PHP, usually known as scripting language, is a general purpose programming language. Developers use this language to define the structure of a web application. PHP makes the layout dynamic and interactive by storing and retrieving the data from the backend database.  In order to fetch data from the database, developers use CodeIgniter (CI). Codeigniter is an open-source PHP framework which offers a set of libraries and functions to create and maintain the data flow from DBMS which requires a dedicated codeIgniter developer. Key features and need to hire codeIgniter developers underneath:-

• CI is a lightweight framework hence it occupies less memory space and enhances the app development process.
• CodeIgniter apps are faster to load and perform accurately.
• CI developers install a feature that is ‘loosely coupled’ in a CI app. This feature makes it easy to maintain and upgrade.
• Developers use MVC architecture and keep the app secured by keeping the data, business logics and frontend separated.
• CodeIgniter Developers can modify and update the application designed using PHP CI framework

Can a PHP developer perform the role of a CodeIgniter developer?  

CI is a PHP framework which offers various key benefits to CodeIgniter app users hence a question to hire dedicated PHP developers in place of CI developer or vice-versa is quite commonly discussed. In regard to this, it is advantageous to understand the differences between both platforms. So, some prominent key difference between PHP and CodeIgniter are underneath:-

• PHP is vast and extensively used for various types of application development including Art & Entertainment, science & education and many but CI solely is enough to design an application.
• PHP supported by a large community developers’ is a programming language but CodeIgninter is a framework designed in PHP. 
• PHP is faster and compatible with almost all types of frontend and backend development tools and programming languages but this type of flexibility is absent from codeIgniter.
• CodeIgniter is light in weight and provides an ease of app development but PHP needs expertises in this programming language.
• PHP is compatible with other PHP frameworks including Laravel HTML5 for interactive application design but CodeIgniter does not do so.

However, PHP is stronger than CodeIgniter but to manage the database, it needs CodeIgniter or similar type of other framework at the backend of the database to send and receive mails and other useful information. Hence it is essential to hire dedicated CodeIgniter developers along with PHP.