Context
Laravel Magazine is an online publication for the Laravel ecosystem: technical articles, podcast, a product and service directory, and an active community on Telegram and Discord. The site needed to be fast, easy to manage, work as a content platform but also as a web app with authentication, subscriptions, and a directory with paid listings.
What we built
Two integrated systems: a publishing site on Statamic (a flat-file CMS built on Laravel) and a web application for the product directory with user dashboard, Stripe subscriptions, review system, and Filament admin panel. Plus automations for Telegram, Discord, and git publishing.
Editorial site (Statamic)
Content is managed through Statamic 5, a CMS built on Laravel that stores everything in Markdown files, not a database. This means Git versioning, instant deploys, and zero database dependency for content.
Three content collections: technical articles, podcast, and blog. Each with featured images, categories, authors, and auto-generated RSS/Atom feeds via Feedamic. Code block syntax highlighting through Torchlight.
Auto-commit to Git on publish
When an editor publishes an article from the Statamic panel on the live server, a Laravel listener detects the event (EntrySaved, AssetUploaded) and automatically runs git add + commit + push. Changes in content/, assets/, and blueprints/ are committed automatically. Zero manual intervention, zero risk of lost content.
Automatic posting to Telegram and Discord
When a new article is created, a listener automatically sends a formatted message to the Laravel Magazine Telegram channel and a Discord embed with title, link, and preview. Content distribution is fully automated.
Laravel product directory
A complete web application integrated into the site: users register, create a profile, submit listings (products, services, tools from the Laravel ecosystem), and can promote listings through paid plans.
- User dashboard with listing management, profile, and payments
- Review system with moderation and dispute resolution
- Categories and tags for filtering and discovery
- Status workflow: pending, approved, rejected
- Promotion: featured and promoted listings through subscriptions
- SEO: meta title and description per listing
Stripe subscriptions and payments
Full Stripe integration: checkout sessions for one-time payments (listing submission), recurring subscriptions for promotion (monthly/yearly), upgrade/downgrade with proration, and a robust webhook handler with idempotency gate. 5 Stripe event types processed: checkout completed, invoice paid, subscription updated, subscription deleted, payment failed.
Filament admin panel
The admin panel is built with Filament v3: 6 complete resources (Categories, Listings, Reviews, Users, Plans, Payments), directory stats widget, and full directory content management without touching code.
Mailchimp newsletter
The newsletter form integrates with Mailchimp: subscribers are automatically added to the audience tagged "Laravel Magazine Newsletter", opt-in only. Transactional emails (listing notifications, payments) are sent through Resend.
Branding & logo
We designed the Laravel Magazine logo as an LM monogram that echoes the iconic Laravel logo shape. The L and M are built using the same isometric cube style, making the connection to the Laravel ecosystem instant and unmistakable.
Design
Dark interface with red accents, built on Tailwind CSS with Geist Sans typography. Responsive layout with custom xs:320px breakpoint. Alpine.js for lightweight interactivity (dropdowns, toggles, search). 13 Livewire components for directory interactive features (auth, submit, dashboard).
Tech stack
Laravel 10, Statamic 5 (CMS), Filament 3 (admin), Livewire 3 (interactive components), Alpine.js (frontend reactivity), Tailwind CSS 3 with Typography plugin, Vite 4 (build), Stripe PHP (billing), Resend (transactional email), Mailchimp (newsletter), Torchlight (syntax highlighting), Feedamic (RSS/Atom feeds).
SEO and authority
Solid domain authority built through quality technical content, consistent publishing, and automated distribution on Telegram/Discord. Meta fields per listing for directory indexing. RSS/Atom feeds for articles, podcast, and blog. Fully responsive site, optimized for Core Web Vitals.
Results
A platform that combines editorial (Statamic), web application (directory with subscriptions), and automations (git auto-commit, Telegram/Discord posting) in a single cohesive product. Publishing an article propagates automatically: saved on server, committed to Git, posted to Telegram and Discord, included in RSS feed, without a single extra click.
