goals and skill set.

Choose WordPress if:

• You are a non-coder and want to build a website quickly and easily.

• You need a blog, a simple business site, or an e-commerce store with standard functionality.

• You want to leverage a vast ecosystem of pre-built themes and plugins.

• You prioritize a fast time-to-market and a low learning curve.

• Fast to install on any web host plan or hosting for WordPress.

Choose Laravel if:

• You are a developer or part of a development team.

• You need to build a complex, custom web application from scratch.

• You require specific functionality that isn't available in a pre-built CMS.

• You value code quality, maintainability, and scalability.

• You want to use a modern framework that follows best development practices.

Think of it this way: WordPress is like buying a pre-fabricated house. It's ready to live in and you can customize it with new furniture and paint (themes and plugins). Laravel is like buying a plot of land and all the building materials. It requires a lot more effort and skill, but you can build a custom home exactly to your specifications.

Now that you’ve compared WordPress vs Laravel for developers and non-coders, what is your skill set level? Are you willing to learn Laravel or hire a developer in order to build your site, or would you prefer to try your hand at using WordPress? Hopefully this article has helped give you an idea on what platform you want to use for your website.