How to Develop a Dynamic Website in the CodeIgniter Framework

The dynamic websites demand popularity tends to the development of a content management system instead of using conventional web creation such as HTML. Now various content-based management systems are popping up one by one because of its flexibility and easy handling. The faster and light-weighted platform has MVC features offering exceptional quality for both developers and designers at the same time, giving less time in building the dynamic websites in CodeIgniter. Hence the result the web design and development is towards dynamic website development. However, the information from dynamic website development enlightened the role of content for business needs and trends than static website development. Apart from client-side, it is beneficial to the development side too. Steps to Develop a Dynamic Website in CodeIgniter.

CodeIgniter is an open-source web application framework coded in PHP. It works with different database applications such as DB2 Express C, MySQL and others. As we already know, it uses the MVC pattern; the model manages the data layer communicating with the database. Here In MVC, i.e. model-view-controller – the view manages the presentation layer by displaying the content and UI; the controller manages communication between models and views.

Steps to create a dynamic website using CodeIgniter:

Widgets and CRUD:

Most dynamic websites are different from these explained steps. However, all dynamic websites have two critical things in common, a database and retrieving the data from that database. So for convenience, I’m calling this dynamically retrieved thing as a widget. 

Step 1: To retrieve the data from the database, you are required to create the database first. Here the CRUD comes first. Crud is the four primary operations that need to manage a widget in the database.

Note: CRUD means Create, Read, Update, Delete

Setting up the database:

Step 2: You will create a web application that manages the contact information for a group of students & their parents. To begin creating the data model for the widget. The set of information you will need the following

1. Students name
2. Parents name
3. Address
4. City
5. State
6. Postal code
7. Contact number
8. email address

To store the above information, i.e., widget, create a table named student with fields corresponding to the set of Info identified in the list above. So, create a MySQL database and table creation script.

List 1: MySQL database and table-creation script.

Initiate Codeigniter Setup:

Step 3: After completion of database creation and table, set codeIgniter database variables in .\system\application\config\database.php and in base url in.\system\application\configure.php. 

Default view and controller:

In the next step, create a default controller and view. For this create a controller named student.php in .\system\application\controllers\folder. And set it as default controller in .\system\application\config\routes.php.

List 2: default controller: student.

In the code, we use index() function to create an array named data that consists of 3 named indices – title, headline and include. This array is to pass to view named template stores as template.php in .\system\application\view\folder.

List 3: default view: template.php

This overhead view will be a HTML shell or visual wrapper for all pages in the website. It contains HTML set up and expects three values from the controller- title, headline and include – which corresponds to pages title, page headline and a view file to include for content display. This include view file is the final step of the initial set up. You name it student_index.php as declared in template.php and it is stored in .\system\application\view\folder. List 4 provides its source code.

List 4: Basic ”Hello World” text.

Note that there are no standard HTML structure tags. This is due to student_index.php is added through the template.php view and is. Thus, part of that view’s HTML content and wrapper.

The four CRUD Operations:

Let’s see the web application in terms of CRUD operations.

Create widgets:

Up to now the initial set up has completed, you need to write the code which manages the widgets, we will start with four CRUD operations: create. This code should save user input as a widget in the database.

Start creating an HTML form with fields correlating to the structure of the student table. Create a view file name student_add.php in .\system\application\views\folder.

List 5: generate HTML form fields for the create operation.

Here in this, there are two things to note about this list. 

• It uses form_input() function. It is part of CodeIgniter Form Helper, and it is a quick way to generate HTML required for most forms. It takes three arguments: field name, field value and additional data such that JavaScript.
• form_submit() which takes three arguments which has an empty string for field name which prevents the submit field from being part of the form post array. The model uses this array when adding a record to the database. If the submit field is included, the database insert will fail.

Then you will add a function to the student controller (list 6) able to see HTML form.

6: Incorporate the add() function into the student controller to streamline the addition of new student entries effectively.

 7: Develop the create() function within the student controller to manage the creation process of new student records seamlessly.

8: Utilize the MS student model to establish a robust data layer, ensuring reliable data management and manipulation within the application.

Retrieving Widgets:

The second CRUD operation is Read. This is simply required to read the widget records from a database. It’s common to display these records, which is a reason why most of them refer to this operation and retrieve.

Start with updating the MStudent model with the function to retrieve student table records.

List 9: Mstudent function to retrieve student record.

List 10. Create an HTML table to display student records.

List 11: To display the HTML table, ensure proper formatting and data insertion. Utilize CSS for styling and JavaScript for interactivity.

List 12: Add student records seamlessly using SL script. Validate inputs and handle errors effectively to maintain database integrity.

List 13: Enhance user experience with global navigation links. Implement clear labeling and intuitive design for easy access to all sections.

List 14: In the constructor, load a helper to streamline functionality. Optimize performance and maintain code cleanliness by leveraging CodeIgniter’s modular structure.

Update Widgets:

Now the 3rd CRUD operation: Update

• Read a widget record from a database.
• Display that record for edit.
• Allow the user to submit the update info back to the database.

List 15: Use HTML table class to create a table.

This updated code takes benefit of increased granular control of HTML by

• Include a header row with field name and background colour.
• No display the ID field.
• Add a background colour on alternate rows.

List 16: Customize the edit() function within the Student controller to handle student data modifications efficiently.

List 17: Fetch student records from the database using appropriate SQL queries. Ensure data integrity and security measures are in place.

List 18:  Develop a user-friendly HTML form view dedicated to editing student information. Implement responsive design for seamless usability across devices.

List 19: Implement the Update() function within the student controller to process and validate student data updates accurately.

List 20: Execute the necessary SQL queries to update the student record with the modified information. Confirm successful updates and handle any errors gracefully.

The update function is complete. You can navigate the student listing, edit any of the student records, submit the form and see the updated one in the refreshed student list.

Deleting widgets:

And the final operation is ‘delete’ from CRUD one. The user can be able to select a record from the list, then del that record. 

List 21: Enhance the student list by integrating a delete option. Ensure seamless user experience and data integrity throughout the deletion process.

List 22: Implement the delete() function within the student controller to manage student record removal efficiently. Consider validation and confirmation steps for accuracy.

List 23: Execute the deletion of a student record from the database securely. Confirm successful deletion and handle any potential errors with care.

Great… we have completed the dynamic website using CodeIgniter.

Hope you got to know the procedure of building the dynamic website in CodeIgniter. You got handy Info regarding website development in Codeigniter. Website is an unspotted separation of data layers and presentation since it uses MVC patterns. As by adding the code shortcuts in Codeigniter development time and line of code are minimized. Did you get that this application is completed by only one controller and one model and five views without any hassle?

Contact Krify for more Info for your dynamic website development using Codeigniter. At krify, we are a team of diligent and skilled developers & designers that can make your project done without any complications.