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GunDogsDirect: Laravel Gundog Marketplace

Custom PHP to Laravel marketplace for working gundogs

Client
GunDogsDirect Limited
Platform
Laravel

We converted GunDogsDirect from a custom PHP codebase to a modern Laravel application. The goal was to keep the trust and reach of a marketplace with tens of thousands of registered users since 2002, while giving buyers and sellers a cleaner, more secure platform for puppies, part-trained and trained dogs, and stud services across the UK.

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GunDogsDirect Laravel gundog marketplace homepage
  • Laravel
  • PHP
  • Marketplace
  • Listings
  • Auth
  • Alerts

The challenge

Migrate a long-running custom PHP gundog marketplace to Laravel without losing the community's trust. Keep listings easy to browse and post, protect seller contact details from scraping, support verified breeders, and modernise the stack for maintainability and growth.

The approach

We rebuilt the marketplace on Laravel around how gundog buyers and sellers actually work: category and breed discovery, featured listings, login-gated contact reveal, verified breeder badges, buying guides, seller pricing, and preference-based listing alerts, replacing the legacy custom PHP with a structured, maintainable application.

What we built

  • Browse & filter

    Search by breed, training level, location, and price, from Labradors and Cockers to GSPs, Vizslas, and more, so buyers find the right working partner faster.

  • Safe connection

    Seller phone numbers and emails stay hidden until a user logs in and chooses to reveal them, reducing scraping and protecting sellers.

  • Verified breeders

    Sellers can add a council breeder licence for an admin-checked Verified Breeder badge, building trust into the listing itself.

  • Seller & buyer tools

    Post listing, pricing, buying tips, FAQs, blog guides, and preference-based alerts keep both sides of the marketplace active.

  • Featured listings & breed discovery

    Hand-picked featured listings and browse-by-breed paths surface popular working breeds and help buyers move from search to contact with less friction.

  • Legacy PHP migration

    The platform was converted from custom PHP to Laravel so the product stays maintainable, scalable, and safer to extend without discarding the marketplace behaviour the community already relies on.

How it's built

  • Laravel application replacing the previous custom PHP codebase
  • Marketplace listings with category, training level, and breed discovery
  • Authenticated contact reveal to protect seller phone numbers and emails
  • Verified breeder badges with admin-checked licence support
  • Listing alerts when new gundogs match buyer preferences
  • Buyer and seller guidance covering pricing, FAQs, buying tips, and blog guides

Outcomes

  • Live Laravel marketplace at gundogsdirect.co.uk for working gundogs across the UK.
  • Migrated from custom PHP to a maintainable Laravel stack.
  • Protected contact flows and verified-breeder signals for safer connections.
  • Category and breed discovery suited to serious working-dog buyers and sellers.
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