Content Inventory, Relaunch und Upgrade to TYPO3 v13

We started the project with a comprehensive content inventory and an in-depth analysis of all existing SEGGER systems (TYPO3 website, knowledge base, blog, and two shops) to create a harmonized system landscape.

Together with SEGGER, we took a detailed look at three topics:

Target groups: We defined target groups, developed personas, and assigned them to the respective systems. On this basis, existing and required content could be identified and organized in a structured manner. Selected sections and systems were given new, more appropriate names.

Existing contents: The current page and content structure, especially in the product area, was reviewed. SEGGER has significantly revised or rewritten some of the content.

Current presentation: We also created a detailed overview of how and for what purpose the various content elements are used in TYPO3. This allowed recurring combinations to be replaced with new, tailor-made elements. Components that were no longer needed were removed in the course of the project.

In addition to this fundamental inventory, the product pages underwent a redesign in terms of content, and a modern design with revised navigation structures was developed. The accompanying frontend prototype was later migrated into the TYPO3 installation.

In this time, SEGGER also reorganized its product range, changing it from four to five product categories.

In addition to the regular meetings, we arranged an in-depth meeting with the SEGGER editorial team. We wanted to understand in detail how they work with the current system and identify any problems they are experiencing.
The name is derived from the Pair Programming technique, in which two developers work together on a task using a single computer.

We discussed the various questions, issues, and expectations in a roundtable setting.

We were able to resolve some issues directly on site. The others can be grouped as follows:

• Errors or missing functionality in the old TYPO3 system. Many of these were resolved by upgrading to a newer version of TYPO3.
• Unclear maintenance due to outdated or superfluous fields and options in the backend. Other issues included options that only had an effect in the frontend in certain constellations. Once again, this demonstrates the importance of configuring a user-friendly backend and planning new features for the long term.
• More flexible options for placing content.
• Variations in spacing between content that were difficult to influence.

This resulted in additional tasks that we were able to implement in conjunction with the upgrade project.

In addition to the TYPO3 upgrades, we brought all components of the installation to the state of the art and streamlined the system overall.
We replaced outdated TYPO3 extensions with core methods or current solutions.

By switching from Bootstrap 4 (and Bootstrap Package) to tailor-made custom styles and utilizing modern browser technologies, we reduced the primary stylesheet to almost a third of its original size. As a result, loading times and performance have been significantly improved.

We simplified and modernized the HTML structure for all new and many existing website components. Structured data was also included for various types of content.
These measures provided lasting improvements to semantics and accessibility.

The frontend optimizations also significantly improve Core Web Vitals. For mobile devices, the average score increased from 71 to 98, and for computers from 91 to 99.

Many quick wins were possible in the TYPO3 backend, such as hiding unused fields or configuring a non-public news preview page.

In other areas, we analyzed in greater depth whether certain options were still in use and whether better solutions could replace them.
The spacing and alignment of content were standardized, as were the selection of backgrounds and the use of rounded borders. Existing content (no less than 30,000 active data records) was always kept in mind and migrated as needed.

The existing gridelements were replaced by container elements. We converted recurring, nested content structures into customized, lean content elements. This simplifies editorial work and significantly reduces the complexity of the page structure.

When we replace content elements with a new, improved solution, existing records must be properly migrated. The same applies to switching page layouts or adjusting fundamental styling options, such as content alignment.

We automated these migrations during the deployment of each adjustment. It allowed editors to concentrate on their actual work.