How to host Laravel on Hostinger VPS - ServerAvatar

Laravel is an open-source PHP framework designed to enhance the development process by providing robust tools and features. It simplifies building applications with its syntax and modular structure. Laravel provides extensive routing, authentication, and data management solutions, enabling developers to easily create customized applications. For hosting Laravel, Hostinger provides a reliable and scalable infrastructure with simple deployment features. ServerAvatar simplifies the setup process by offering easy-to-follow steps for installing Laravel application on a Hostinger VPS, ensuring a seamless and efficient deployment.

Create a VPS in Hostinger

Getting started with Hostinger:

Discover how simple it is to create an account and set up a cloud VPS on Hostinger, one of the top hosting providers. Follow our step-by-step guide to swiftly establish your account to deploy a server and complete its initial setup.

What Is Hostinger?

Hostinger is a popular web hosting company known for its affordable hosting solutions and user-friendly interface, offering services like domain registration, website hosting, and cloud hosting to help individuals and businesses manage their online presence effectively.

Step 1: Create an account

• Log in to your Hostinger account. If you don’t have an account, create an account on Hostinger.
• After login, Click on the VPS option as shown in the image below.

Step 2: Select the plan

• Next, you will see various plans offering different specifications for hosting your VPS. Select the plan that best fits your requirements.

Step 3: Complete your Payment

• Now, you have to proceed to complete the payment for your VPS plan.

Step 4: Start with Setup

• Once the payment is complete, you will be redirected to the page to begin setting up your VPS. Click on the Start Now option to proceed.

Step 5: Select Location

• Next, you have to select the location for your server. Hostinger provides various locations for setting up your VPS.
• The general rule is to select the region that is closest to your audience. It means that for the majority of your audience, Your sites will load faster due to lower latency.

Step 6: Select an Operating System

• In this step, you need to select your server operating system.
• The Laravel application generally requires Ubuntu 20.04 LTS or a later version for compatibility and support. ServerAvatar supports both Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. Therefore, choose one of these supported operating systems.

Step 7: Adding Additional Feature (Optional)

• The next option is to install an additional feature to your VPS. You can enable the malware scanner by selecting the provided checkbox. This step is optional; if you want to add it, select the checkbox and click on Continue.

Step 8: Login Method

• Next, you need to set a Root Password for your VPS and provide a Hostname. Additionally, you can add an SSH Key, which is optional. Once you have completed these steps, click on Continue.

Step 9: Finalise Details

• In the last step of this process, you need to verify the VPS information. Click on the Finish Setup option to complete the setup process.

• After clicking the Finish Setup button, You can see the Initiating Setup process as displayed in the image below.

Step 10: VPS Management and SSH Key Access

• Once the setup is complete, you will find the option to Manage VPS, allowing you to manage your VPS from its Custom Dashboard. Additionally, you will have the SSH Access option, which enables server access via Terminal.

• Congratulations! You have successfully created your Hostinger VPS, which is now ready to connect with ServerAvatar.

Initial Server Configuration

The Initial server configuration includes the installation and configuration of various packages required to host your website. Usually, You have to write commands and modify configuration files. Luckily, With ServerAvatar, Your full server configuration and optimization can be automated.

Here are the three ways to automatically configure your server with ServerAvatar.

wget https://srvr.so/install
chmod +x install
./install

Install and Setup Laravel on Cloud using ServerAvatar

Getting Started With Laravel:

Laravel is a PHP-based Framework that helps you build your application with elegant syntax and provides a variety of features. Laravel provides an amazing developer experience. There are lots of features and tools that are given by Laravel’s environment so that developers can use them to create something new. Laravel is based on MVC (Model, View, Controller) architecture. Laravel is the best choice for small or large projects and full-stack web applications.

Key Features:

• Open Source: Laravel is open-source, so you have the flexibility to build applications according to your needs.
• Extensible: Laravel offers the capability to enhance your web application through a wide range of features and tools.
• Developer-Friendly: Laravel provides an expressive framework with elegant syntax and a scalable environment, and it speeds up your development while maintaining ease of use.
• Secure: Laravel provides various Authentication processes and middleware to enhance the security of your web application.

Let's begin by creating the application.

Step 1: Create a GitHub application

Start by creating a GitHub Application using ServerAvatar. Go to the Applications tab on the server panel and click on the Create button as shown in the image below.

On the following screen, fill in the Application details, including:

• Application Name: enter your Application Name.
• Select Domain: Select between a Test Domain or a Primary Domain as per your requirements.
• Enter Domain: Enter your Application Domain.
• Method: Select Git as your application method.
• Service Provider: Select GitHub as service provider for cloning the repository.
• Repository Type: Public
• Clone HTTPS URL: https://github.com/laravel/laravel.git
• Branch: master
• Deployment Script: composer update (to update the composer after cloning)

Now, your Application is ready. You can see your Application in the Dashboard.

Step 2: Create a Database

To create a Database that stores your confidential data, Go to the Dashboard and click on the Databases option. Enter Your Database name and just hit on the “Create a Database” button as shown in the image below.

After successfully creating a Database, you can see your Database in the Databases Dashboard.

Step 3: SSH Setup and env Configuration

• First, go to the Application Dashboard and enable SFTP/SSH Credentials as shown in the below image.

• After, enabling SFTP/SSH, you can log in to your server. Open a terminal and use the following command: sudo ssh {username}@{ip}
• Replace {username} with your actual Username and {ip} with your server's IP address. You will be prompted to enter your password. After successful authentication, you will have remote access to your server.
• Navigate to your Application Path by running the following command: cd LaravelApplication/public_html/

• Next, you need to copy the .env.example file to the .env file.
• Command for Copy: cp .env.example .env

Step 4: Generate App Key

• Next, you need to generate an APP_KEY in your .env file. To generate the key, execute the following command.
• Command: php artisan key:generate

Step 5: Configure .env file

• Navigate to the Application Panel access the FIle Manager option and open the public_html folder. Then, click on the Show Hidden Files option.

• Open the .env file by clicking on it.

• As shown in the image below, change the APP_URL from http://localhost to your-application-domain in the .env file.
• Edit and update your application's database details.

• To find your database credentials, navigate to the Databases section in the server panel and click on the manage users icon next to the database you have set up for your application.

• You can see your Database credentials as shown in the image below.

Step 6: Migrate Database Tables

• Now, you have to migrate your Database tables. Execute the following command.
• Command: php artisan migrate

Step 7: Update Custom Webroot

• To run your application on a server, you must set your Custom Webroot to public. To update this setting, navigate to the Settings option in the sidebar of your application.
• Add public in the Custom Webroot Section and click on Update Custom Webroot as shown in the below image.

Step 8: Access Laravel

• Now, to access Laravel, open your web browser and enter your site's domain.
  • Example: http://lara.satesting1.click
  • For instance: http://your-application-domain

Conclusion :

• Deploying your PHP Laravel application with ServerAvatar simplifies the entire process, ensuring a smooth and efficient setup. Each step is straightforward and well-guided, from creating the application and database to configuring server settings and migrating database tables.
• Laravel's robust features, combined with ServerAvatar’s user-friendly interface, make it an excellent choice for developers looking to deploy applications quickly and securely.
• Following the detailed steps outlined in this guide, you can confidently launch your Laravel application and take advantage of the powerful tools and environment both Laravel and ServerAvatar provide.