Upload CodeIgniter to your hosting account, point your domain's document root at the framework's public folder (CodeIgniter 4) or the project root (CodeIgniter 3), then set your database credentials in the config file.
Get the files onto your server
You have two options: upload a downloaded copy, or deploy from a Git repository.
- File Manager upload: download the CodeIgniter zip from the official site, then in the portal go to Services, open your hosting service, and use the File Manager tile. Upload the zip into the folder for your domain and extract it there.
- Git Version Control: if your CodeIgniter project already lives in a repository, use the Git Version Control tile to clone it directly to your account. Future deploys become a matter of pulling new commits.
Point the domain at the right folder
CodeIgniter 4 ships with a public folder that's meant to be the actual web root. Everything else (app logic, vendor files, config) should sit outside the publicly served directory. If your hosting setup serves straight from the domain's main folder, upload the CodeIgniter project into a subfolder (for example ci-app) and then set the document root for that domain to ci-app/public.
CodeIgniter 3 doesn't use a public folder convention the same way; the project root is typically the document root, with application and system folders protected by their own .htaccess files that ship with the framework. Leave those in place.
If you're not sure how to change a document root on your account, open a support ticket and we'll walk you through it for your specific setup.
Create the database and set your config
Use the MySQL Databases tile in the portal to create a database and a database user, then assign that user to the database with full privileges. You'll need the database name, username, password, and host (usually localhost).
Enter those values in app/Config/Database.php (CodeIgniter 4) or application/config/database.php (CodeIgniter 3). If you'd rather manage the database by hand, phpMyAdmin is available as a one-click login from the same Services page and gives you a full SQL interface for imports and table edits.
For CodeIgniter 4, also copy env to .env and set CI_ENVIRONMENT to production once you're live, along with your base URL and database block in that file. CodeIgniter reads the .env file automatically; it doesn't need anything extra configured on our end.
Match the PHP version
Check the CodeIgniter version you're installing against its documented PHP requirements before you go live. Use the PHP Version tile on your service page to switch the PHP version for that domain. If the framework needs specific PHP extensions enabled or disabled, that's handled through cPanel's Select PHP Version tool (the PHP Extensions section), reachable from the cPanel one-click login. See accessing cPanel for when to use cPanel versus the portal.
If you hit upload size or memory limit errors during setup, those are changed in cPanel's MultiPHP INI Editor, not the PHP Version tile.
Why this runs fast by default
CodeIgniter is a lightweight framework and performs well on our stack without any special tuning. Every account runs on LiteSpeed Web Server with LSCache. See how we make your site fast for the full picture of what's running underneath your account.
If something doesn't load
A blank white screen or a 500 error after install is almost always one of three things: the document root pointing at the wrong folder, a database credential typo, or a PHP version mismatch. Work through those in order first. If the site still won't load, open a ticket from Support in the portal. It's a real person on the other end, not a bot.