TYPO3 was developed in 1997 from scratch by Kasper Skårhøj, a Danish developer, when the term “Content Management” was still widely unknown. But as websites became more and more complex, the idea to have a system that separated design and content was a smart solution to an emerging problem.

In 1998 Kasper developed 3 prototypes and continuously improved them until the final concept emerged. Then in 1999 the technical foundation of TYPO3 was finalized, providing a flexible and powerful base for the system until today.

Kasper chose open source, because „it's almost certain that if you share something like I did, pushing it out there in the open and if it has a pull on other people, then something strange, beautiful, unexpected and very valuable in a non-monetary sense will happen.“

TYPO3 is an enterprise-class, Open Source CMS (Content Management System), used internationally to build and manage websites of all types, from small sites for non-profits to multilingual enterprise solutions for large corporations. The API-driven extension framework offers unlimited flexibility by letting developers extend the functionality and add new types of content elements using standard programming practices like model-view-controller (MVC) design.

Thanks to the large community of developers that use TYPO3, you can already find a solution for almost any need in the Extension Repository. TYPO3 provides an extremely detailed permissions system for implementing professional editing workflows for both users and groups and administrators can even manage multiple websites in one TYPO3 installation and share users, extensions, and content between them.

The complete separation of design from content, with a designer-friendly template system, enables developers to quickly and easily map existing HTML & CSS files to dynamic content without limiting the design options for professional website designers. If the website needs to change dramatically, site redesigns are easily implemented in TYPO3.

The extension framework and database-driven design of TYPO3 means that sites can scale easily and adapt to future needs without a large investment in hardware or costly rebuilds. TYPO3 provides the best out-of-the-box solution and a stable, high-performance architecture that can accommodate almost any type of custom solution or extension. It is supported by a large community of both users and developers that is this large around the world that it’s always possible to find support, and a library of documentation, tutorial videos, and books are available in multiple languages.

Thanks to the community, TYPO3 is a very active project with frequent updates, regular releases, a dedicated security team and a solid roadmap. Under the direction of the TYPO3 Association, core developers in the community keep TYPO3 consistently progressing from version to version.

TYPO3 is published under the General Public License (GPL), which means that there are no licensing fees or upgrade costs over time.

The open source nature of TYPO3 also means that problems or bugs are fixed faster by the community and TYPO3 sites are less vulnerable to known security holes.

The biggest advantage of using a content management system (CMS) for your website is the ability to control your content separately from the layout or design. With a powerful CMS like TYPO3, you can add, change, and remove text, images, and plug-ins in your site without installing any proprietary software or paying a third-party. Because of the simple administration and editing tools in TYPO3, you can run and edit any kind of site, personal or business, without learning HTML, CSS, programming, or web design. There are other CMS solutions out there, of course, but TYPO3 has some unique features that make it a great option for websites of any size, from small to enterprise:

• Easy templating: The designer-friendly template system lets you quickly and easily map existing HTML & CSS files to dynamic content;
• Flexible designs: Use one template for your whole site or make your pages and sections unique by giving some of them their own templates;
• Simple site structure: TYPO3 allows you to organize your site into pages and folders in the backend that dynamically update your menus;
• Intuitive AJAX drag & drop: Use drag & drop editing to move around pages in the backend or edit content elements in the backend and frontend;
• Multilingual: The backend supports more than 30 languages, and the frontend can support as many languages as you need through localization;
• Multi-site management: With one central TYPO3 installation, you can setup and manage multiple sites that can share users, extensions and more;
• Granular permissions control: TYPO3 allows you to easily control the permissions of backend users and groups by extensions, pages, and more;
• Extensive documentation: TYPO3 already has a large library of online documentation, tutorial videos, and books available in multiple languages;
• True WYSIWYG editing: Use the advanced rich-text editor in TYPO3 to compose all your content in a full-featured, customizable writing environment;
• Built-in image editing: Automatically generate graphic menus or edit images with tools for resizing, cropping, and more in TYPO3;
• Frontend editing: TYPO3 lets you edit content in the same frontend your visitors see so you can do faster updates and see your changes in context;
• Automatic caching: The advanced caching system gives you total control, including options for manual refresh and static page generation;
• Integrated search: TYPO3 automatically indexes your content to make it searchable in the backend and frontend with the built-in search tools;
• Powerful extension framework: With the API-based framework in TYPO3, you can quickly extend your own website using best practices;
• Large extension repository: There are thousands of extensions from the community available for forms, newsfeeds, blogs, and much more;
• Community and commercial support: TYPO3 makes it easy for users and developers to find support through the community or professionals.

Although Kasper Skårhøj has meanwhile quit TYPO3, he writes in „Kasper‘s Korner“: „The project lives on, the spirit in particular does and I'm very thrilled to be a part of it still and maybe - God knows - come back to it some day in the future. I feel so proud when I see the innovation and collaboration still going on in my absence. I am particularly happy that the spirit that has always been in the community - a friendly atmosphere some tell me that I brought in - is still alive and captivating people. The grand vision really is exactly that - that we may be inspiring people to share! Never forget that, my friends!“ (Source: typo3.org)

By MediaBUZZ