Laravel How To Use Partial Templates

Mon, Mar 25, 2024 5:42 PM

Having struggled with repetitive code and maintenance issues for years, I have found that Laravel's partial templates are an excellent pattern to use for repetitive views.

Conventional Templates' Issue

I recall looking at my first big Laravel project, which had dozens of views with identical footers, sidebar code, and navigation bars. I had to update the navigation in several files each time the client requested a change. The situation was a maintenance nightmare in the making.

Getting to Know Partial Templates

Consider partials as the building blocks of your web applications. You make reusable parts that fit together rather than starting from scratch every time. I structure my partials as follows:

resources/
└── views/
    └── partials/
        ├── navbar.blade.php
        ├── sidebar.blade.php
        └── footer.blade.php

Trial and error taught me this structure, which I now use as my standard organizational pattern for my projects.

Creating Your First Partial

Let us begin with something easy. This is a partial navbar that I use a lot:

<!-- resources/views/partials/navbar.blade.php -->
<nav class="bg-white shadow">
    <div class="max-w-7xl mx-auto px-4">
        <div class="flex justify-between h-16">
            <div class="flex">
                {{ $logo ?? 'My App' }}
            </div>
            {{-- Navigation items --}}
            @auth
                @include('partials.nav-items')
            @endauth
        </div>
    </div>
</nav>

Including Partials

This is where the magic takes place. In your primary layout:

<body>
    @include('partials.navbar')
    
    <main class="container">
        @yield('content')
    </main>

    @include('partials.footer')
</body>

Real-World Applications

I used partials in a recent project to cut down on the amount of time we spent maintaining our template by 60%. This is what I discovered:

Data Transfer: Intelligently pass data rather than packing everything into one partial:

@include('partials.sidebar', [
    'menuItems' => $navigation,
    'activeItem' => $currentRoute
])

Conditional loading: Depending on the type of user, you may require different components:

@includeWhen(auth()->user()->isAdmin(), 'partials.admin-tools')

Advanced Techniques I've Discovered

After years of working with partials, I have discovered some potent patterns:

Dynamic Partials with @each When dealing with repeating elements like blog posts or cards:

@each('partials.post-card', $posts, 'post', 'partials.no-posts')

Nested Partials: Feel free to incorporate partials inside partials, but do so sensibly:

<!-- partials/dashboard-widget.blade.php -->
<div class="widget">
    @include('partials.widget-header')
    @include('partials.widget-content')
</div>

Best Practices From Experience

I have discovered that the following works best:

Maintain partial focus on a single context.
Make use of meaningful names that convey the function of the component.
Note any necessary variables at the beginning of your partial
For your partials, think about making a style guide.

Partials are effective, but they are not a one-stop solution. I have witnessed developers produce an excessive number of small partials, which complicates the readability of their applications. For your project, find the ideal balance.

Building Laravel applications has changed significantly as a result of partial templates. In addition to making my code easier to maintain, they have also greatly facilitated my ability to work with other developers.

When beginning with partials, start with standard components such as headers and footers. Increase the complexity of the components as you become more comfortable. Keep in mind that the objective is to make your code easier to maintain rather than more complex.

Have you used Laravel partials before? Have any intriguing patterns caught your attention? Tell me about your experience.

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