Introduction: Laravel on Shared Hosting

Deploying Laravel applications on shared hosting can be tricky, but it's often the most affordable option for students and small projects. While Laravel is designed for VPS or dedicated servers, with the right approach, you can successfully run Laravel on shared hosting providers like Hostinger, SiteGround, or Bluehost.

Why Shared Hosting for Laravel?

Benefits for Students

  • Cost-Effective: Starting from ₹100-300 per month
  • No Server Management: Hosting provider handles server maintenance
  • Quick Setup: Get online within minutes
  • Support Included: Technical support from hosting provider
  • Learning Opportunity: Understand deployment challenges

Limitations to Consider

  • Limited Control: Can't modify server configuration
  • Performance Restrictions: Shared resources with other websites
  • PHP Version: May not have latest PHP version
  • Command Line Access: Usually limited or unavailable
  • Database Limitations: Shared database servers

Prerequisites and Requirements

Hosting Requirements

  • PHP Version: PHP 8.1 or higher
  • Extensions: OpenSSL, PDO, Mbstring, Tokenizer, XML, Ctype, JSON
  • Composer: Access to Composer (or ability to upload vendor folder)
  • Database: MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+
  • File Permissions: Ability to set proper permissions

Recommended Hosting Providers

  • Hostinger: Good Laravel support, affordable pricing
  • SiteGround: Excellent performance, staging environments
  • A2 Hosting: Developer-friendly features
  • InMotion Hosting: Good customer support

Preparing Your Laravel Project

Step 1: Optimize for Production

Environment Configuration:

# .env file for production
APP_NAME="Your App Name"
APP_ENV=production
APP_KEY=your-app-key-here
APP_DEBUG=false
APP_URL=https://yourdomain.com

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=localhost
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=your_database_name
DB_USERNAME=your_database_user
DB_PASSWORD=your_database_password

Optimize Configuration:

# Run these commands locally before uploading
php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:cache
php artisan optimize

Step 2: Prepare Files for Upload

Install Dependencies:

# Install production dependencies
composer install --optimize-autoloader --no-dev

Remove Development Files:

  • Delete .git folder
  • Remove tests directory
  • Remove node_modules if present
  • Clean up any development-only files

Deployment Methods

Method 1: Direct Upload (Beginner-Friendly)

Step 1: Upload Files

  1. Access your hosting control panel
  2. Navigate to File Manager
  3. Upload your Laravel project to a temporary folder
  4. Extract the files

Step 2: Organize Directory Structure

# Typical shared hosting structure
public_html/
    index.php (Laravel's public/index.php)
    css/
    js/
    images/
app_laravel/
    app/
    config/
    database/
    resources/
    vendor/
    ... (all other Laravel files except public folder)

Step 3: Modify Index File

Edit the main index.php file in public_html:

<?php
// Change paths to point to your Laravel installation
require __DIR__.'/../app_laravel/vendor/autoload.php';
$app = require_once __DIR__.'/../app_laravel/bootstrap/app.php';

$kernel = $app->make(Illuminate\Contracts\Http\Kernel::class);
$response = $kernel->handle(
    $request = Illuminate\Http\Request::capture()
);
$response->send();
$kernel->terminate($request, $response);

Method 2: Subdomain Installation

Benefits:

  • Cleaner URL structure
  • Easier to manage
  • Better security
  • Simpler configuration

Steps:

  1. Create subdomain (e.g., app.yourdomain.com)
  2. Upload Laravel files to subdomain folder
  3. Configure database and environment
  4. Test functionality

Database Setup

Creating Database

  1. Access cPanel or hosting control panel
  2. Navigate to MySQL Databases
  3. Create new database
  4. Create database user
  5. Assign user to database with all privileges

Importing Database

Export from Local:

# Export database locally
php artisan migrate --seed
mysqldump -u username -p database_name > database_export.sql

Import to Hosting:

  1. Access phpMyAdmin in hosting control panel
  2. Select your database
  3. Use Import tab to upload SQL file
  4. Execute import

Common Configuration Issues and Solutions

Issue 1: 500 Internal Server Error

Possible Causes:

  • Incorrect file permissions
  • Missing .htaccess file
  • PHP version incompatibility
  • Missing PHP extensions

Solutions:

# Set correct permissions
chmod 755 public_html/
chmod -R 755 app_laravel/
chmod -R 777 app_laravel/storage/
chmod -R 777 app_laravel/bootstrap/cache/

Check .htaccess file in public_html:

<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteRule ^(.*)$ public/$1 [L]
</IfModule>

Issue 2: Composer Dependencies

Problem:

Shared hosting may not have Composer installed

Solution:

  1. Run composer install locally
  2. Upload the entire vendor folder
  3. Ensure autoload files are included

Issue 3: Storage and Bootstrap Cache

Create Proper Directory Structure:

# Ensure these directories exist and are writable
storage/
    app/
        public/
    framework/
        cache/
        sessions/
        views/
    logs/
bootstrap/
    cache/

Environment-Specific Configurations

Hostinger-Specific Setup

PHP Configuration:

  • Check PHP version in control panel
  • Enable required extensions
  • Increase memory limit if needed
  • Set max execution time appropriately

File Manager Tips:

  • Use built-in file manager for quick edits
  • Enable "Show Hidden Files" to see .env and .htaccess
  • Use extract feature for uploaded ZIP files
  • Set file permissions through file manager

SiteGround-Specific Setup

  • Use staging environment for testing
  • Enable Git repository for deployments
  • Utilize SiteGround's SSH access
  • Take advantage of built-in caching

Security Considerations

Protect Sensitive Files

Move Laravel Files Outside Public Directory:

This is the most important security step for shared hosting.

Create .htaccess Protection:

# .htaccess in app_laravel directory
<Files "*">
    Order deny,allow
    Deny from all
</Files>

Environment Security

  • Never commit .env file to version control
  • Use strong database passwords
  • Enable HTTPS if available
  • Regularly update dependencies

Performance Optimization

Laravel Optimizations

# Run these optimizations
php artisan config:cache
php artisan route:cache
php artisan view:cache
php artisan optimize

Shared Hosting Optimizations

  • Enable Caching: Use file-based caching if Redis/Memcached unavailable
  • Optimize Images: Compress images before upload
  • Minimize HTTP Requests: Combine CSS and JS files
  • Use CDN: Consider free CDN services like Cloudflare

Monitoring and Maintenance

Log Monitoring

  • Regularly check storage/logs/laravel.log
  • Monitor error logs in hosting control panel
  • Set up log rotation to prevent large files
  • Use logging services for better monitoring

Regular Maintenance Tasks

  • Update Laravel and dependencies
  • Monitor disk space usage
  • Check for broken links or errors
  • Backup database and files regularly

Backup and Recovery

Automated Backups

  • Enable hosting provider's backup service
  • Create manual backups before major changes
  • Store backups in multiple locations
  • Test backup restoration process

Manual Backup Process

  1. Download all application files
  2. Export database via phpMyAdmin
  3. Save .env file securely
  4. Document any custom configurations

Troubleshooting Common Problems

White Screen of Death

  • Check error logs
  • Verify file permissions
  • Ensure all files uploaded correctly
  • Check PHP error reporting settings

Database Connection Issues

  • Verify database credentials in .env
  • Check if database user has proper permissions
  • Ensure database server is accessible
  • Test connection with simple PHP script

Asset Loading Problems

  • Check asset URLs in views
  • Verify public assets are in correct directory
  • Ensure proper .htaccess rewrite rules
  • Test with absolute URLs temporarily

Alternative Hosting Solutions

When to Consider VPS

  • Application requires specific PHP extensions
  • Need root access for custom configurations
  • High traffic or resource requirements
  • Advanced caching or queue workers needed

Budget VPS Options

  • DigitalOcean: Starting at $5/month
  • Vultr: Affordable cloud hosting
  • Linode: Reliable performance
  • AWS Lightsail: Simplified VPS

Conclusion

Hosting Laravel on shared hosting requires careful planning and some compromises, but it's definitely achievable for student projects and small applications. The key is understanding the limitations and working within them while maintaining security and performance best practices.

Start with a simple deployment, test thoroughly, and gradually optimize as you become more comfortable with the process. Remember that shared hosting is often a stepping stone - as your application grows, you may need to migrate to more powerful hosting solutions.

Need help with Laravel deployment? Check out complete Laravel project examples with deployment guides at SkillBolt.dev to see the entire process from development to production.