TYPO3 Content Management System (CMS)

We strongly believe that fresh content is the key to web marketing success. Our customers are the best source for new content, so we make it easy for them to edit their sites. We searched long and hard for a Content Management System (CMS) that was:

As easy as editing a word-processing document
Search engine friendly, with plain language page names
Able to maintain the designed look and feel
Secure and resistant to attacks by hackers.
Flexible, easily allowing new content and sections without requiring a redesign
Not proprietary, but instead is based upon readily-available technologies available from multiple providers
Portable across a number of web hosts
Able to delegate responsibility to authors and editors in definable areas while still maintaining overall control of the system
Able to have both public and private content
Actively and professionally maintained

Since 2005 we have recommended the free, open source TYPO3 CMS. TYPO3 is an established CMS with active use in North America, Europe and around the world. It is enterprise class, capable of handling sites with thousands of pages, yet is intuitive and easy for individual content providers to use. Tens of thousands of sites have been built with TYPO3, ranging from large scale commercial sites to those for non-profit and governmental organizations. Details and examples may be seen at the web sites TYPO3.com and TYPO3.org.

The system has developed over time, and is now on version 7.6 LTS. LTS = Long Term Support. That means that the system will have bug fixes and security fixes through November 2018.

In other words, it is a proven product producing professional results with a large international support community in both commercial and non-profit sectors.

TYPO3 is built upon open source components that are also well-supported. It will operate on a variety of servers and is published using the GPL license. Content, structure and design are entirely separate, so in the future our client can change the look of the site just by changing its template. The entire site will flow into the new look automatically.

Flexibility

Thousands of open source plug-in modules have been developed for TYPO3 and are readily available under the same GPL license. These include:

Calendars
Carousels
Link farms
Forums
Banner advertising management
E commerce systems
News Articles
Newsletter mailing
Photo galleries
Document download systems
and more

Ease of Use

An author who is permitted to edit only one page, for instance a Member Club's page, would only have access to the page they could edit. Authors can copy and paste a word processing document with images directly into the TYPO3 system and the images will be automatically inserted into the site.Once logged in, an author may even edit the page(s) they are permitted to work on while browsing the public view of the site (without using the back end).

Multiple editor and administrative levels are permitted, giving the site manager excellent controls. The authoring environment can be set up so that an author's work is immediately made public, or must be approved by their editor(s) first.

When pages are changed, original versions are saved and the administrator can revert back to earlier versions. Content may also be time-managed, only to appear after and/or until specified dates.

The site's menus, even drop-down, multi-level menus, are adjusted automatically as new pages or sections are added or removed. Member-only sections or pages would only display to those authorized to see them.

Content that appears in several places need only be modified at one location, automatically changing everywhere else.

Public and editor's view of the same TYPO3 CMS page.

Site Management

As improvements in TYPO3 and its modules become available, upgrades can be managed through the back end interface, without the need to use code editing programs or FTP programs. The sites are entirely managed through the browser interface.

The back end interface also permits the creation of document libraries of files for download from the site.

Multiple templates are allowed, so different sections of the site can be designed appropriately and corporate branding maintained.

Resources

TYPO3 is supported by a large international community of users. See some of the TYPO3 tutorials and other resources available may be seen on our TYPO3 Resources page.