Finding the right extensions for TYPO3

As a premiere at the TYPO3 Usergroup in Düsseldorf (TUGDUS) we had an open discussion about TYPO3 extensions at the beginning of the year. In a circle of chairs we shared our experiences, which favorite extensions are used most, what should be the quality criteria for the selection and where it is better not to use a TYPO3 extension at all.

Many thanks also to Tim, who introduced the round with an impulse lecture on his criteria for extension selection.

During the discussion, however, a relatively clear opinion developed very quickly:

THEN* (at the time of the 4th version) the variety of extension possibilities through all kinds of freely available extensions was one of the most important arguments for using TYPO3 as a CMS.

Even today, you can still find older projects in the wild with an epic abundance of extensions that were tried out experimentally and then forgotten again. A recent (anonymous) customer case was even a hot contender for the world champion title in extension installation. But in general the trend goes clearly to the restriction of the extension number.

In the meantime, the core version of TYPO3 is already so extensive and powerful that many of the functions that previously could only be added via an extension can already be solved with standard functions of the CMS.

It's worth doing without, because the experience of many developers and integrators has shown that the fewer extensions in use, the less time-consuming and faster a TYPO3 version update is.

A good example of an extension that can be used without problems in terms of code quality and upgradeability is News (tx_news). For most discussion participants, this high-quality extension is a standard part of their TYPO3 installations. But even with this extension, it should be reconsidered whether it really needs to be installed: After all, customers often don't even need the sophisticated "press database" functions provided by the news extension, but are already satisfied with a simple list of links to normal pages with press releases.

• Prefer established extensions from well-known authors (community)
• Developers can (and should) check the code of the extension beforehand
• Further quality characteristics for extensions:
  • Active developer team
  • Updates for new versions announced
  • Use of the TYPO3 Api (instead of "bypassing" TYPO3)
  • Documentation and support
  • Support for Composer installation in addition to TER

Even without structured "frontal teaching" the last user group was a lot of fun as a round of chairs.

Due to the relaxed atmosphere also participants who had more general questions about TYPO3 spoke up. In the future we will surely offer open rounds more often.

Are you interested in the TYPO3 Usergroup Düsseldorf?

We are looking forward to your visit at the Factory Campus every third Monday of the month.

THEM: 2005 – older TYPO3-User-Group-NRW-veterans still remember.