Content Management Systems: Typo3 - PHP-MySQL CMS

TYPO3 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.

Typo3 Highlights

Dynamic graphics generation
You will simply love it: Create graphical menus on the fly - with background image layers, typography, overlays, dropshadows, alpha channel masking and much more. Add or remove titles and see the graphics regenerating instantly!
TYPO3 has a long-held reputation for providing a very powerful engine for graphics generation which is still a unique feature among even top-notch CMSs.
(Optional feature which requires certain server software to be available)
Image processing
Resize images physically just right for web-display (no HTML-scaling!) No need to know of graphics formats, pixel dimensions or filesizes - just upload images directly from digicam or CD-ROMs and let TYPO3 do the rest. Even non-web formats like TIF, AI, PDF, PCX etc. can be converted into correctly scaled and optimized images perfectly fittting the needs of the web.
(Optional feature which requires certain server software to be available)
Intelligent Imaging
Many modern CMSs provide WYSIWYG editors. TYPO3 provides more than that. Because WYSIWYGs also impose the problem that users can change "too much" (for example by incorrect image handling by a user). TYPO3\'s unique "Magic Image" technology intelligently takes notice of that and rescales distorted images accordingly to its real dimensions from the original source.
TypoScript template engine.
The template engine is powered by TYPO3\'s own declarational configuration “language”, TypoScript. This gives you the power to customize any of the default configurations as well as customize content for visitors based on client browser, IP-numbers, operating system, disability or any user-defined parameter (through PHP).
The TypoScript engine can be seemlessly combined with custom PHP-logic.
Hierarchical structure
All objects - pages and records - are organized in a hierarchical tree structure similar to a computer filesystem with folders and files inside. Not only is this concept well known by any computer user, but it\'s is also the best concept by far for clear organization of information.
Multiple sites
TYPO3\'s core architecture has been designed to handle an unlimited number of independent websites or projects within the same system. Corporate solutions with internet, intranets, extranets, subdivisions can be handled in the same system. Multiple smaller websites served by an ISP can also share the same database. This is both extremely usefull and an efficient way to lower maintenance costs.
Editing of static files
TYPO3 mainly manages content from the database. However, TYPO3 can also be configured to edit static HTML-files with the inherent WYSIWYG capabilities. Thus even special static pages can be managed through the intuitive editor.
Open architecture.
TYPO3 offers a flexible and open structure, it is based on open standards and programmed in the most popular web scripting language (PHP4) available. That offers you the freedom to “escape” from TYPO3 into a technology used by 8 million domains and known by maybe as many programmers world wide.
Quick Implementation Time.
A crew of developers experienced with TYPO3 can implement a design for a website in ranging from a matter of hours to a few days given a medium amount of requirements. Even when extensive customization is needed, TYPO3 - as a framework, provides powerful concepts which cut down development time and more importantly ensures that sudden changes in project specifications are easy to handle.
Expandable on all levels.
TYPO3 can be extended on many levels. Not only does the architecture allow you to perform data processing with your own PHP-scripts, classes and functionsm but it also allows you to seemlessly integrate your own or third party backend modules, website plugins, database tables etc. And for the really hardcore programmer, any class used in the core system can be extended and customized without ever losing backwards compatibility with new versions of the core system.
Modularized.
The modularized structure does not mean any extra costs in time. TYPO3 offers all extensions for free and you get the full package by default - you enable only the features you need. Furthermore, developers from all over the world are currently collaborating on making new extensions as needed, often sponsored by a customer who has requested it.
Unique caching technique
Dynamic publishing often involves heavy processing from time to time. TYPO3 is optimized to handle these situations cleverly. When the page is first called, all major data processing is performed once, then cached. With the next page request, the result is immediately returned. This applies to all levels - from serving pages to generation of menus and to the complex assemblance of layered images. Made once, served many times. But it doesn\'t stop there.
Multiple editing modes
Authors can either control the content from the backend which offers an “inside” overview of the content and access to all control features. Or, if it fits the purpose better, they can switch to the context oriented, intuitive "Frontend Editing" mode, where they simply surf the website, find the correct element, click the edit-symbol found near the element and edit the content. This is the same award winning technology known from high-end systems like RedDot SmartEdit.
Frontend editing is so intuitive that users need practically no training!
Cross-format Search Engine The trouble with large sites is that they tend to confuse users and often even creators. Remembering that bit of text written two years ago, or that special list might be easy, but the whereabouts of such an item, regardless of whether it\'s a regular webpage-element, a PDF or a Word document, let alone a message board item or any other part of your website, is hard to find or recreate from memory. That is what a true search engine should be doing. Consider it done. It\'s included.
Large developer community
TYPO3 has a large world wide community of developers with clients from all types of business branches securing its continual development of any additional modern requirements of a CMS.
Much for nothing
TYPO3 is licensed under GNU/GPL. Therefore, TYPO3 requires no license costs unlike its commercial competitors. TYPO3 is created with an abundance mentality where all acknowledged TYPO3 consultancies provide fundings for the development of features which will eventually benefit the whole community. Noone keeps the best ideas for themselves which insures that wheel is not invented twice.