CodeIgniter Development
CodeIgniter maintenance, security hardening and a measured migration path when the framework starts limiting you.
A great many working business systems were built on CodeIgniter, and plenty still serve their owners perfectly well. Two things eventually force a decision: CodeIgniter 3 is no longer actively developed, and the framework offers far less structure than modern alternatives, so large applications tend to accumulate logic in places nothing can test.
Who this is for
Companies running a CodeIgniter application that still does its job. Teams whose original developers have moved on. Businesses weighing whether to maintain, upgrade to CodeIgniter 4, or migrate away.
Problems we solve
- An unmaintained framework version. CodeIgniter 3 no longer receiving active development.
- Security gaps. Older codebases predating consistent CSRF, XSS and injection protection.
- Logic in controllers. Business rules with no structure, no tests and heavy duplication.
- PHP version lock. Old framework code blocking a move to a supported PHP release.
- No documentation. A system nobody currently employed fully understands.
What we build
- Security hardening: CSRF protection, output escaping, prepared statements, session handling
- Ongoing maintenance and feature work on existing CodeIgniter 3 and 4 applications
- Upgrades from CodeIgniter 3 to 4 where that is the proportionate step
- Incremental migration to Laravel where the application has outgrown the framework
- Characterisation tests capturing current behaviour before anything is touched
- Documentation of the business rules currently living only in code
How we work
We start with an assessment and a written recommendation: maintain, upgrade, or migrate — with the reasoning and the cost of each. Security and PHP version risk are addressed first regardless of the longer-term direction. Where migration is right, it runs module by module behind a routing layer, with both systems live, rather than as a single cutover.
Technologies we use
CodeIgniter 3 and 4, PHP 8.3+, Laravel as the usual migration target, MySQL, Redis, PHPUnit and Pest for characterisation tests, Docker and GitHub Actions.
Business benefits
- A working system stays working, with its security exposure closed
- A clear, costed decision instead of an indefinite deferral
- Migration without a big-bang cutover, and with a way back at each stage
- Business rules documented rather than trapped in one person's memory
Common questions
Do we have to migrate away?
Not necessarily. If the application is stable, adequately secured and rarely changed, maintaining it can be the rational choice. Migration earns its cost when you are actively building on it.
CodeIgniter 4 or Laravel?
CodeIgniter 4 is a smaller step from a CodeIgniter 3 codebase. Laravel offers a far larger ecosystem and hiring pool. The right answer depends on how much you plan to invest in the system going forward.
Can you maintain it without the original developers?
Yes. We read the code and write characterisation tests, which establishes actual behaviour more reliably than a handover conversation.
Have a CodeIgniter system and no clear plan? The assessment is worth having on its own.