Building E-commerce in Laravel

E-commerce is one of the most common requirements we encounter at ZIRA Software. While platforms like Magento, WooCommerce, and Shopify work for many businesses, custom Laravel e-commerce solutions offer unmatched flexibility, performance, and control. In this guide, we'll cover building a robust e-commerce platform with Laravel.

Why Laravel for E-commerce?

Advantages:

• Complete control over features and design
• No licensing fees or monthly costs
• Optimized performance for your specific needs
• Easy integration with existing systems
• Scalable architecture

When to choose custom Laravel:

• Unique business requirements
• Complex product configurations
• Multi-vendor marketplaces
• Integration with legacy systems
• Performance-critical applications

Database Schema

Start with a solid database structure:

// Products table
Schema::create('products', function($table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->string('sku')->unique();
    $table->string('name');
    $table->text('description');
    $table->decimal('price', 10, 2);
    $table->decimal('sale_price', 10, 2)->nullable();
    $table->integer('quantity')->default(0);
    $table->boolean('is_active')->default(true);
    $table->timestamps();
    $table->softDeletes();
});

// Categories
Schema::create('categories', function($table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->integer('parent_id')->nullable();
    $table->string('name');
    $table->string('slug')->unique();
    $table->timestamps();
});

// Product-Category pivot
Schema::create('category_product', function($table) {
    $table->integer('category_id')->unsigned();
    $table->integer('product_id')->unsigned();
    $table->primary(['category_id', 'product_id']);
});

// Orders
Schema::create('orders', function($table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->integer('user_id')->unsigned()->nullable();
    $table->string('status'); // pending, processing, shipped, delivered
    $table->decimal('subtotal', 10, 2);
    $table->decimal('tax', 10, 2);
    $table->decimal('shipping', 10, 2);
    $table->decimal('total', 10, 2);
    $table->string('shipping_address');
    $table->string('billing_address');
    $table->timestamps();
});

// Order items
Schema::create('order_items', function($table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->integer('order_id')->unsigned();
    $table->integer('product_id')->unsigned();
    $table->integer('quantity');
    $table->decimal('price', 10, 2);
    $table->timestamps();
});

Product Model

<?php

class Product extends Eloquent {

    protected $fillable = ['sku', 'name', 'description', 'price', 'quantity'];

    protected $softDelete = true;

    public function categories()
    {
        return $this->belongsToMany('Category');
    }

    public function images()
    {
        return $this->hasMany('ProductImage');
    }

    public function reviews()
    {
        return $this->hasMany('Review');
    }

    // Check if product is in stock
    public function inStock()
    {
        return $this->quantity > 0;
    }

    // Get final price (sale price if available)
    public function getFinalPriceAttribute()
    {
        return $this->sale_price ?: $this->price;
    }

    // Decrease stock after purchase
    public function decreaseStock($quantity)
    {
        if ($this->quantity >= $quantity) {
            $this->quantity -= $quantity;
            $this->save();
            return true;
        }
        return false;
    }
}

Shopping Cart Implementation

Create a cart service for managing shopping cart operations:

<?php

class CartService {

    public function add($productId, $quantity = 1)
    {
        $product = Product::findOrFail($productId);

        $cart = Session::get('cart', []);

        if (isset($cart[$productId])) {
            $cart[$productId]['quantity'] += $quantity;
        } else {
            $cart[$productId] = [
                'product_id' => $product->id,
                'name' => $product->name,
                'price' => $product->final_price,
                'quantity' => $quantity,
            ];
        }

        Session::put('cart', $cart);

        return $cart;
    }

    public function remove($productId)
    {
        $cart = Session::get('cart', []);

        if (isset($cart[$productId])) {
            unset($cart[$productId]);
            Session::put('cart', $cart);
        }

        return $cart;
    }

    public function update($productId, $quantity)
    {
        $cart = Session::get('cart', []);

        if (isset($cart[$productId])) {
            if ($quantity <= 0) {
                return $this->remove($productId);
            }
            $cart[$productId]['quantity'] = $quantity;
            Session::put('cart', $cart);
        }

        return $cart;
    }

    public function getCart()
    {
        return Session::get('cart', []);
    }

    public function getTotal()
    {
        $cart = $this->getCart();
        $total = 0;

        foreach ($cart as $item) {
            $total += $item['price'] * $item['quantity'];
        }

        return $total;
    }

    public function getItemCount()
    {
        $cart = $this->getCart();
        $count = 0;

        foreach ($cart as $item) {
            $count += $item['quantity'];
        }

        return $count;
    }

    public function clear()
    {
        Session::forget('cart');
    }
}

Cart Controller

<?php

class CartController extends BaseController {

    protected $cartService;

    public function __construct(CartService $cartService)
    {
        $this->cartService = $cartService;
    }

    public function index()
    {
        $cart = $this->cartService->getCart();
        $total = $this->cartService->getTotal();

        return View::make('cart.index', compact('cart', 'total'));
    }

    public function add($productId)
    {
        $quantity = Input::get('quantity', 1);

        try {
            $this->cartService->add($productId, $quantity);
            return Redirect::back()->with('success', 'Product added to cart');
        } catch (Exception $e) {
            return Redirect::back()->with('error', 'Error adding product to cart');
        }
    }

    public function update($productId)
    {
        $quantity = Input::get('quantity');

        $this->cartService->update($productId, $quantity);

        return Redirect::route('cart.index')
                       ->with('success', 'Cart updated');
    }

    public function remove($productId)
    {
        $this->cartService->remove($productId);

        return Redirect::route('cart.index')
                       ->with('success', 'Item removed from cart');
    }
}

Checkout Process

<?php

class CheckoutController extends BaseController {

    public function index()
    {
        $cart = App::make('CartService')->getCart();

        if (empty($cart)) {
            return Redirect::route('shop.index')
                           ->with('error', 'Your cart is empty');
        }

        return View::make('checkout.index');
    }

    public function process()
    {
        $cartService = App::make('CartService');
        $cart = $cartService->getCart();

        // Validate
        $validator = Validator::make(Input::all(), [
            'shipping_address' => 'required',
            'billing_address' => 'required',
            'payment_method' => 'required|in:stripe,paypal',
        ]);

        if ($validator->fails()) {
            return Redirect::back()->withErrors($validator)->withInput();
        }

        // Create order
        DB::beginTransaction();

        try {
            $order = Order::create([
                'user_id' => Auth::id(),
                'status' => 'pending',
                'subtotal' => $cartService->getTotal(),
                'tax' => $this->calculateTax($cartService->getTotal()),
                'shipping' => $this->calculateShipping(),
                'total' => $this->calculateOrderTotal($cartService->getTotal()),
                'shipping_address' => Input::get('shipping_address'),
                'billing_address' => Input::get('billing_address'),
            ]);

            // Add order items
            foreach ($cart as $item) {
                OrderItem::create([
                    'order_id' => $order->id,
                    'product_id' => $item['product_id'],
                    'quantity' => $item['quantity'],
                    'price' => $item['price'],
                ]);

                // Decrease stock
                $product = Product::find($item['product_id']);
                $product->decreaseStock($item['quantity']);
            }

            // Process payment
            $paymentService = App::make('PaymentService');
            $paymentResult = $paymentService->charge(
                $order->total,
                Input::get('payment_method'),
                Input::get('payment_token')
            );

            if ($paymentResult['success']) {
                $order->status = 'paid';
                $order->transaction_id = $paymentResult['transaction_id'];
                $order->save();

                DB::commit();

                // Clear cart
                $cartService->clear();

                // Send confirmation email
                Mail::send('emails.order-confirmation', ['order' => $order], function($message) {
                    $message->to(Auth::user()->email)->subject('Order Confirmation');
                });

                return Redirect::route('order.success', $order->id);

            } else {
                DB::rollBack();
                return Redirect::back()
                               ->with('error', 'Payment failed: ' . $paymentResult['message']);
            }

        } catch (Exception $e) {
            DB::rollBack();
            Log::error('Checkout error: ' . $e->getMessage());
            return Redirect::back()->with('error', 'An error occurred during checkout');
        }
    }

    private function calculateTax($subtotal)
    {
        return $subtotal * 0.08; // 8% tax
    }

    private function calculateShipping()
    {
        return 10.00; // Flat rate shipping
    }

    private function calculateOrderTotal($subtotal)
    {
        return $subtotal + $this->calculateTax($subtotal) + $this->calculateShipping();
    }
}

Product Catalog

<?php

class ShopController extends BaseController {

    public function index()
    {
        $products = Product::where('is_active', true)
                           ->with('categories', 'images')
                           ->paginate(12);

        $categories = Category::whereNull('parent_id')->get();

        return View::make('shop.index', compact('products', 'categories'));
    }

    public function category($slug)
    {
        $category = Category::where('slug', $slug)->firstOrFail();

        $products = $category->products()
                             ->where('is_active', true)
                             ->with('images')
                             ->paginate(12);

        return View::make('shop.category', compact('category', 'products'));
    }

    public function show($id)
    {
        $product = Product::with('categories', 'images', 'reviews')
                          ->findOrFail($id);

        $related = Product::whereHas('categories', function($query) use ($product) {
                                $query->whereIn('id', $product->categories->pluck('id'));
                            })
                           ->where('id', '!=', $product->id)
                           ->take(4)
                           ->get();

        return View::make('shop.product', compact('product', 'related'));
    }

    public function search()
    {
        $query = Input::get('q');

        $products = Product::where('is_active', true)
                           ->where(function($q) use ($query) {
                               $q->where('name', 'LIKE', "%{$query}%")
                                 ->orWhere('description', 'LIKE', "%{$query}%");
                           })
                           ->paginate(12);

        return View::make('shop.search', compact('products', 'query'));
    }
}

Inventory Management

// Update stock levels
Product::where('id', $productId)->decrement('quantity', $quantitySold);

// Low stock alert
$lowStockProducts = Product::where('quantity', '<', 10)->get();

// Stock history tracking
Schema::create('stock_movements', function($table) {
    $table->increments('id');
    $table->integer('product_id')->unsigned();
    $table->integer('quantity');  // Positive for additions, negative for sales
    $table->string('type');  // purchase, sale, adjustment
    $table->text('notes')->nullable();
    $table->timestamps();
});

Security Considerations

1. Validate all inputs
2. Use CSRF protection (Laravel includes this)
3. Sanitize product data before display
4. Secure payment processing - never store credit cards
5. Use HTTPS in production
6. Implement rate limiting on checkout

Performance Optimization

// Cache product catalog
$products = Cache::remember('products.featured', 60, function() {
    return Product::where('is_featured', true)->with('images')->get();
});

// Eager load relationships
$orders = Order::with('items.product', 'user')->get();

// Optimize images
// Use Intervention Image for thumbnails
$img = Image::make('uploads/product.jpg');
$img->resize(300, 200);
$img->save('uploads/thumbnails/product.jpg');

Conclusion

Building e-commerce platforms with Laravel gives you complete control and flexibility. While it requires more upfront development than using a platform like WooCommerce, the long-term benefits—performance, customization, and scalability—make it worthwhile for businesses with unique requirements.

Need a custom e-commerce solution? Contact ZIRA Software to discuss your project. We've built successful e-commerce platforms processing millions in annual revenue.