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Pagination Handling in Laravel 12 - Best Practices & Examples

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Introduction

Pagination is one of those small but essential features every Laravel developer needs to master. Without proper pagination, your applications will load large datasets inefficiently, which leads to slow performance and poor user experience. In this guide, you’ll learn the right way to handle pagination in Laravel 12.x—starting with basics and moving toward best practices that will make your projects scalable and professional.

Why Pagination Matters

When working with databases, showing thousands of records at once isn’t user-friendly or efficient. Pagination splits results into smaller, manageable chunks, improving both performance and readability.

Basic Pagination with "paginate()"

The most common way to paginate in Laravel is by using the "paginate()" method directly on Eloquent queries. Here’s a simple example:

// Controller Example
public function index()
{
    $users = User::paginate(10); // 10 records per page
    return view('users.index', compact('users'));
}

In your Blade view, you can display the pagination links like this:

@foreach ($users as $user)
    <p>{{ $user->name }}</p>
@endforeach

{{ $users->links() }}

By default, Laravel will generate Bootstrap-styled pagination links, but you can customize them (we’ll cover this later).

When to Use "simplePaginate()"

Laravel also provides "simplePaginate()", which is useful for very large datasets where counting the total number of results can be expensive. Instead of generating links to every page, it only shows “Next” and “Previous”.

$posts = Post::simplePaginate(15);

Tip: Use "simplePaginate()" when you don’t need the total number of pages—such as infinite scroll or simple next/previous navigation.

Customizing Pagination Views

Sometimes, the default Bootstrap view doesn’t match your project’s UI. Luckily, Laravel makes customization simple:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=laravel-pagination

This will publish the pagination views into "resources/views/vendor/pagination". You can now edit the Blade files to match your CSS framework (Tailwind, Bootstrap, custom UI, etc.).

Example: Using Tailwind Pagination

If your project uses Tailwind, Laravel already has built-in support:

{{ $users->links('pagination::tailwind') }}

Appending Query Parameters to Pagination

A common mistake beginners make is losing query parameters (like search filters) when navigating pagination links. Laravel provides a clean way to keep them:

$users = User::where('active', 1)
             ->paginate(10)
             ->appends(request()->query());

Now, when you add "?active=1" to the URL, it will persist across pages.

Intermediate Tip: Paginate with Relationships

Pagination also works with relationships and query constraints. For example, if you want to paginate posts with their authors:

$posts = Post::with('author')
             ->where('status', 'published')
             ->paginate(5);

This way, you load only the data you need and keep results paginated.

Best Practices for Pagination in Laravel 12

• Always paginate large datasets – Avoid loading thousands of records at once.
• Use "simplePaginate()" for infinite scroll – Great for social feeds or endless content.
• Customize your pagination views – Make pagination match your frontend for better UX.
• Remember query strings – Keep filters and search terms intact across pages.
• Combine pagination with caching – For heavy queries, cache paginated results to improve performance.

Conclusion

Pagination in Laravel 12.x is not just about splitting results—it’s about improving performance and user experience. By using the right methods ("paginate()" vs "simplePaginate()"), customizing views, and keeping filters intact, you’ll ensure your applications remain professional and scalable. Mastering these pagination techniques early on will save you from performance issues and frustrated users later.