[ Maintained, upgraded, or moved on from ]
A great deal of Indian business software runs on CodeIgniter 3, and much of it works. We keep those systems healthy, move them to CodeIgniter 4 where that is right, and migrate them to Laravel where it is not.
A great deal of Indian business software runs on CodeIgniter 3, and much of it works. We keep those systems healthy, move them to CodeIgniter 4 where that is right, and migrate them to Laravel where it is not.
Send us the codebase and the PHP versionA CI3 application that has run the business for eight years does not need a rewrite. It needs a supported PHP version and someone who will answer the phone.
The two are not source-compatible. We move module by module behind a router rather than attempting a single cutover.
CodeIgniter 3 is no longer maintained. Where that risk outweighs the cost of moving, we will say so with the numbers behind it.
To Laravel where that is the answer, one module at a time with both running side by side, rather than a rewrite that lands in a year.
For CI3 systems still running the business: security fixes, PHP compatibility, bug fixes and the monthly changes the team needs.
A staged upgrade rather than a rewrite — namespaces, new routing and the changed database layer, moved module by module with both versions live.
Where the honest answer is to leave. Data and business rules moved into Laravel one module at a time, with the old system serving the rest until it is empty.
Version, PHP compatibility, libraries, custom hacks and where the business risk actually sits. Undocumented CI3 systems reveal most of themselves in a day or two.
Input handling, SQL injection risks, session and file upload handling, and a working backup. This comes before any feature work.
CI3 on PHP 8 needs work but is achievable, and hosts have already retired the versions most of these run on.
Stay on CI3, move to CI4, or migrate to Laravel — costed over three years, with the recommendation written down.
Whichever direction, module by module behind a shared router and session, so the business never waits for a single cutover.
A runbook, a deployment that is a command, and the architecture written down — usually for the first time in the system's life.
CodeIgniter powered a generation of Indian business software because it was small, fast and easy to deploy on cheap hosting. A lot of those systems are still running, still making money, and still being asked for changes by a business that has no intention of replacing them.
The complication is that CodeIgniter 3 is no longer maintained and most of these applications sit on a PHP version their host has retired. That is a real risk with a real cost, and the answer is not automatically a rewrite — often it is a security pass, a PHP upgrade and a support arrangement. We will tell you which situation you are in.
A system that has run for years encodes a decade of business rules nobody has written down. Replacing it starts by losing all of them.
Unmaintained frameworks on unsupported PHP accumulate known vulnerabilities. That gets fixed before anything else is discussed.
Whether to CI4 or to Laravel, we move module by module with both systems live. Single-cutover rewrites are how these projects die.
No further security fixes. For a system handling customer data that has moved from a preference to a risk that has to be answered.
The upgrade most of these systems had been deferring became compulsory when shared hosts stopped offering the version they run on.
CodeIgniter 4 is a capable framework, but the Indian hiring pool and the ecosystem have consolidated around Laravel, which shapes what a five-year maintenance plan looks like.
It depends on how much change the system still needs. If it is stable and mostly needs to keep running, a PHP upgrade and a security pass is far cheaper. If the business is actively building on it, moving to Laravel usually pays within a couple of years through easier hiring and faster changes. We cost both over three years before recommending.
Let’s talk about your codeigniter project. No obligation, just a conversation.
Next service
CakePHP Development