Typo3 and DW

[tomcausland]

Dear all,

In my search for a CMS system I have happend across a programme called Typo3 http://typo3.org/ as I am a Newbie I wanted to know do a lot of people use this for a web-content update system and is it stable and robust? Also does it interface well with good old DW?

Would I need a programmer to help me with this or could I get to grips with it myself?

Best wishes,

[David_Powers · Accepted solution]

Never heard of Typo3, so cannot tell you whether it's good, bad, indifferent, or usable within DW. One thing I did spot was the following in the Typo3 Newbie FAQ:

Can I create a website in 2 days with TYPO3?

People who know TYPO3 well can do it in hours. If you are a total newbie you will need weeks to learn it first.

Notice that no-one on the mailing lists will feel sorry for you if you have a deadline in 3 days and need answers quickly because you are new to TYPO3. Then you chose the wrong product or should pay someone for professional help instead.

At least it's honest. So that's a good thing.

The problem with all content management systems and frameworks is that you can normally load them in a few minutes. Becoming proficient at using them often takes a lot of effort. I have experimented with Drupal, which is very powerful and popular. You don't need any programming skills to use it, but it's very easy to get lost in a maze of admin pages. So, what a CMS hides from you on one level is frequently replaced by the need for a different type of skill. The danger is that if you eventually decide that particular CMS isn't what you really need, your learning process begins all over again. On the other hand, learning to code all the features of a CMS yourself is an equally major undertaking.

Before taking the plunge with a CMS, check that its features really fit in with your current and future needs. Also make sure it's well supported. Typo3 seems to have a large development team, but I've no idea how big a user base it has.

[tomcausland]

Dear David,

Thanks, very useful. I must say that I didn't even realise that it was a complete development code that could be used to set up web pages; I guess that it means it's a competitor of DW?

I am looking for a good CMS system, however, that may change if I write something in DW that can do just the same.

I will check out Drupal to see what it has to offer and will let you know.

I really just want to be able to update and change details on the site, such as news articles via a text box, press a button, and then have it change immediately on my website. My current company has this in their CMS and this is where the thinking comes from.

Best wishes, and thank you for taking the time to answer my query.

T.