Configure Laravel Apps on Shared Hosting and Fix The Image or File storage in public_html Directory

When deploying a Laravel application to a shared hosting environment, especially when you need to serve images or other assets stored in Laravel's storage directory, it's common to encounter issues with file accessibility. This is typically because the public directory in Laravel needs to be mapped correctly with the public_html directory used by most shared hosting services.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to restructuring your Laravel project to work correctly on shared hosting, particularly for serving images and other assets stored in the storage directory:

# Step 1: Modify the Directory Structure

1. Move Laravel's Public Directory Files to public_html
   • Move all the contents of the public directory in your Laravel project to the public_html directory on your hosting.
   • This includes the index.php file and any assets you have directly in the public directory.
      
2. Update the index.php File
   • After moving index.php, update the paths to autoload.php and app.php to reflect the new directory structure: 
      

     // /public_html/index.php
     // the laravel app are inside "newfolder" directory
     
     require __DIR__.'/../newfolder/vendor/autoload.php';
     $app = require_once __DIR__.'/../newfolder/bootstrap/app.php';

   • Adjust these paths based on the actual location of your vendor and bootstrap directories. For instance, if your Laravel app is located not directly above public_html but in another directory, adjust the paths accordingly.

# Step 2: Link Storage Directory

Laravel uses the storage/app/public directory to store publicly accessible files, including images. You need to create a symbolic link from public_html/storage to storage/app/public. However, on many shared hostings, you may not be able to use the php artisan storage:link command directly.

1. Create the Symbolic Link Manually via SSH (if available)
   Replace /path/to/laravel/ and /path/to/public_html/ with the actual paths on your server.

ln -s /path/to/laravel/storage/app/public /path/to/public_html/storage

# Step 3: Configure Filesystems

Adjust the config/filesystems.php to ensure the public disk uses the correct root path. And Make sure the APP_URL in your .env file reflects the actual URL of your application.

'public' => [
     'driver' => 'local',
     'root' => storage_path('app/public'),
     'url' => env('APP_URL').'/storage',
     'visibility' => 'public',
],

# Step 4: Use Asset URLs

When generating URLs for your stored images or files, make sure to use the asset or Storage facade in your Laravel files:

$url = asset('storage/file.txt'); // Using the `asset` helper


// Or using the Storage facade

$url = Storage::url('file.txt');

# Conclusion

This setup ensures that your images and assets stored in Laravel's storage directory are accessible via the public_html directory in a shared hosting environment. Always remember to secure your application by removing any temporary scripts used for configuration after they are no longer needed. Additionally, regularly back up your application and database, and monitor the security configurations of your hosting environment.