A new update is available...

Welcome to the modernisation society!

Various artists, scientists and authors have already discussed, endorsed or demonised the diverse contexts and effects of the shift in values towards an information-rich "upgrade culture" (Spreen). The call to optimise oneself, be it informationally, physically and/or technically, is articulated in demands such as "optimise yourself", "be up-to-date" and "operate in the zeitgeist" - which often boils down to the fact that we can never be up-to-date enough. It is not uncommon for the update notifications that pop up regularly to trigger an avalanche of questions: Do I really need this? Do I need to improve? Do I need to update myself, my mobile phone, my operating system and content management system again, or haven't I done so yet?

When intrusive becomes too urgent...

Software is never quite finished per se. A digital, dynamic world, in which technologies, platforms and forms of communication can change by the second, requires correspondingly agile methods and procedures in order to be able to master the possibilities of use and misuse with and through software.

What can certainly be perceived as an intrusive compulsion to update when Windows installs what feels like the hundredth operating system update quickly becomes an urgent must-install when a hacker attack suddenly demonstrates how volatile entire IT infrastructures can still be and how they suddenly have to go offline for several weeks, as a cyber attack on the Berlin Court of Appeal at the beginning of the year showed.

A reassessment of the perceived "intrusive scaremongering" to an important "urgent need for action" then usually arises very quickly when security gaps are suddenly exposed by outdated and obsolete software and fears arise about the data that still exists, which could now possibly be lost or copied...

TYPO3 Upgrade or not TYPO3 Upgrade - that is the question!

As an agency, 3pc has been actively experiencing and shaping technological and digital change in a wide range of institutions and industries since 1995. This has shown that website relaunches or upgrades of content management systems in particular go hand in hand with continuous update cycles.

In view of the increased number of enquiries and commissions regarding various relaunch projects and continuous website support, we often hear the question of when and why updating a content management system can be worthwhile. The 10th long-term support version of TYPO3 also has important arguments in its favour:

Security: The risk of technical failures, hacker attacks or data theft is reduced.

Cost savings: warnings can be avoided with a GDPR-compliant website and CMS installation.

Customers and revenue gains through better performance: speed determines user-friendliness, whether someone stays or bounces.

Easier editorial work: New tools, workflow optimisations and views in the backend make it easier to work with content

Search engine optimisation: Improved website ranking, as TYPO3 now has optimised SEO options onboard

Uncomplication: Technological legacy or cumbersome, grown backend structures should be reviewed and removed.

Some functions that should make everyday work easier for editorial teams:

New in LTS 10

Dashboard including widgets for an overview of changes in the backend and update notifications - helpful for gaining a quick overview of possible editorial changes.

Slugs = human- and machine-readable URL endings are now easier to manage and are automatically adjusted when changes are made

Highlights from versions 8 and 9

TYPO3's own SEO tools: Generation of title tags, XML sitemaps with TYPO3

Social media handling from the backend, including uploading your own images for Facebook and Twitter posts

Improved image handling and drag-and-drop movement of pages in the backend

Optimised CKEditor

Responsive backend, also for mobile use and graphic modernisation

Further information at: typo3.org

Security advantage: Long-term support for TYPO3 10 LTS

TYPO3 10 LTS will be provided with continuous updates until April 2023, security updates are available with Extended Support until April 2026, as you can read in more detail at typo3.org.

It is absolutely necessary and also advisable to update an outdated version. In view of outdated functions and technologies as well as grown content and the associated slowdown of the system, commissioning a system audit is often the first step in order to check the existing amount of content and extensions used as well as their versions and to be able to estimate the costs of an upgrade. We are happy to answer questions about data migration, changed functions and options for keeping the system up to date.

Watch the TYPO3 10 LTS webcast

We are happy to make our one-hour TYPO3 10 LTS webcast from 29 April available to you in an exclusive area. If you did not attend the info event, you can still register at events.3pc.de and will also receive access. Further information will follow.

About the author

Dennis Hartmann is a project manager at 3pc. He specialises in the management of website relaunches and the development of campaigns and products with an audiovisual focus. Hartmann studied media and art studies at the Technical University and University of Fine Arts Braunschweig and specialised in audiovisual media cultures and digital media technologies in the field of news and information technology at the Institute for Media Research (IMF). He is currently developing and directing the podcast series "Internet & whatever comes next", for which he conducts interviews with representatives from culture, media and politics on the status quo and changes in the digital transformation.