Laravel provides a powerful and elegant templating engine called Blade. Blade allows developers to use dynamic content, inheritance, components, and templates in a clean and expressive way. Among its many features, layout inheritance is one of the most important. It helps you structure your views efficiently, avoids code duplication, and maintains a consistent design across all pages.
A Blade layout acts as a master template for your web pages. It includes reusable sections such as a header, footer, navigation menu, sidebar, scripts, and anything that is common across multiple views. Instead of repeating the same markup in every file, Blade offers an approach that lets you extract the common layout into a single template and extend it from other views.
This article explains in approximately 3000 words the concept of Blade layouts, how they work, why they matter, and how to build them effectively. The examples you provided will be expanded into a complete guide suitable for beginners and intermediate Laravel developers who want to build efficient, clean, and scalable applications.
Understanding the Role of Views in Laravel
Before learning how to create Blade layouts, it is essential to understand what a view is within the Laravel framework. Views are responsible for rendering the user interface of the application. They contain the HTML, Blade syntax, and data passed from controllers. They do not contain business logic; that stays in controllers or models.
In a typical Laravel project, views are stored in the following directory:
resources/views
Inside this directory, you can create files ending in .blade.php. Laravel automatically recognizes these files as Blade templates. Views can be as simple as plain HTML or as dynamic as full templates with injected data and conditional statements.
To maintain a large application, simply creating separate views is not enough. Without a proper structure, the application will quickly grow inconsistent and difficult to maintain. This is where Blade layouts come in.
The Importance of Layouts in Modern Web Applications
Most modern websites and web applications share a consistent visual structure across many pages. Elements like navigation bars, sidebars, headers, footers, and scripts are reused on every page. Without a layout system, you would need to copy and paste these elements into every view file manually.
Repeated code causes several issues. It increases the size of your codebase, makes maintenance harder, and causes inconsistencies when updates occur. Layout inheritance solves these issues.
In Laravel, Blade layouts allow you to create a master template and then extend it in child views. This results in clean, simple files that only contain page-specific content, while the layout handles everything else.
Creating the Layout Folder and Structure
In a well-organized Laravel project, layouts are stored inside a dedicated directory such as:
resources/views/layouts
Storing layout files here keeps them separate from regular views. You can create this folder manually or using your editor.
Inside this folder, you will create the layout file that will act as the master template for your application. The name is based on your preference, but common choices include:
main.blade.php
app.blade.php
master.blade.php
base.blade.php
For the example you provided, we will use the name main.blade.php.
Inside resources/views/layouts, create a new file:
main.blade.php
Creating the Main Layout File
A basic Blade layout includes HTML structure and the @yield directives that represent specific sections child views can insert content into.
Here is the exact structure you provided:
<html>
<body>
@yield('content')
</body>
</html>
This is one of the simplest layouts possible. It contains a single yield section named content. Child views that extend this layout will define a section named content and insert their own HTML into it.
Although this example is minimal, it demonstrates the core concept of Blade layouts. The layout contains the overall structure, and the child views fill in the details.
Understanding the @yield Directive
The @yield directive defines a section placeholder inside the layout. It is essentially a named location in the template where the content from the child view will be inserted.
In the example above:
@yield(‘content’)
Laravel will search for a section named content inside the child view. When it finds such a section, it injects the content into this location.
If the child view does not define this section, Laravel will not display any content in that location (unless a default value is provided). Multiple @yield statements can be used in one layout, each representing a different part of the template.
Common examples include:
@yield(‘content’)
@yield(‘title’)
@yield(‘header’)
@yield(‘footer-scripts’)
This makes layouts flexible and allows developers to customize specific parts of the page.
Creating a Child View that Extends the Layout
A child view is a template that extends a layout and fills the sections defined in the layout using the @section directive.
Here is the example you provided:
@extends('layouts.main')
@section('content')
<h1>Home Page</h1>
@endsection
This is a simple child view that uses the layouts.main layout and defines a section called content. Because the main layout contains @yield(‘content’), the HTML inside @section(‘content’) will be inserted into that location.
The @extends directive tells Laravel which layout file to use as the base template. The syntax follows the dot notation in Blade:
layouts.main
This represents:
resources/views/layouts/main.blade.php
The file extension is omitted.
How @extends Works in Blade
The @extends directive must always be the first statement in the child view. If it is not placed at the top, Blade may not properly inherit the layout.
When Blade compiles the templates, it merges the child view into the layout wherever the corresponding @yield tag exists. This is a powerful technique because it allows you to keep your views clean and modular.
Developers can easily update the layout without touching the individual view files. For example, if you want to add a navigation bar or a footer, you can do it in the layout file, and every child view automatically benefits.
How @section and @endsection Work
The @section directive marks the beginning of a block of content. The section is then closed by @endsection. Anything inside this block gets inserted into the corresponding @yield directive in the layout.
In your example:
@section('content')
<h1>Home Page</h1>
@endsection
The section named content contains an h1 element. When merged with the layout, the result becomes:
<html>
<body>
<h1>Home Page</h1>
</body>
</html>
This demonstrates how Blade combines the layout and child views to create the final rendered HTML.
Expanding the Layout with Additional Sections
As applications grow, a simple content section is not enough. Most real-world layouts contain multiple sections to handle titles, styles, scripts, sidebars, banners, and more.
Here is an expanded example of a typical layout:
<html>
<head>
<title>@yield('title')</title>
</head>
<body>
<header>
@yield('header')
</header>
<main>
@yield('content')
</main>
<footer>
@yield('footer')
</footer>
</body>
</html>
A child view extending this layout may look like:
@extends('layouts.main')
@section('title')
Homepage
@endsection
@section('header')
Welcome to the site
@endsection
@section('content')
<h1>Home Page</h1>
<p>This is the main content area.</p>
@endsection
@section('footer')
<p>Footer information here.</p>
@endsection
The Blade engine seamlessly merges these into a complete HTML document. This shows the flexibility Blade offers in structuring files.
Using @section with @show
Blade also offers an alternative to @yield called @section with @show. This displays the section immediately without requiring @yield.
Example:
@section('navigation')
<p>This is the navigation menu</p>
@show
This is useful when you want to define default content inside the layout and optionally allow child views to override or append to it.
Adding Default Values to @yield
You can provide a default value for a yield section. For example:
@yield(‘title’, ‘Default Page Title’)
If the child view does not define a title section, the default will be displayed. This approach helps prevent missing content and gives structure to your templates.
Nesting Layouts in Larger Applications
In complex applications, it is often useful to nest layouts. A main layout may define the general HTML structure, while a secondary layout may define a dashboard layout.
For example:
main.blade.php
dashboard.blade.php
dashboard.blade.php might extend main.blade.php and include a sidebar. Then dashboard pages extend dashboard.blade.php.
This creates a multi-level inheritance system that is both clean and powerful.
The Relationship Between Blade Layouts and Components
Laravel also offers components, which are reusable templates similar to layouts but used for smaller UI elements. While layouts define full-page structure, components represent reusable pieces such as buttons, cards, forms, alerts, and navigation bars.
Both layouts and components can coexist. A layout defines the skeleton, while components fill in parts of the page.
Using Blade Sections for Scripts and Styles
Common practice is to include sections for custom scripts or styles that change per page. For example:
<head>
@yield('styles')
</head>
<body>
@yield('content')
@yield('scripts')
</body>
A child view can define only the needed ones:
@section('styles')
<style>
h1 { color: blue; }
</style>
@endsection
Why Blade Layouts Reduce Code Duplication
Without Blade layouts, every view file would need a full HTML structure. Updating a small detail such as the footer text would require editing many different files. Blade solves this problem by isolating the reusable structure in one place.
Once a layout is created, it ensures:
Consistent UI
Easier updates
Less duplication
Better file organization
Cleaner separation of concerns
These benefits are essential for scalability.
Real-World Example of a Complete Layout System
A modern application might include the following layout structure:
resources/views/layouts
resources/views/components
resources/views/includes
resources/views/pages
Layouts contain the frames
Components contain UI building blocks
Includes contain partial view files
Pages extend layouts
This organization leads to clean, modular, and reusable code.
Blade Layouts and Responsive Design
When building responsive interfaces using frameworks like Bootstrap or Tailwind CSS, layouts become even more essential. The layout includes the core stylesheet links, script tags, and container structure.
Child views only focus on the individual pages without worrying about CSS imports or meta tags.
Using Layouts with Controllers
Blade layouts integrate perfectly with controllers. When a controller returns a view, the view inherits the layout structure automatically.
Example controller:
public function home()
{
return view('home');
}
If home.blade.php extends the main layout, the page will render within the master template. This is how MVC flow connects controllers and views in Laravel.
Layouts in Large Teams and Collaborative Projects
In team environments, consistent layouts help maintain uniformity across developers. One developer may work on the layout while others build features. Because everyone extends the same layout, the final application stays consistent.
Blade layouts also encourage code readability. New developers can immediately understand the project structure by examining the layout folder.
Troubleshooting Common Issues with Blade Layouts
Several common mistakes can occur when working with layouts. These include:
Using @extends in the wrong location
Misspelling section names
Incorrect directory structure
Forgetting to create the layouts directory
Using yield instead of section in child views
Forgetting to close @section with @endsection
Understanding and avoiding these issues is important for smooth development.
Layout Extensibility and Future Growth
The layout system grows with your project. You can add:
Dynamic titles
Breadcrumbs
Script stacks
Navigation menus
Language toggles
User profile information
Blade offers many directives beyond @yield and @section, such as @include, @stack, @push, and @parent, all of which enhance layout flexibility.
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