Laravel Mastery: Advanced Testing Strategies

12 minute read Laravel Mastery · Part 5

Master Laravel testing with strategies covering feature tests, mocking, database state, parallel testing, and how to structure tests for long-term scalability.

As Laravel applications grow, your test suite needs to scale with it. This guide covers how to go beyond basic feature tests and build a strategy that supports speed, confidence, and maintainability.

Why Testing Matters

A well-tested codebase:

  • Prevents regressions as the app evolves
  • Speeds up refactoring
  • Acts as living documentation
  • Supports CI/CD with confidence

Laravel ships with PHPUnit and a fluent test layer out of the box. Let’s push it further.

Organising Your Test Suite

Structure your tests by domain or layer:

tests/
├── Feature/
│   ├── Orders/
│   └── Users/
├── Unit/
├── Support/
│   └── Traits/
└── Dusk/

Use descriptive test class names like AdminCreatesOrdersTest.php and UserCheckoutFlowTest.php.

Feature vs Unit Tests

  • Feature tests: simulate real user interaction with routes, middleware, database
  • Unit tests: test classes/methods in isolation
// Feature
$this->post('/orders', [ ... ])->assertRedirect('/thanks');

// Unit
$order = new OrderService();
$this->assertTrue($order->isEligible($user));

Use feature tests to cover full flows and unit tests to protect business rules.

Database State Management

Use Laravel’s built-in traits:

  • RefreshDatabase – fresh DB each time
  • DatabaseTransactions – wrap each test in a rollback (faster)

Seed selectively with factories:

$user = User::factory()->create();

Use model states for clarity:

$admin = User::factory()->admin()->create();

Mocking & Spying

Mock external services or time-sensitive logic:

Mail::fake();
Notification::fake();
Queue::fake();

OrderPlaced::dispatch();

Mail::assertSent(OrderConfirmation::class);

Spy on specific calls:

Mail::assertSent(OrderConfirmation::class, function ($mail) use ($user) {
    return $mail->hasTo($user->email);
});

Parallel Testing

Speed up large suites with parallelisation:

php artisan test --parallel

This uses multiple cores to run isolated processes. Ideal for large feature-heavy test suites.

API Testing

Use Laravel’s fluent JSON testing layer:

$this->postJson('/api/orders', [ ... ])
     ->assertStatus(201)
     ->assertJsonPath('status', 'processing');

Assert structure:

$response->assertJsonStructure([
    'id', 'user_id', 'total', 'status'
]);

Using Pest for Concise Tests

Laravel now supports Pest, a minimal alternative to PHPUnit:

test('guest cannot checkout', function () {
    $this->post('/checkout')->assertRedirect('/login');
});

Pest keeps tests lean while integrating seamlessly with Laravel features.

Best Practices

  • Run tests in CI on every push (GitHub Actions / GitLab CI)
  • Use --filter to isolate failing tests locally
  • Avoid duplicate setup logic - use factories, traits
  • Name test methods to describe user intent
  • Keep feature tests readable and outcomes clear

Real-World Results

In the Laravel ecommerce platform, testing covered:

  • Order placement and stock locking
  • Multi-step checkout flows
  • Pricing logic with promotions
  • Payment failure fallback

This allowed confident scaling to 10x traffic without breakages.