PHP engineers who build Laravel backends, REST APIs, e-commerce platforms, and custom CMS integrations with full source code ownership.
Senior PHP developers with Laravel, WordPress, and e-commerce platform experience
Flexible models, part-time, full-time, or dedicated team
Start in days, not weeks
In short
RaftLabs provides PHP developers for hire who build production-grade backends including Laravel REST APIs, WooCommerce customizations, WordPress plugins, and PHP microservices. Available part-time, full-time, or as a dedicated team with full source code ownership. Engagements start within days. The team has shipped PHP applications for e-commerce businesses, content platforms, and companies with large legacy PHP codebases that need modernization with PHP 8 and Laravel.
Recognition
Legacy PHP codebase getting unmaintainable as the business grows?
Need PHP engineers who understand modern PHP 8 and Laravel, not just WordPress templates?
We work with businesses that run on PHP backends and need engineers who understand the language at a production level.
Most PHP projects reach a point where the codebase needs a senior engineer who can extend it properly. We embed in your existing PHP application, understand the data model, and build new features without introducing the architectural drift that plagues long-running codebases.
WooCommerce and Shopify both expose PHP customisation surfaces. We build custom plugins, checkout extensions, fulfilment integrations, and multi-warehouse inventory logic that the off-the-shelf plugins cannot handle.
WordPress works for content publishing. It does not work well for complex business logic or heavily customised workflows. We build custom PHP applications or hybrid solutions that keep WordPress for content while moving business logic where it belongs.
We provide PHP backend resource for client projects, working inside your delivery process, following your standards, and available at the capacity your project phase requires.
REST APIs built with Laravel, using Eloquent for data access, API resources for response shaping, Sanctum or Passport for authentication, and proper request validation and error handling throughout. Documented with OpenAPI so your frontend team can work independently.
Full PHP web applications with custom business logic, data modelling, and user interfaces. From SaaS platforms to internal operations tools, we build applications around your actual workflows, not a generic template adapted badly.
Custom WooCommerce plugins, payment gateway integrations, custom post types, and WordPress multisite configurations. We extend WordPress for complex publishing workflows and e-commerce use cases that outgrow the standard plugin ecosystem.
PHP 5 and PHP 7 codebases are increasingly hard to maintain. We audit legacy PHP applications, upgrade them to PHP 8, introduce PSR standards, add test coverage, and refactor the worst bottlenecks without disrupting production.
Poorly written SQL is the most common performance issue in PHP applications. We design schemas correctly from the start, write optimised queries using Laravel's query builder or raw SQL when needed, and fix N+1 problems before they reach production.
Breaking a monolithic PHP application into smaller services, or integrating third-party APIs into your PHP backend. We design the integration layer cleanly so external dependencies do not become internal coupling problems.
Senior PHP engineers, flexible engagement, full source code ownership.
Our engineers work with PHP 8 and understand what changed with named arguments, union types, fibers, and the JIT compiler. They write PHP that takes advantage of the language's current state, not code that looks like it was written in 2012.
Laravel is more than Artisan commands. Our engineers understand the service container, event broadcasting, queue workers, telescope for debugging, and how to structure a Laravel application for long-term maintainability.
Part-time for API feature work, full-time for a complete backend build, or a dedicated team for a larger platform. We match the model to your current project phase.
Senior PHP talent without local senior developer costs. No recruitment timeline, no benefits overhead, no notice period when you need to adjust the team.
Daily standups, sprint reviews, and weekly summaries at the cadence you set. You see what has been built and what is coming before you need to ask.
PHPUnit for unit and integration tests, Pest for expressive test syntax, and feature tests for the full HTTP layer. We write tests as part of delivery, not as a cleanup task afterward.
Tell us what you're building, the PHP version, the framework in use, and the scale you need. We'll match you with the right PHP engineers.
A 30-minute call to understand your existing PHP architecture, current pain points, and what the engineers need to deliver in the first sprint.
A clear proposal with team composition, timeline, and cost, before any commitment.
Engineers onboard in days. First sprint planned. Code being written within the first week.
Pricing
Dedicated senior engineers from $6,000/month (minimum pod $12,000/month).
Senior PHP engineers available in days. Fixed cost or monthly retainer. Full source code ownership.
Our primary focus is Laravel for new backend work. For existing Symfony projects, we have engineers with Symfony experience and can embed in those codebases. When starting a new project, we recommend Laravel because the ecosystem is larger, the tooling is more mature, and it is easier to onboard additional engineers when the team needs to grow.
Yes. Laravel with a REST API or GraphQL backend pairs with any JavaScript frontend. We have built Laravel backends consumed by React, Next.js, Vue, and mobile applications. The integration approach is the same: clean API contracts, consistent response structures, and proper authentication that your frontend team can work from.
PHP performance issues usually trace to unoptimised database queries, missing caching, or synchronous execution of tasks that should be async. We use Laravel's query builder and Eloquent efficiently, add Redis-backed caching for frequently read data, and move long-running operations to queue workers. For high-traffic applications, we also review the web server configuration and PHP-FPM pool settings.
Yes. Legacy PHP work is a specific skill. We audit the codebase first to understand the data model, the architecture decisions, and where the risk is concentrated. We then prioritise improvements that reduce the most risk or unlock the most velocity, rather than rewriting everything at once.