CodeIgniter Developer in Chennai for Custom Development & Support

1. A host forces a PHP version upgrade

GoDaddy, Hostinger, and similar hosts periodically push PHP upgrades (7.4 to 8.1+, for example) for compliance reasons, without asking. Older CI3 applications and their third-party libraries often weren't written for the stricter newer PHP, so you get a blank page or a 500 error overnight with no warning. I go through the codebase and fix the compatibility issues directly, so you don't have to rebuild the application just because the host changed something.

2. Custom code was written directly into core files

When a previous developer edits CodeIgniter's system files directly instead of extending them properly through core classes or libraries, every future CodeIgniter update risks wiping out that customisation silently. I rebuild these as proper extended classes and libraries so the application survives future updates.

3. The database outgrows the original query structure

Once a table passes a few hundred thousand rows, unindexed queries built with CodeIgniter's query builder start showing up as real page-load delays — sometimes 6-12 seconds on report or listing pages. I fix this by optimising the slow queries, adding missing indexes, and setting up proper caching so the same lookups aren't repeated on every page view.

4. Form submissions or APIs fail silently

If CSRF protection, validation rules, or JSON response headers aren't configured correctly, forms and API calls can fail without a clear error reaching the frontend. I fix this by checking CodeIgniter's logs directly and tracing exactly where the request is failing, rather than guessing at the config.

Note: These are typical ranges, not quotes. You'll get an exact estimate after a free review of your codebase, hosting limits, and third-party library usage.

Query optimisation. Reviewing query builder calls for missing indexes, N+1-style repeated queries inside loops, and unnecessary SELECT * pulls that fetch more data than the page needs.

Server-side caching. Caching expensive database query results and full-page output where appropriate, so CodeIgniter isn't re-running the same lookups on every request.

Autoload cleanup. Auditing what's autoloaded in config/autoload.php — libraries, helpers, and models loaded on every request but only used on a handful of pages add real overhead at scale.

Database cleanup. Clearing old session and log tables, archiving stale data, and indexing the tables that actually get queried on every page load.

CodeIgniter 3. CI3 uses a simple array-based config and a flat MVC folder structure that's easy to reason about, but it's no longer under active core development, and finding well-maintained third-party libraries for it is getting harder. Most of my CI3 work is maintenance, security patching, and PHP 8 compatibility fixes on applications that are stable and don't need a rewrite yet.

CodeIgniter 4. CI4 is a ground-up rewrite with namespaces, PSR-4 autoloading, Composer support, a proper router, and native RESTful resource controllers — closer to how modern PHP frameworks are structured, while staying lighter than Laravel for smaller applications. I use CI4 as my default for new builds unless there's a specific reason to stay on CI3.

Migration path. A CI3-to-CI4 migration isn't a simple version bump — controllers, models, and especially third-party libraries often need to be rewritten against CI4's new structure. I review the codebase first and scope the migration honestly, rather than quoting a number before seeing what's actually involved.

Being based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu means we work in the same hours. When a form breaks during your morning business rush, you get a reply in minutes — not a response from an outsourced queue the next day.

I work with applications across Anna Nagar, Velachery, Adyar, Guindy, Ambattur, Porur, and OMR, and I'm familiar with the Indian payment gateways and delivery services most Chennai businesses actually integrate with.

I'm also available across Tambaram, Avadi, Chromepet, Perambur, KK Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Sholinganallur, and Medavakkam — and remotely for businesses in the Middle East, Europe, and the US, entirely over WhatsApp and email.