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Wolfgang Wagner - TYPO3 Seminare, Workshops, Tutorials, Support
Why you shouldn't ignore the TYPO3 community

Why you shouldn't ignore the TYPO3 community

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Using TYPO3 alone works. But if you ignore the community, you miss out on knowledge, contacts and the chance to help shape the system.

Why I take this topic seriously

I have been active in the TYPO3 community for over 16 years. I co-founded the TYPO3 Usergroup Bodensee in 2012, work in the Education Team of the TYPO3 Association and run my own TYPO3 forum on t3forum.net. Every year I attend three to five events: TYPO3camps, T3CON, Developer Days. The community has shaped my business. Without it, I wouldn't be doing what I do today.

Nevertheless, I regularly meet TYPO3 users who deliberately stay away. Some because of a lack of time, some because they don't know where to start. This article is for them.

What the TYPO3 community actually offers

The TYPO3 community is not an abstract entity. There are concrete points of contact:

  • TYPO3camps: barcamps in various cities where you can attend sessions or offer them yourself. Admission is cheap, the standard is high and the atmosphere is relaxed.
  • TYPO3 Developer Days: The annual developer conference with workshops and presentations.
  • TYPO3 Slack: The fastest way to get rid of a question. Thousands of active members in specialized channels.
  • t3forum.net: My own forum, the community hub for TYPO3. Questions can be found here permanently, unlike in Slack.
  • Local user groups: There are regular meetups in many cities. If not: Start one. I did this in 2012 at Lake Constance and it was worth it.
  • TYPO3 Association: The organization behind the project. Membership is available for just a few euros a month.

What you get out of it

Three things that I personally got the most out of it:

Knowledge that no manual provides. The official documentation is good. But the experience of how other integrators solve certain problems in practice can only be gained through exchange. In Slack, at TYPO3camps or in the forum.

Contacts that lead to orders and collaborations. Some of my best professional relationships have been made at TYPO3 events. Not by formally exchanging business cards, but by working on problems together.

Influence on the system. TYPO3 is open source. That means: if you get involved, you help shape it. I work in the Education Team on the exam content for TYPO3 certification. This is voluntary work and takes time, but I can have a direct influence on the skills TYPO3 integrators should have.

What it costs

Time. That's the honest point. Community work is not a sure-fire success. TYPO3camps, forum posts, Slack, events: All of that takes hours that you can't charge for. And yes, traveling to events costs money.

My advice: Start small. Read along in Slack. Ask a question in the forum. Attend a TYPO3camp near you. You don't have to join a committee right away.

Conclusion

The TYPO3 community is one of the reasons why TYPO3 is still relevant after more than 25 years. You can use TYPO3 without knowing the community. But you're giving away a big part of what TYPO3 is all about.

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[Translate to English:] Wolfgang Wagner, TYPO3 Experte und Trainer

Hi, I'm Wolfgang.

I have been working with TYPO3 since 2006. Not in theory, but in real projects with real deadlines. I've probably had the problems you're having three times already.

At some point, I started putting my knowledge into video courses. Not because I like being in front of the camera, but because I kept hearing the same questions over and over again. There are now hundreds of videos. Every single one was the result of a specific question from a specific project.

What makes me different from a YouTube tutorial: I not only know the solution, but also the context. Why something works. When it doesn't work. And which mistakes you can avoid because I've already made them.

As a member of the TYPO3 Education Committee, I make sure that the certification exams are kept up to date. What is tested there flows directly into my courses.