Depending on feature richness and modularity, a content management system can be an investment not affordable for many - so the idea of looking for cheaper or even free alternatives comes to mind. There is actually a bunch of — more or less mature — solutions under Open Source or freeware licenses.

There are CMS written in Java as well as in Perl and PHP. Many of the commercial products support Enterprise JavaBeans, while the Apache Software Foundation features their own flavor, the XML-based Cocoon project. A very good candidate is Typo3. Completely PHP/MySQL-based, it offers a wealth of features turning many commercial colleagues green with envy. And, it can support a thorough comparison with its Open Source peers without blushing.

What is Typo3?

In short, TYPO3 is a web content management framework, and of course much more can be said about that. From its own website, Typo3's definition is: « a free Open Source content management system for enterprise purposes on the web and in intranets. It offers full flexibility and extendability while featuring an accomplished set of ready-made interfaces, functions and modules. ». This certainly sounds like the usual commercial gibberish, but in fact they're pretty close to what the platform actually is.

The idea behind Typo3 is quite simple: choosing a CMS can be a long and difficult process, especially since there are a large number of content management systems available. A lot of those systems appear as niche products, and while they do quite well what they're suited for, they might become less ideal for other purposes. That's where Typo3 adds some value: whether you're looking to manage content in a large corporation, university, non-profit organization or a small business, it can provide you with an enterprise-level solution that meets your needs. You no longer need to settle for an expensive proprietary CMS with very little features, or turn to a cluttered approach with multiple systems running in parallel.

Typo3 for everybody

A CMS can only be successful if content editors and administrators are willing to use it. This makes usability a very important factor when choosing a system. Unfortunately, most of the time you have to choose between a CMS that is easy to use or one that has the functionality you need. With TYPO3, you won't have to make that decision since the software already maintains a good balance between the two.

For both content editors and administrators, Typo3 includes an incredibly long list of features, amongst which some can usually be found in overpriced commercial solutions.

One important thing to understand about Typo3 is that it was built with a clear split between content and structure in mind. The platform clearly separates the administrator role from the content editor one. In Typo3's "philosophy", these are physically different persons. The website(s) rely on the administrator for the day-to-day management, tuning, reporting, etc… while the content is aggregated, condensed and injected into the pages by a collaborative team of content editors, without having to touch to the admin module (what Typo3 calls "Frontend editing").

Typo3, more than its Open Source colleagues like Drupal or Joomla!, offers a real framework for an effective collaboration. One direct consequence of the above is that Typo3 implements a solid security system, with a complete user / user groups management system, and a number of features specifically devoted to this aspect of the platform.

From a web developer's perspective, Typo3 is an insanely powerful CMS system. Plug-ins, for example, are not limited to the usual basic stuff; you can have extensions that include custom data objects (and their relationships) or web UI to represent your new objects as well as roles for them. Think of the possibilities. Of course, this has a price: expect to dig into the secrets for months.

Typo3's main features

The "core" version of Typo3 already offers an impressive list of features. However, it can be extended through plug-ins and templates.

  • Rich text editor with WYSIWYG editing and multi-language spell checker
  • Unlimited history / undo
  • Effective security, with content approval, LDAP auth, lock to domain, sandbox, SSL support
  • Comprehensive user groups management
  • Powerful internal and external search engine
  • Multi-language, multi-sites and multi-domains
  • Intuitive UI with context-sensitive menu and design wizards
  • Importing of rich text content (eg. DOC, RTF) from client apps or the web
  • Versioning system
  • Advertising, assets and links management
  • Content syndication
  • Search engine optimization
  • Numerous plugins for blog, calendar, chat, file distribution, forms, polls, news, wiki…
  • 100% XHTML/CSS/WAI-compliant rendering engine
  • Frontend or Backend editing
  • Dynamic templates with TypoScript language
  • Multiple templates by site
  • Dynamic menus

Strengths

  • Very modular, scalable and flexible, Typo3 is ready for anything from a single-user blog to an enterprise-level intranet
  • Its security and user management features make it the ideal candidate for community-based solutions
  • Plotting a clear line between the admin and the editors enhances the collaborative approach
  • Multiple sites, domains and languages ease the deployment of large projects

Weaknesses

  • The admin interface is clumsy and outdated. It requires a lot of right-clicking (which can be annoying for mac users) and leaves a feeling of nostalgia – it's sometimes like working on an old win98 app
  • The documentation is not rich enough, and requires frequent use of the community
  • Typo3 is huge and will eat a lot of your time before you master it

Final thoughts

From the 3 solutions we have reviewed so far (Joomla!, Drupal and Typo3), out preference clearly goes to the latter. Despite imposing a slow learning curve because of its complexity, it is certainly worth the time spent. Since what is capable of the most is also capable of the least, it provides a foundation for virtually any kind of project. That's why Typo3 is — so far — our first choice.

Links

» Download Typo3
» Typo3 website
» Typo3 presentation
» Typo3 documentation
» Typo3 extensions
» Typo3 community