How to Install Laravel and Set Up Your First Project (Beginner’s Guide)

Laravel is a popular PHP framework that makes web development fast and easy. If you are a beginner and want to start your first Laravel project, this guide is perfect for you.

Step 1: Check System Requirements

Before installing Laravel, make sure your system has:

• PHP >= 8.0
• Composer (PHP dependency manager)
• MySQL or any other database
• A web server (XAMPP, WAMP, Laravel Sail, etc.)

Tip: Windows users can use XAMPP, while Mac/Linux users can set up via the terminal.

Step 2: Install Composer

Composer is required to manage Laravel dependencies.

1. Download Composer from the official website.
2. After installation, check if it’s working by running:

composer -v

If it shows the version, Composer is installed successfully. ✅

Step 3: Create a New Laravel Project

Open your terminal or command prompt and type:

composer create-project laravel/laravel project-name

• Replace project-name with the name you want for your project.

This command will download the latest Laravel version and create a new project folder.

Step 4: Run Laravel Development Server

Go to your project folder and start the server:

cd project-name
php artisan serve

You will see a URL like: http://127.0.0.1:8000/

Open it in your browser. If the Laravel welcome page appears, your setup is successful! 🎉

Step 5: What’s Next

Now you are ready to:

• Explore Laravel routing and MVC structure
• Set up a database and run migrations
• Build your first CRUD operations