{"id":446,"date":"2025-08-27T22:05:34","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T22:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1v0.net\/blog\/?p=446"},"modified":"2025-08-27T22:05:36","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T22:05:36","slug":"how-to-deploy-laravel-to-shared-hosting-step-by-step","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1v0.net\/blog\/how-to-deploy-laravel-to-shared-hosting-step-by-step\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Deploy Laravel to Shared Hosting (Step by Step)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How to Deploy Laravel to Shared Hosting (Step by Step)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Not every project requires cloud infrastructure like AWS or DigitalOcean. Sometimes, you just need to put a Laravel 12 app on traditional shared hosting<\/strong>. While shared hosting environments are limited (no root access, limited SSH, restricted PHP extensions), you can still successfully deploy Laravel apps with a few adjustments. In this guide, we\u2019ll cover a step-by-step process to deploy Laravel on shared hosting the right way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1 \u2014 Prepare Your Laravel App Locally<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Before uploading to your hosting server, you should optimize and clean your Laravel project.<\/p>\n\n\n

# On your local machine<\/span>\ncomposer install --optimize-autoloader --no-dev\nnpm run build\n\nphp artisan config:cache\nphp artisan route:cache\nphp artisan view:cache<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> Bash<\/span> (<\/span>bash<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
This installs only production dependencies, compiles frontend assets (via Vite), and caches configuration, routes, and views for speed. By doing this locally, you avoid heavy Composer or NPM installs on your shared host (where resources are often limited).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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2 \u2014 Adjust the Public Directory<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Shared hosting usually points the web root to public_html\/<\/code>. Laravel, however, expects public\/<\/code> as its entry point. To fix this, move your project and update paths.<\/p>\n\n\n
# Folder structure after moving<\/span>\n\/my-app\n  \/app\n  \/bootstrap\n  \/config\n  \/database\n  \/public (renamed or moved to \/public_html)\n  \/resources\n  \/routes\n  \/vendor\n  .env\n  artisan<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> Bash<\/span> (<\/span>bash<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Move everything except<\/em> the public\/<\/code> folder outside of public_html\/<\/code>. Then, copy the contents of public\/<\/code> into public_html\/<\/code>. This keeps your sensitive files out of the web root while still serving assets and index.php<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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3 \u2014 Update index.php Paths<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Because public\/index.php<\/code> is now inside public_html\/<\/code>, you need to update the paths to point to your Laravel root.<\/p>\n\n\n
\/\/ public_html\/index.php<\/span>\n\nrequire<\/span> __DIR__<\/span>.'\/..\/vendor\/autoload.php'<\/span>;\n\n$app = require_once<\/span> __DIR__<\/span>.'\/..\/bootstrap\/app.php'<\/span>;<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
The ..\/<\/code> ensures Laravel loads from the parent directory (where vendor\/<\/code> and bootstrap\/<\/code> are stored). Without this, your app will break on shared hosting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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4 \u2014 Configure .env for Shared Hosting<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Edit your .env<\/code> file to match the hosting provider\u2019s database credentials and environment settings.<\/p>\n\n\nAPP_ENV=production\nAPP_KEY=base64:xxxxxx\nAPP_DEBUG=false\nAPP_URL=https:\/\/yourdomain.com\n\nDB_CONNECTION=mysql\nDB_HOST=127.0.0.1\nDB_PORT=3306\nDB_DATABASE=your_db\nDB_USERNAME=your_user\nDB_PASSWORD=your_pass\n\n\n
Most shared hosts provide database info in cPanel (MySQL Databases section). Always set APP_DEBUG=false<\/code> in production to avoid leaking sensitive details.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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5 \u2014 Upload Your Project<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Zip your project locally (excluding node_modules<\/code>) and upload via FTP or cPanel\u2019s File Manager. Then extract the zip on the server.<\/p>\n\n\n
# Example of excluding node_modules<\/span>\nzip -r app.zip . -x \"node_modules\/*\"<\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> Bash<\/span> (<\/span>bash<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
Extract the archive so the Laravel core files are one level above public_html<\/code>. Ensure storage<\/code> and bootstrap\/cache<\/code> directories are writable (set permissions to 775).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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6 \u2014 Configure .htaccess<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Most shared hosting environments run Apache. Add or edit public_html\/.htaccess<\/code> for Laravel\u2019s routing.<\/p>\n\n\n
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c><\/span>\n    <IfModule mod_negotiation.c><\/span>\n        Options<\/span><\/span> -MultiViews -Indexes\n    <\/IfModule><\/span>\n\n    RewriteEngine<\/span><\/span> On<\/span>\n    RewriteCond<\/span><\/span> %{REQUEST_FILENAME}<\/span> !-d\n    RewriteCond<\/span><\/span> %{REQUEST_FILENAME}<\/span> !-f\n    RewriteRule<\/span><\/span> ^ index.php [L]<\/span>\n<\/IfModule><\/span><\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> Apache<\/span> (<\/span>apache<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
This routes all non-file requests through index.php<\/code>, which boots Laravel. Without it, URLs like \/dashboard<\/code> will 404.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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7 \u2014 Run Migrations and Storage Link<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
If you have SSH access, run migrations and link the storage folder. If not, you may need to use a route-based trick for one-time setup.<\/p>\n\n\n
# If SSH available<\/span>\nphp artisan migrate --force\nphp artisan storage:link<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> Bash<\/span> (<\/span>bash<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
--force<\/code> ensures migrations run in production. storage:link<\/code> makes uploaded files accessible from \/storage<\/code> in the browser. On hosts without SSH, you can temporarily create a route\/controller to call Artisan::call('migrate')<\/code> and then remove it for security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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8 \u2014 Deployment Check UI<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Since shared hosting often limits server monitoring, you can build a minimal admin-only status page to confirm database and storage health.<\/p>\n\n\n
\/\/ routes\/web.php<\/span>\nRoute::middleware(['auth'<\/span>, 'can:viewAdmin'<\/span>])->get('\/status'<\/span>, function<\/span> ()<\/span> <\/span>{\n    return<\/span> view('admin.shared-status'<\/span>, [\n        'db'<\/span> => DB::connection()->getDatabaseName(),\n        'storageWritable'<\/span> => is_writable(storage_path('app'<\/span>)),\n    ]);\n});<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> PHP<\/span> (<\/span>php<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
This route checks whether the database connection works and if the storage directory is writable.<\/p>\n\n\n
<!-- resources\/views\/admin\/shared-status.blade.php --><\/span>\n@extends('layouts.app')\n@section('content')\n<div<\/span> class<\/span>=\"container\"<\/span>><\/span>\n  <h1<\/span> class<\/span>=\"mb-4\"<\/span>><\/span>Shared Hosting Status<\/h1<\/span>><\/span>\n  <ul<\/span> class<\/span>=\"list-group\"<\/span>><\/span>\n    <li<\/span> class<\/span>=\"list-group-item\"<\/span>><\/span>Database: {{ $db ? $db : 'Not connected' }}<\/li<\/span>><\/span>\n    <li<\/span> class<\/span>=\"list-group-item\"<\/span>><\/span>Storage Writable: {{ $storageWritable ? 'Yes' : 'No' }}<\/li<\/span>><\/span>\n  <\/ul<\/span>><\/span>\n<\/div<\/span>><\/span>\n@endsection<\/code><\/span>Code language:<\/span> HTML, XML<\/span> (<\/span>xml<\/span>)<\/span><\/small><\/pre>\n\n\n
This simple page reassures you that your Laravel app is properly running on shared hosting, without needing advanced server access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Wrapping Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Deploying a Laravel 12 app on shared hosting requires some manual adjustments: moving the public<\/code> folder into public_html<\/code>, fixing index.php<\/code> paths, setting the correct .env<\/code>, and configuring .htaccess<\/code>. Once migrations and storage links are in place, your project will run smoothly\u2014even in limited environments. While shared hosting isn\u2019t ideal for large-scale apps, it\u2019s a cost-effective solution for small projects and MVPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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What\u2019s Next<\/h2>\n\n\n\n