In the professional world, all the projects are developed using the frameworks available in a specific language. Frameworks help in coding the modules in an organized way and they save a lot of development time. Furthermore, the security of the project is going to increase due to the availability of various tools and libraries and you can expand the functionality of the application effortlessly in future. PHP is one of the most popular languages when it comes to developing web applications. There are various frameworks available for PHP coding and the two most popular are Laravel and Codeigniter. Going up the general consensus, Laravel is more popular than Codeigniter. But before you can hire Laravel experts, you need to know the difference between the two and which one suits your intended web application better.
The Differences Between Laravel And Codeigniter –
Modules –
When it comes to working in a framework, modules are what make a complex project easy to develop. Laravel has built-in modularity feature which means when you hire Laravel experts, they can divide your complex project into different modules and develop independently and join them to complete the project. Furthermore, they can use a module several times in the same project without wasting time in writing them again and again. On the other hand, Codeigniter does not have built-in modularity feature and developers have to create modules and maintain them using the modular extension.
Winner – Laravel due to the essential built-in modularity features.
Database Support –
A database is an integral part of any web application. Both the PHP frameworks support various databases like MangoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Microsoft Bi. But Codeigniter additionally supports other popular databases like Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, DB2, and others.
On the other hand, Laravel provides database scheme builder which lets developers design databases easily without writing complex code. They can also modify the scheme on the go without any piece of coding. Most importantly, database scheme migration is possible effortlessly. Codeigniter does not have the feature yet. Furthermore, Laravel supports eloquent ORM to work with multiple databases efficiently. Developers can run queries and perform common tasks directly through ActiveRecord model without going in the programming mode.
Winner – Codeigniter for supporting some popular database platforms. But Laravel is developer-friendly when it comes to database design, modification, and share.
Template Engine and API Building –
Laravel comes with built-in template engine called Blade. It lets developers optimize the performance of a web application by changing the views. It is essential for better performance and from user and SEO perspectives. On the other hand, Codeigniter does not have any built-in template engine and one has to use third-party Smartly to optimize and boost the performance of the web application developed in it.
Coming to the creation of APIs, APIs have become a necessity for most of the high-level web applications to extend the available features to other websites. In Laravel, it is super easy to create APIs without writing a single piece of code. But when it comes to Codeigniter, one has to write the code to create APIs.
Winner – Laravel due to its built-in template engine and codeless API creation feature.
Security –
Security is a major concern for any web application. Laravel provides more security to your web application. It lets the developers enable custom HTTPS routes and they can choose specific URL for each HTTPS route to make the transfer of sensitive information more secure. By hacking into one of the routes, a hacker cannot get information of all the data passing from one user to the server and vice versa. Furthermore, it automatically attaches HTTPS protocol to all available URLs. But when you hire Codeigniter experts, you have to specifically mention to create specific HTTPS routes by coding.
Laravel comes with authentication class to better authorization and authentication check. Codeigniter still does not have such built-in features and everything has to be implemented by coding.
Winner – Laravel can secure your web application better.
Community Support –
When it comes to a programming language, community support is an important factor for solving any issue quickly. These communities have active experienced members who can solve your problem easily and you might already find the solution to your problem as someone else might have faced it before and left the solution. It is reported that Laravel has more active communities than Codeigniter which can be credited to its greater popularity.
Lastly, PHP 7 is the latest version and it comes with certain new features. According to the communities and developers, certain new features are not working on Codeigniter at present though they are working on Laravel flawlessly. Moreover, Laravel has more features and tools in comparison to Codeigniter though too many features make it difficult for beginners to grasp Laravel completely. Therefore, it is safe to say that when your application is a lightweight one, it is better to hire Codeigniter experts to develop your application. But if the project is a complex one, Laravel is the best alternative.
