Technology

CodeIgniter Application Rescue
for businesses in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US.

CodeIgniter 3 has reached end of life and version 4 is a different framework, not an upgrade path. Most business applications built on it are still sitting on 2 or 3.

Book a 20-min scoping call
  • Independent No licence commission, no reseller agenda
  • 18+ yrs Building business software
  • Fixed Price scopes, no surprises
  • AU NZ UK US Perth-based, working remotely
Where we fit

The framework moved on without a bridge

CodeIgniter was the pragmatic choice for a great many Australian business web applications between roughly 2008 and 2016. Customer portals, booking systems, member registers and internal tools were built quickly and worked well. Then version 4 arrived as a rewrite rather than an upgrade, and those applications stopped having anywhere to go.

This is deliberately not a PHP version upgrade page. Changing a PHP version is a task for whoever hosts your server. Rescuing an application whose framework has no forward path is a different problem, and it is the one businesses actually get stuck on.

How it runs

Your CodeIgniter project, end to end

Three stages. Scoped and fixed-price before anything starts, delivered by the founder, and your existing system stays running until cutover.

  1. Week 0

    Read the system as it is

    We go through the existing application and record what it actually does, including the parts nobody documented. You get a written inventory and a fixed price before any build starts.

  2. Weeks 1-N

    Rebuild and run in parallel

    The replacement runs beside the original until the numbers reconcile. The old system stays untouched and switched on the whole time.

  3. Cutover

    Go live and hand over

    Cutover on a date you choose, then thirty days of support. Source code, documentation and credentials are handed to you, in your name.

Founder profile

Kasun Wijayamanna

Founder · Perth, WA · Started HELLO PEOPLE in 2008

18+ Years running HELLO PEOPLE

Founded in 2008. Two decades of technology-driven business transformation across Australia.

100+ Projects delivered

Startups to government agencies across mining, healthcare, legal, education and more.

HDR Researcher · Curtin University

Postgraduate research in Artificial Intelligence and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).

MBA Oil & Gas

Deep technical expertise combined with strong business and financial acumen.

Perth Based in WA

Serving businesses across Western Australia and nationally.

AU+TH International experience

Professional background in Bangkok, Thailand before migrating to Perth.

PHF Paul Harris Fellow · Rotary

Former President of Rotary Club of Booragoon. Over a decade of community service.

Read the full bio, research, career, community involvement and how HELLO PEOPLE runs projects.

See full founder page

What the work actually is

Move the application somewhere with a future

We assess whether the application is worth carrying forward as it stands, then either migrate it onto a maintained framework or rebuild the parts that have become the problem.

What you have now

  • CodeIgniter 2 or 3 application
  • A PHP version your host is warning you about
  • MySQL or MariaDB behind it
  • The original developer, unreachable
What we build

Move the application somewhere with a future

We assess whether the application is worth carrying forward as it stands, then either migrate it onto a maintained framework or rebuild the parts that have become the problem.

See how a project runs

What you end up with

  • The application on a framework with a maintained upgrade path
  • Dependencies current and security patches available again
  • A codebase a developer will quote on without wincing
What we do

The 5 pieces of CodeIgniter work we are asked for

Most engagements are some combination of these, and most start with the first.

  1. Assess honestly

    Whether this application deserves a migration or a rebuild. Sometimes the code is sound and only the framework is the issue, and that is a much smaller job.

  2. Deal with the framework, not just PHP

    Raising the PHP version alone will break a CodeIgniter 2 or 3 application. The framework is the actual constraint.

  3. Migrate to something maintained

    Onto a framework with a real upgrade path, so this does not recur in five years.

  4. Clear the security debt

    Unparameterised queries, hand-rolled authentication and abandoned libraries dealt with as part of the work.

  5. Document it

    So the next developer, including your own, can pick it up without an archaeology exercise.

Where you are now

It works, and nobody will touch it

  • CodeIgniter 3 at end of life, with version 4 offering no upgrade path
  • A PHP version your host keeps sending warnings about
  • Composer dependencies that no longer receive security patches
  • The original developer gone and nobody keen to inherit it

After

Supported, documented and yours

  • A framework with a documented upgrade path
  • Dependencies current and patched
  • A codebase other developers will quote on
  • Small changes possible again without a rewrite

Scoped and quoted before you commit. You own the code, the documentation and the credentials at the end of it.

Get a fixed-price scope
Common questions

CodeIgniter questions

Is CodeIgniter 4 an upgrade from 3?

Not in any practical sense. It is a rewrite that shares a name, so moving to it is a migration project rather than a version bump. That surprises people who expect the usual upgrade path.

Can you just update our PHP version instead?

On its own that will usually break a CodeIgniter 2 or 3 application, because the framework is what constrains the PHP version rather than the other way round. The framework has to be dealt with.

Should we migrate or rebuild?

It depends on how much of the value is in the code and how much is in the workflow. If the application is doing something well and the code is only dated, migration is cheaper. If it has been patched by five different people, a rebuild is often faster.

Do you take on other people’s PHP code?

Yes. Most of what we are handed was written by somebody unreachable, and reading unfamiliar code is a normal part of the job rather than a complication.

Will it stay on PHP?

Usually, and that is generally the right answer. PHP is current, well supported and widely hired for. The problem was never the language, it was an abandoned framework.

Tell us what you are running

What the system does, roughly how old it is, and what is forcing the question. We will come back with a straight answer and a fixed-price scope, even if the answer is to leave it alone.

Prefer a quick chat? Call 0425 531 127. We answer the phone in Perth.