TYPO3 CMS is a free, powerful and flexible web-based Content Management System (WCMS). I.e.: You are able to maintain the content on your website yourself, even without technical knowledge.
TYPO3 is a free software ("Open Source"). This means that anyone (private or commercial) can use it without having to pay license fees.
TYPO3 is also called Enterprise CMS because of its great functionality, which we will explain below. In fact, there are many reasons why TYPO3 is an optimal solution, especially in the professional sector (companies, NGOs, NPOs, etc.) and is preferable to other applications such as WordPress, Drupal or Joomla. The most important are:
If you want to get a quick overview about TYPO3, it is best to read our FAQ about TYPO3.
If you use TYPO3, make sure to use a current LTS version.
You can get a download (incl. installation instructions) on the official TYPO3 website start.
If you are already using an older version, we recommend to update.
In any case you should apply the latest security patch (see last number of the three-part version number) for each main version (no matter if LTS or ELTS).
At the moment the following versions are current:
You can learn more about TYPO3 versions here.
With so-called extensions TYPO3 can be extended almost arbitrarily. These are software modules that anyone can develop themselves or download from the TER(TYPO3 Extension Repository, see https://extensions.typo3.org/) or GitHub.
There are basically three different types of extensions:
For many important use cases that are not part of the TYPO3 core, there are extensions that can be used without hesitation. These include news for news tickers, direct mail for newsletters and gridelements or mask for flexible layout displays.
Basically, however, the fewer extensions you need, the better:
For the sake of completeness it should be mentioned that there are also system extensions. E.g. felogin for protected areas. However, these are technically part of the "core", which is why they are not critical with regard to the above disadvantages.
Since version TYPO3 4.5 there are the so-called Long Term Support (short: LTS) versions. An LTS version is considered stable and is supported for a period of 3 years. After that, it is possible to continue to operate the version within the framework of an Extended Long Term Support (ELTS) version (for which a fee is charged). ELTS versions are maintained for another three years, so that a TYPO3 version is (theoretically) supported for six years (i.e. receives security updates).
Every 1.5 years, a new LTS version is released (as a result of several Sprint Releases). There is no immediate need to always use the latest LTS version. However, new versions usually bring attractive improvements in terms of usability, functionality and performance.
In principle, it can be assumed that the use of a version that is no longer supported represents a security risk and a breach of the European data protection directives (GDPR).
Information about release schedules can be found on the official TYPO3 website at: https://typo3.org/cms/roadmap/
The advantages and disadvantages for the use of TYPO3 CMS can be summarized as follows: