If you work with PHP and the CodeIgniter 4 framework, or if you're exploring lightweight, scalable content management systems, you might find this new guide useful.

I’ve put together a detailed, step-by-step tutorial on how to configure SHONiR CMS on your localhost (WampServer/XAMPP). It covers everything from downloading the project from GitHub to getting the admin panel up and running.

? In the guide, you'll learn how to:

Set up the database and import the structure.

Configure the .env file for your local environment.

Update core system URLs in the database.

Clear the cache for a clean local launch.

Access the admin dashboard with demo credentials.

? Repository: https://github.com/shonirits/SHONiR-CMS
? Full Article: https://8.shonir.com/shonir-cms/bpd19/se...ework.html
? Video Tutorials:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49x44HNG2-o
Dailymotion: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xa1lp3s

SHONiR CMS aims to reduce development workload with its modular components, built-in caching, and SEO-friendly structure. It's an interesting project for anyone building dynamic websites or web applications with CodeIgniter.

Feel free to share with your network if you know someone who might find this helpful! ?

#CodeIgniter4 #PHP #WebDevelopment #OpenSource #SHONiRCMS #CMS #Programming #Tutorial #DevCommunity #MySQL

I wanted to share how we are utilizing the power of CodeIgniter 4 in our project, SHONiR CMS, to achieve high-speed content delivery (100k+ requests) even on low-end shared hosting environments.

One of our core philosophies is: Don't touch the core. We believe the CI4 team is elite and the framework is already one of the most stable PHP foundations available. Instead of modifying core files, we focused on "utilizing" the framework's native power more efficiently.

How it Works: The Triple-Layer Cache Architecture
To maintain high performance without expensive infrastructure, SHONiR CMS implements three distinct layers:

1. Native CI4 Web Page Caching
We use the built-in $this->cachePage(300) functionality. It’s a "work like charm" feature that handles the generated output of a page, bypassing controller logic on subsequent hits.
Reference: CodeIgniter 4 Caching User Guide: https://codeigniter.com/user_guide/general/caching.html

2. Static HTML Caching (The DB Killer)
For sites like business portfolios or catalogs that don't update every minute, querying the database for every hit is a waste of resources.

Mechanism: SHONiR generates a fully rendered HTML file and stores it in writable/cache/htmls.

The Result: On request, the system delivers the static HTML directly. No DB connection, no heavy PHP processing.

Traceability: We inject generation timestamps into the source code for developer transparency:
<!-- SHONiR Cache generated: 03/08/26 15:07:42 UTC -->

3. Image Optimization Layer
Large images are the biggest performance killers. SHONiR automatically:

Converts images to WebP extension.

Compresses files to reduce size while maintaining visual quality.

Stores them in a dedicated image cache (Controlled via tbl_config).

Real-World Performance
In our testing, even on average servers, the memory usage remains incredibly low:
Usage: 659.19 kb | Peak: 659.73 kb

How to Configure (For CI4 Newbies)
We’ve made activation simple via the database (tbl_config) and the .env file:

Global Cache Time: In tbl_config, set cache_time to your desired seconds (e.g., 3600 for 1 hour). Setting this to 0 clears/disables the cache.

Enable HTML Cache: In your .env, simply set html.cache = true.

Image Quality: Control the compression ratio (0-100) via the image_quality key in the config table.

Conclusion
By keeping a Clean Architecture and respecting the CI4 core, we’ve built a system that is both maintainable and incredibly fast. It’s proof that you don’t need a complex stack to handle massive traffic—you just need to use CodeIgniter the right way.

Check out a live cached demo: https://8.shonir.com/shonir-cms/bpd17/mu...mance.html

Would love to hear your thoughts or answer any questions about our implementation!

FREE. Generative AI and LLMs for Dummies

https://github.com/codeigniter4/CodeIgni...3991942872

I'm trying to solve a problem with page limits. Please review the Issue and provide an answer.

1. What should HTML look like on missing pages? I would not show it at all except for error 404, because there is no data. It doesn't match for Pager.

2. Do I need to allow pages < 1? To also receive an error notification.

3. Perhaps in both cases it is worth displaying a simple message without links?

Don't forget, we have several types of output:

First .. 5 6 7 .. Last
Newest Older
API pagination

Hi everyone,

I’ve been experimenting with building a high-performance dynamic CMS using PHP 8 and MariaDB 10, designed to run on a single-core VPS with 1GB RAM.

Some interesting observations:

Even on low-end hosting, the CMS can handle 100,000+ concurrent requests without performance degradation.

Using proper query optimization, caching strategies, and lightweight templates makes a big difference.

The CMS architecture allows fast project development while maintaining security and code quality.

The system can behave like a static HTML site in terms of perceived speed, despite being fully dynamic.

I’ve also shared the project source code on GitHub for anyone interested in exploring or testing:
? GitHub Repository: https://github.com/shonirits/SHONiR-CMS

And there’s a live demo available to experience performance firsthand:
? Live Demo: https://8.shonir.com/shonir-cms/

I’m curious to know:

What strategies do you use in CodeIgniter to handle extremely high traffic on minimal server resources?

Any tips for optimizing PHP 8 + MariaDB performance in such environments?

How do you balance dynamic content with server load for large-scale requests?

I’d love to hear about other developers’ experiences and best practices in this area.

Thanks in advance!

I noticed some new properties in ContentSecurityPolicy.php:

Hello everyone,
I’d like to propose a standardized Feature Flag system for CI4.
Right now, gradual rollouts, A/B tests, or SaaS-tier restrictions usually mean custom DB checks or environment-based logic. A first-party, modular package (similar to Shield or Settings) could provide a clean, consistent API without adding bloat to the core.
Proposed Approach
Using CI4’s Handler pattern:

• ConfigHandler – config-based flags
  
• DatabaseHandler – per-user, per-tenant, or global toggles
  
• Class Resolvers – for complex logic (e.g., subscription tiers)
  

• Do you feel this is a missing piece in the ecosystem?
  
• Preferred name: codeigniter4/flags or codeigniter4/toggles or something else?
  

Hello,
I'm using CI4 with Shield and would like the session to remain active indefinitely. In Config\Session.php, I set the expiration and timeToUpdate properties to 60×60×24×365 (and also tried setting it to 0). However, the created ci_session cookie still expires on the same day. How can I actually change this?
Action: Set Config\Session->expiration to = 60×60×24×365.

Expectation: I expected the ci_session cookie to have an expiration date set for next year.
Result: The ci_session cookie is still created with a same-day expiration.

It's not the first time I've seen that the app/Config directory contains a lot of unused files (Mime, UserAgent,..)
There is an opportunity for appstarter to reduce their number to a minimum. There are nuances.

1. You can leave the following configs: