Laravel route not defined error when it is clearly defined
Stefan Bogdanescu
Founder & Senior Architect · 2026-06-29
# Solving the Laravel Route Not Defined Error in Form Submissions
As a developer working with Laravel, one of the most common stumbling blocks, especially when dealing with form submissions and Blade templating, is encountering the dreaded `Route [route_name] not defined` error. This often happens when we try to use the `route()` helper function, expecting Laravel to magically know about a route that we have clearly defined in our `web.php` file.
This post will dive deep into why this error occurs in scenarios involving POST requests, analyze your provided code structure, and provide the definitive solution to ensure your form submissions work flawlessly. We will cover best practices for naming routes so that your application remains clean, predictable, and maintainable.
---
## The Root Cause: Route Naming Conventions
The error `Route [become-a-customer] not defined` is a direct signal from Laravel telling you that it cannot find any route explicitly named `become-a-customer`. Even if you define a route using `Route::post(...)`, you must explicitly assign it a unique name if you intend to reference it later using the `route()` helper.
In your example, you defined the route like this:
```php
Route::post('/become-a-customer', 'BecomeACustomerFormController@postBecomeACustomer');
```
While this successfully maps the URL and controller action, it does not automatically register a named route accessible via the `route()` helper unless explicitly told to do so.
When you use `{{ route('become-a-customer') }}`, Laravel looks for a route entry with that exact name in its route collection. If you omit the naming step, the link breaks.
## The Correct Implementation: Naming Your Routes
To resolve this, we need to explicitly assign a name to our POST route. This is a fundamental best practice in large-scale Laravel applications, as it decouples your views from the internal URL structure.
### Step 1: Defining the Route with a Name
In your `web.php` file, you should use the `->name()` method when defining routes. For form submissions, we typically name the route after the action (e.g., `become-a-customer`).
**Corrected `web.php` snippet:**
```php
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;
// Define the POST route and explicitly name it 'become-a-customer'
Route::post('/become-a-customer', 'BecomeACustomerFormController@postBecomeACustomer')->name('become-a-customer');
```
By adding `->name('become-a-customer')`, you are telling Laravel: "This specific route, which handles the POST to `/become-a-customer`, should be referred to by the name `become-a-customer`."
### Step 2: Using the Route in the Blade Template