Technology

CodeIgniter Application Rescue
so an old version stops being a risk.

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.

You get the application patched and secured now, and an honest recommendation on whether to move it forward or rebuild it. We do this for businesses in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the US, at a fixed price.

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
Australian owned and operated

Built here. Your data stays here.

  • No offshore development. Everything is written by our own team in Australia. Nothing is subcontracted overseas.
  • Your data stays onshore. Hosted in Australia, on infrastructure you own, under Australian law.
  • Every state, not just ours. Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and everywhere between.
Where we fit

Your web app has nowhere left to upgrade to

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.

See all legacy upgrade services

What the work actually is

Give the application somewhere to go next

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.

Get a fixed-price scope

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

Only the CodeIgniter work you actually need

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

What people ask us about CodeIgniter

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 your CodeIgniter system does

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.