Install Laravel using Composer

Stefan Izdrail

Founder & Senior Architect · 2026-06-29

Laravel Company
Title: Efficiently Install Laravel using Composer for Smooth Development Introduction: In recent years, Laravel has become one of the most popular frameworks for developing web applications. Its robust features and ease of use have made it a favorite among developers worldwide. Understanding how to install Laravel through Composer is essential for getting started with this powerful framework. This blog post will walk you through the installation process step by step while incorporating proven best practices. Body: Installation through Composer is the recommended method for setting up your Laravel project as it ensures a clean, stable environment for development. Follow these steps to install Laravel using Composer: 1. Ensure that you have PHP and Composer installed on your system. You can download PHP from https://www.php.net/downloads.aspx and Composer by following the instructions at https://getcomposer.org/doc/00-intro.md#installation-linux-unix-osxs or https://getcomposer.org/doc/00-intro.md#installation-windows for Windows users. 2. Create a new folder on your local machine to host the Laravel project, and save it under `c/xampp/htdocs`, as described in the initial query: `c/xampp/htdocs/laravelCMS`. This will allow you to access the project through XAMPP or any other web server. 3. Open your terminal or command line interface (CLI), and change to the directory where you just created the Laravel folder, i.e., `cd c/xampp/htdocs/laravelCMS`. Hereafter, refer to this location as ``. 4. Launch Composer inside the project folder by running: composer create-project laravel/laravel cmsLaravel 5.2 --prefer-dist This command will install Laravel and all its dependencies in your specified location using the Laravel 5.2 version, as mentioned above. The `--prefer-dist` flag ensures that you get the latest stable release from the Laravel distribution. After running this command, Composer may take a few moments to download and install the required packages. Keep calm and let it do its work! 5. Once Composer finishes installation, you can test your Laravel project by browsing to `http://localhost/laravelCMS` (or whatever URL you have assigned) in your web browser. If everything is installed correctly, you should see the Laravel welcome screen with a default application layout. 6. However, if this step fails and you encounter an error similar to the one shared initially, it could be due to file permissions or other configuration issues. In such cases, verify that the project directory has proper read/write access for your user account, and ensure the web server's document root is configured correctly in your XAMPP settings. Conclusion: Installing Laravel using Composer offers a hassle-free approach to set up your Laravel project. By following these guidelines and paying attention to file paths and permissions, you can easily create an efficient development environment for building powerful applications with Laravel. For additional assistance or inquiries on this topic, feel free to consult our experts at https://laravelcompany.com/contact who are always ready to guide you through the process.