Adventures with Typo3

Typo3 is an advanced CMS system based on Php and MySQL.
I decided to give typo3 a go for a new site I’m messing about with in my free time. I needed something that could manage the content easily without looking like phpnuke with its ugly urls and box-like layout, so typo was the obvious choice.
The powerful options available in terms of content management are worth the effort, but you have to be prepared for its learning curve. It’s not simply a matter of grabbing the files, uploading them and publishing.
The initial setup and configuration via the install tool takes a good half hour to complete, as you have to edit a wide range of options and paths before you can begin using it.
Unlike some open source projects typo doesn’t come with a lot of documentation – at least not in English, so using an example site as a starting point can make things marginally easier.
Tom from 2BScene uses it widely and our current site uses it as the backend, so I’ve been picking his brain over the last few days.
There are a wide range of extensions available via the online repository, so spending a bit of time exploring the options can pay dividends.