Start with the right foundation

Stick close to Laravel's default directories (app/Http/Controllers, app/Models by domain, app/Services), organizing subfolders by business domain (e.g., app/Models/Blog, app/Services/Billing) without renaming core folders. Use explicit namespaces and Composer PSR‑4 autoloading. This keeps Artisan/package compatibility while grouping related code for scale, easy onboarding, low maintenance.

Services for business orchestration (inject repos/events), repositories for data access (abstract Eloquent), events for loose coupling (listeners async via queues). Use only where complexity warrants—simple CRUD stays in controllers. Balances abstraction without premature overkill, keeping code testable/extensible.

Key best practices for 2026: Thin controllers (orchestrate only), single‑responsibility models/services, domain folders within defaults, events over direct calls, strict typing, and phpstan for enforcement. Regularly refactor via CI. Prevents debt by enforcing boundaries early, leveraging Laravel strengths for long‑term velocity.

Stateless services (Redis sessions), domain events trigger queues/jobs for async, HTTP clients (Guzzle facade) for APIs with circuit breakers. Facades/services abstract infra. Decouples core logic, scales independently, integrates seamlessly without tight coupling.

Extract one feature at a time: move logic to domain services/events, introduce repos for models, group into app/Domains folders. Use Strangler pattern (new endpoints proxy old). Tests guide safety. Incremental wins build momentum without big‑bang risk.

Fat controllers (split to actions/services), god models (single concern), global scopes/middleware bloat, skipping tests/types. Avoid by code reviews, phpstan level 8, domain grouping, and "one job" rule. Keeps apps maintainable, scalable, hireable.