TYPO3 upgrade to the newest LTS version
System analysis, consultancy and execution of the TYPO3 upgrade
The TYPO3 LTS Versions
Companies and institues, who are using TYPO3 as their professional enterprise CMS (ECMS), need a certain level of investment security. Therefore, we as an agency, only use stable long term support (LTS) versions for our customers' upgrade and relaunch projects. LTS versions are officially supported with security and maintainance updates for 3 years minimum. Security patches cover newly detected security gaps shortly, which – in turn – guarantees a smooth and secure running website for at least 3 years straight.
Currently the following LTS versions are actively used and officially supported:
Why are TYPO3 upgrades neccessary?
When the support period of an LTS version has come to an end, no more issues or security gaps are being solved through the official side. In case a new problem is being detected, your website is unsecure and – depending on the problem – more easily hackable or due to a browser incompability simply not displayable anymore.
Does your website need a TYPO3 upgrade soon? We'll gladly assist you in choosing the right version for your needs and plan your next upgrade with you!
The TYPO3 Upgrade
A TYPO3 upgrade includes a sheer upgrade of the TYPO3 version your website is based on without any design-related adjustments.
TYPO3 upgrades include the renewal of your website on a technical basis. A TYPO3 upgrade basically consists of the TYPO3 Core being upgraded to a higher version alongside an upgrade of all implemented extensions.
The periodic release cycle of TYPO3's versions generally calls for a TYPO3 upgrade every 3 years. In certain cases, an extended support can be purchased from TYPO3 Inc. However, one thing that should be kept in mind: The bigger the difference between two versions is, the more time consuming the upgrade will be.
The Relaunch
Do you want to combine your next TYPO3 upgrade with a redesign of your website? That's what's called a relaunch. Relaunch basically means: re-introduction in the market" and originates from product development and associated product lifecycles.
When talking about a website relaunch, the focus is usually put on the redesign of the website and the content. Most of the time during a relaunch, a completely new, modern and more userfriendly layout is created as well as all existing contents are being updated.
A relaunch is also the perfect opportunity to perfom different on- and off-page optimizations.
What's the typical process of a TYPO3 upgrade?
1. Inventory of the old installation
Before starting with a TYPO3 upgrade, it is neccessary to take a detailed look at the existing installation. Besides information regarding the currently used TYPO3 version, information about implemented extensions, special frames etc. are being gathered in order to be able to make a reasonable guess concerning the upgrade's extent.
2. Determining the required upgrade steps
After successfully gathering all infomation about the current system, the required upgrade steps are being determined. Those upgrade steps vary between projects: If there are any individually developed extensions in the installation, their compatibility to the new version must be ensured first. Following that, a new clone system based on the upgraded TYPO3 core can be created.
3. Creating a separate clone installation
A TYPO3 upgrade should never be exectued on the productive system. Therefore, an individual clone system – which is an exact copy of the current productive system – is created; based on the new TYPO3 version. Thereby all upgrade related work won't affect the up and running website in any way. After all upgrade steps and all downstream adjustments have successfully been executed, the clone system will substitute the productive system.
4. Executing the upgrade steps
After the clone system, based on the new core, has been successfully drafted, all of the following upgrade steps will be executed accordingly.
5. Executing downstream adjustments
After the upgrade has been executed successfully, it usually makes sense, to executed several different further adjustments. Those can be by editorial, by design or by technical nature.
TYPO3 7.6 ELTS
Version 7.6 LTS was published in November 2015 and officially supported with updates until November 2018. During the creation of TYPO3 7.6 LTS the backend was redesigned completely using modern "tile style" icons in order to create a more modern, intuitive user interface. Those adjustments don't only improve the overall look & feel, but also the usability.
Additionally, several editor-friendly features have been integrated, to relieve the daily work with the system for editors. TYPO3 7.6 LTS isn't one of the most popular TYPO3 versions for nothing.
TYPO3 8.7 LTS
On April 4th 2017, the new TYPO3 8.7 with long term support has been released – with official support and further development until March 2020. With version 8.7, some fundamental technologies have been changed. Furthermore, a PHP version of minimum 7.0 is needed, which in turn enables a performance boost of up to 40%.
Besides that several new editorial features, such as the new CKEditor, the new fully responsive backend as well as the integration of several new image manipulation tools have been integrated, in order to further facilitate everyday editorial work.
TYPO3 9.5 LTS
On 2nd October 2018, the new TYPO3 9.5 LTS version has been released after 1,5 years of development. TYPO3 9.5 LTS includes more than 100 new features – with the majority being focussed on out-of-the-box SEO. The overall goal is to implement a majority of the features, which are available as extensions, into the TYPO3 core in order to create a all-in-one CMS. Besides that, TYPO3 9.5 LTS comes with GDPR-compliance, which i.e. enables automatic erasure and anonymisation of IP-adresses.
TYPO3 9.5 LTS will officially supported with security and maintainance updates until October 2021.