CodeIgniter is a lightweight PHP web framework that focuses on simplicity, performance, and minimal configuration to get started quickly. It adopts an MVC-style or loosely structured approach depending on developer preference, with core components for routing, input handling, output views, and database abstraction. The framework provides convenience libraries for sessions, form validation, encryption, email, file uploads, and more, all optional so the footprint stays small. Because it doesn’t force heavy conventions, CodeIgniter is flexible for both small projects and larger modular applications where you may want to craft your own architecture. Its documentation and clarity of code make the learning curve gentle for PHP newcomers. In production, CodeIgniter’s efficiency and minimal overhead make it a steady option when performance and stability are priorities.
Features
- MVC-based architecture for clean separation of logic and presentation
- Minimal footprint while including libraries for database, sessions, forms, and more
- Easy to learn and deploy on shared hosting without heavy dependencies
- Supports PHP 5.6+ in v3.x; PHP 7.4+ and PHP 8+ in v4.x; PSR-4 compliant
- SEO-friendly URLs and routing built-in
- Community driven, open-source under MIT license since v3, maintained by the CodeIgniter Foundation