Laravel/UI: Implement Email Verification

In Laravel applications using the laravel/ui (link) package for authentication, the feature for verifying an email address after registration is built-in but is not enforced by default. To implement email verification, follow the steps below:

1. Implement MustVerifyEmail Interface

Ensure that your User model implements the MustVerifyEmail interface, which will enforce the user to verify their email.

use Illuminate\Contracts\Auth\MustVerifyEmail;

class User extends Authenticatable implements MustVerifyEmail
{
    // ...
}

2. Use the Email Verification Middleware

In your routes/web.php file, make sure to use the auth and verified middleware on routes that require a verified email address.

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;

Route::get('/dashboard', function () {
    // Only verified users may access this route...
})->middleware(['auth', 'verified']);

3. Migrate Changes to Database

Ensure your users table has an email_verified_at column to store the timestamp when the user verified their email. If you don’t have it, you may need to create a migration to add this column.

php artisan make:migration add_email_verified_at_to_users_table --table=users

In the generated migration file, you might add something like this:

public function up()
{
    Schema::table('users', function (Blueprint $table) {
        $table->timestamp('email_verified_at')->nullable()->after('email');
    });
}

Then run the migration:

php artisan migrate

4. Email Verification Notification

Laravel uses notifications to send the email verification link. Ensure that your User model uses the Notifiable trait.

use Illuminate\Notifications\Notifiable;

class User extends Authenticatable implements MustVerifyEmail
{
    use Notifiable;

    // ...
}

Customizing Behavior

• Customizing Verification Email: You may customize the verification email by modifying the toMail method on the VerifyEmail notification.
• Redirecting After Verification: If you want to customize the redirect after the email is verified, you may define a redirectTo method or property on the EmailVerificationController.

protected function redirectTo()
{
    // Your redirect logic here...
    return '/home';
}

Optional Email Verification

If you want to make email verification optional:

• Custom Middleware: Instead of using the built-in verified middleware, you could create a custom middleware that checks if the user has verified their email and acts accordingly (e.g., showing a persistent reminder to verify the email).
• User Settings: Add an option in the user’s settings that allows them to toggle whether they want to verify their email. Be mindful of how this affects your app’s security and communication.
• Conditional Routes: You could add conditional logic to your routes or controllers to handle non-verified users distinctly.