# Deploying a Secure and Scalable Laravel App on Google Cloud's Free Tier: A Beginner's Guide (Index)

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Welcome! This is the central index for a comprehensive, multi-part guide designed for backend-focused web developers new to the cloud. The goal is to take you from zero to deploying a secure, scalable, and production-ready Laravel application on Google Cloud Platform (GCP), focusing on the "Always Free" tier.

Each part is a self-contained, detailed guide. Please proceed through them in order.

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### The Guides

* **[Part 1: Introduction to GCP & The Free Tier](https://hackmd.io/@jmrecodes/rJ60LhxQll)**
* *A foundational overview of GCP's free offerings and the crucial first steps of creating an account and setting up billing alerts for peace of mind.*

* **[Part 2: Pre-Deployment - Getting Your Environment Ready](https://hackmd.io/@jmrecodes/BJKlvheXle)**
* *Walks through setting up the necessary tools on your local machine and preparing your Laravel application for a cloud environment.*

* **[Part 3: The Deployment - Laravel on a Compute Engine VM](https://hackmd.io/@jmrecodes/rkmQv3g7ee)**
* *The core hands-on guide to provisioning your first virtual server and deploying your Laravel application from scratch.*

* **[Part 4: Database Setup - Managed vs. Self-Managed](https://hackmd.io/@jmrecodes/B1PrDngmgg)**
* *Explores the critical architectural decision of choosing a database, with detailed instructions for both the free and the scalable options.*

* **[Part 5: Security - A Non-Negotiable Checklist](https://hackmd.io/@jmrecodes/SJavwhlmgl)**
* *A practical guide to securing your application at the network, transport, and application layers, including firewalls, SSL, and secrets management.*

* **[Part 6: Post-Deployment - Monitoring, Logging, and Maintenance](https://hackmd.io/@jmrecodes/H1Z5wheXge)**
* *Learn how to keep an eye on your running application using cloud-native tools for logging, performance monitoring, alerting, and backups.*

* **[Part 7: The Future - Scaling Your Application Beyond the Free Tier](https://hackmd.io/@jmrecodes/SJt2D3x7le)**
* *A deep dive into the concepts and architecture required to scale your application horizontally, from a single VM to a load-balanced, auto-scaling system.*

* **[Part 8: Advanced Topics & Further Learning](https://hackmd.io/@jmrecodes/H1jRDnemee)**
* *A roadmap for your continued cloud journey, exploring serverless, CI/CD, and deeper integrations between Laravel and GCP managed services.*

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*This guide was created by Gemini, an AI assistant from Google, based on official Google Cloud documentation and best practices for deploying Laravel applications. The information is intended for educational purposes. Always refer to the official documentation for the most current limits, commands, and features.*