Fixing Laravel CSS Not Displaying After Deployment

If you're working with Laravel and notice that your CSS and HTML files are not displaying correctly, especially after deploying your application, you are not alone. This issue is common, particularly when transitioning from a local development environment to a production server. In this article, we'll explore the cause of this problem and provide a straightforward solution.

Understanding the Issue

When your Laravel application is hosted, you might encounter a situation where the CSS and HTML files do not load properly. This often happens due to an incorrect URL scheme being used for your asset links. In a local environment, the application typically runs over HTTP. However, in a production environment, it often runs over HTTPS.

Common Symptoms

• Stylesheets (CSS) not applying to your HTML.
• HTML files not rendering correctly.
• Browser console errors indicating mixed content issues.

These symptoms are usually caused by the application serving assets over HTTP while the site itself is loaded over HTTPS, resulting in blocked resources due to security restrictions.

The Solution

The solution to this problem involves ensuring that all URLs generated by Laravel use the correct scheme (HTTP or HTTPS) based on the environment. This can be achieved by forcing HTTPS in the production environment. Here’s how you can do it:

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Open the App Service Provider

Navigate to app/Providers/AppServiceProvider.php in your Laravel project.

1. Modify the App Service Provider

Update the AppServiceProvider class to force HTTPS in non-local environments. Here’s the code you need to add or modify:

   <?php

   namespace App\Providers;

   use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;
   use Illuminate\Pagination\Paginator;
   use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Blade;
   use Illuminate\Support\Facades\URL;

   class AppServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
   {
       /**
        * Register any application services.
        *
        * @return void
        */
       public function register()
       {
           if (env('APP_ENV') !== 'local') {
               URL::forceScheme('https');
           }
       }
   }

Explanation of the Code

• Namespace and Imports: Ensure you have the correct namespace and import statements at the top of your file.
• Register Method: In the register method, we check if the application environment (APP_ENV) is not local. If this condition is true, we force HTTPS using URL::forceScheme('https');.
• Boot Method: The boot method is where we can perform additional bootstrapping. In this example, we're using Bootstrap for pagination, but you might have other configurations here as well.

Why This Works

By forcing the URL scheme to HTTPS in non-local environments, we ensure that all asset links are correctly generated with the HTTPS scheme. This prevents mixed content issues and ensures that your CSS and HTML files are loaded correctly.

Additional Tips

• Environment Configuration: Ensure your .env file is correctly set up with APP_ENV=production for your production environment.
• Clear Config Cache: After making changes to your configuration, clear the config cache with php artisan config:cache.

Conclusion

By modifying the AppServiceProvider to force HTTPS in production environments, you can resolve issues with CSS and HTML files not displaying correctly in your Laravel application. This simple yet effective change ensures that your assets are always served over the correct scheme, maintaining the integrity and security of your application.

Feel free to ask any questions or share your experiences in the comments below! Happy coding!