How to Build a Laravel 11 CRUD from Scratch for Beginners

CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) is the foundation of almost every web application. Once you master it in Laravel, building any feature — from a point-of-sale app to an inventory system — becomes far easier because the pattern repeats. This tutorial builds a complete product CRUD in Laravel 11 from scratch, with code you can copy and understand.

1. Prepare the Table with a Migration

Instead of creating the table by hand in phpMyAdmin, use a migration so the database structure is tracked in code. Create the model and its migration together:

php artisan make:model Product -m

Open the migration in database/migrations/ and define the columns:

public function up(): void
{
    Schema::create('products', function (Blueprint $table) {
        $table->id();
        $table->string('name');
        $table->integer('price');
        $table->integer('stock')->default(0);
        $table->text('description')->nullable();
        $table->timestamps();
    });
}

php artisan migrate

2. Set Up the Model

To mass-assign data via create() and update(), list the fillable columns in the $fillable property. This protects you from mass-assignment vulnerabilities:

class Product extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = ['name', 'price', 'stock', 'description'];
}

3. Create a Resource Controller

Laravel has a controller type that scaffolds all seven CRUD methods at once. Create it with the --resource flag:

php artisan make:controller ProductController --resource

Register a single route that maps all of them in routes/web.php:

use App\Http\Controllers\ProductController;

Route::resource('products', ProductController::class);

Run php artisan route:list to see the index, create, store, edit, update, and destroy routes created automatically.

4. Display and Store Data

public function index()
{
    $products = Product::latest()->paginate(10);
    return view('products.index', compact('products'));
}

public function store(StoreProductRequest $request)
{
    Product::create($request->validated());
    return redirect()->route('products.index')
        ->with('success', 'Product created.');
}

5. Clean Validation with Form Requests

Note the StoreProductRequest parameter above. Rather than piling validation rules in the controller, move them to a dedicated class so the controller stays clean:

php artisan make:request StoreProductRequest

public function rules(): array
{
    return [
        'name'  => 'required|string|max:255',
        'price' => 'required|integer|min:0',
        'stock' => 'required|integer|min:0',
    ];
}

When validation fails, Laravel automatically redirects the user back to the form with the error messages — no extra code needed.

6. A Simple Blade View

@foreach ($products as $product)
    <tr>
        <td>{{ $product->name }}</td>
        <td>{{ number_format($product->price) }}</td>
        <td>{{ $product->stock }}</td>
    </tr>
@endforeach

{{ $products->links() }}

The {{ $products->links() }} line renders pagination navigation automatically.

7. Update and Delete

Thanks to route model binding, Laravel finds the record by the ID in the URL for you:

public function update(StoreProductRequest $request, Product $product)
{
    $product->update($request->validated());
    return redirect()->route('products.index')
        ->with('success', 'Product updated.');
}

public function destroy(Product $product)
{
    $product->delete();
    return back()->with('success', 'Product deleted.');
}

Adding Search & Pagination

Real apps need search. Use when() so the filter only applies when a keyword is present:

$products = Product::query()
    ->when($request->q, fn($query) =>
        $query->where('name', 'like', '%'.$request->q.'%'))
    ->latest()
    ->paginate(10)
    ->withQueryString();

withQueryString() keeps the search term when moving between pages.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Forgetting $fillable: causes a MassAssignmentException on create().
• Skipping validation: dirty data reaches the database and opens security holes.
• Putting all logic in the controller: use Form Requests and, for complex logic, a Service class.

With these seven steps you have a complete, safe, and clean CRUD. Repeat the same pattern for other entities such as customers, transactions, or categories — which is exactly why mastering CRUD makes every future build feel much faster.