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How I Built My Own CMS with CodeIgniter

PHP Scripts

When I started building Coderobotics.com, I had a clear goal — to create a scalable, secure, and flexible content management system (CMS) tailored for selling PHP and ASP.NET scripts. After evaluating multiple options, I chose the CodeIgniter PHP framework to build my own CMS from scratch.

In this blog, I’ll walk you through the thought process, development journey, and key takeaways from building a custom CMS using CodeIgniter.

Why I Switched from WordPress to CodeIgniter
 

Initially, like many others, I launched my site using WordPress. It's an amazing platform for non-developers and small-scale websites. However, as my business scaled and I needed tighter control over security, speed, and custom features, WordPress started to show limitations.

The Problems I Faced with WordPress
 

1. Frequent Security Vulnerabilities

WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world, which unfortunately makes it a major target for hackers. Common vulnerabilities I encountered:

  • Plugin Exploits: Many third-party plugins are poorly maintained, and even a single outdated plugin can expose the entire site.
  • Brute Force Attacks: Login pages are often targeted unless you use plugins or .htaccess rules to protect them.
  • Theme Vulnerabilities: Free and nulled themes are notorious for carrying malicious code.
  • SQL Injections & Cross-Site Scripting (XSS): Although WordPress core is secure, many plugins and themes open the door for these attacks.

2. Performance Bottlenecks

  • Too many plugins lead to slow load times.
  • Dependency on caching plugins just to make the site usable.
  • High memory usage and slow backend performance, especially with custom post types.

3. Limited Customization at the Core Level

While WordPress is customizable, modifying core logic or integrating a custom business model felt like “hacking around” instead of clean, structured development.

Why CodeIgniter Solved These Problems
                     

Switching to CodeIgniter gave me a fresh start with:

  • Full control over security layers: I built from the ground up, using best practices like CSRF tokens, input validation, HTTPS enforcement, and role-based access.
  • No dependency on third-party plugins: Every feature is native, optimized, and tested.
  • Lean architecture: Faster page loads and backend processes without caching hacks or bloated plugins.                                                       

Why I Chose CodeIgniter
 

Before diving into development, I considered popular CMS platforms like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. While they offer tons of features out-of-the-box, I wanted more control — a lightweight framework that allowed me to build only what I needed, without unnecessary bloat.

CodeIgniter stood out because:

  • It’s lightweight and fast
  • Follows the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture
  • Has excellent documentation
  • Easy to configure and developer-friendly
  • Offers a clean URL structure and built-in security features

Planning the CMS
 

I started by outlining the core features I needed for Coderobotics.com:

  • Admin dashboard with role-based access control
  • Script/product management with demo and payment links
  • Page management (about, contact, terms, etc.)
  • SEO-friendly URLs and metadata management
  • User authentication and order management
  • Blog module for organic traffic growth
  • File upload system for demos and documentation
  • API integrations for payment and newsletter tools

Development Journey
 

1. Setting Up CodeIgniter

I used CodeIgniter 4 to leverage its modern PHP support and better structure. After installing via Composer, I configured base URLs, routing, database connections, and autoloading helpers.

2. Building the Admin Dashboard

The dashboard was the core of the CMS. I implemented:

  • Role-based access control (Admin, Editor, Manager)
  • CRUD operations for products/scripts
  • Dynamic sidebar menu generation
  • Custom widgets for analytics (downloads, sales, users)

3. Page and Content Management

I created a page module that allowed the admin to:

  • Add, edit, and delete content pages
  • Use WYSIWYG editors for rich content
  • Control visibility (published/draft)
  • Add SEO metadata (title, keywords, description)

4. Blog Module 

To drive SEO traffic and share tutorials, I built a simple blog module with:

  • Categories and tags
  • Featured images
  • Comments and moderation
  • Automatic sitemap updates

5. Security and SEO

Security was non-negotiable. I followed these best practices:

  • CSRF and XSS protection using CodeIgniter’s built-in functions
  • User input sanitization and validation
  • SSL and HTTPS redirects
  • SEO-friendly URLs and meta tags for every page and post

Tools and Libraries I Used
 

  • Bootstrap for frontend design
  • jQuery/AJAX for dynamic UI
  • Summernote as the WYSIWYG editor
  • PayPal and Stripe SDKs for payment integration
  • PHPMailer for transactional emails
  • Google Analytics and reCAPTCHA for insights and spam protection
  • New Users Signup via Gmail ID

Challenges I Faced
 

  • Version control: Managing changes across local and staging servers was tricky until I switched to Git-based deployment.
  • Scalability: I had to optimize database queries and implement caching for product listings as traffic grew.
  • SEO Management: Creating a flexible meta tag system that worked across blog posts, pages, and products took time but paid off in rankings.

Final Thoughts
 

Building my own CMS using CodeIgniter was one of the best technical decisions for Coderobotics.com. I now have full control over every aspect of my platform — from product presentation to backend performance. It gave me the flexibility to add custom features and scale as my marketplace grew.

If you’re considering building a CMS or web application tailored to your business needs, I highly recommend exploring CodeIgniter. It offers the perfect balance between simplicity and power.

This entry was posted by Sasi and tagged in How I Built My Own CMS with CodeIgniter for Coderobotics

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