End of Lifetime: The Importance of Upgrading TYPO3 CMS Version 8 before it is too late

TYPO3 is a free, easy-to-use, flexible, professional and open-source web content management system written in hypertext preprocessor (PHP) under the GNU general public license. TYPO3 being an outstanding enterprise-level CMS, has been an ideal choice for most businesses, from small to large enterprises.

Its limitless scalability and proven performance have made it an essential digital tool, but all its functionality can be used and leveraged to the fullest only when it is upgraded at regular intervals. As older versions of TYPO3 run on the older, unsupported versions of PHP, hosting companies are also facing legal and security risks.

Adding to that, TYPO3 also announced that the free long-term support (LTS) of TYPO3 version 8 would be discontinued in March 2023. So, there is no more favourable decision than upgrading your CMS to other newer versions or, most favourably, TYPO3 v11 soon.

Users of TYPO3 Version 8 can upgrade to Version 9/10/11 or wait until the release of TYPO3 v12 and upgrade after researching the advantages each version brings in compared to their CMS needs. While TYPO3 v9 will run with ELTC support until September 2024, TYPO3 v10 will run on LTS till April 2023 and on ELTS support until April 2026. The latest TYPO3 version, Version 11, comes with extensive advantages of higher user comfort in the backend, faster delivery, reduced security risks, and free support until October 2024.

DMG has worked with a broad client base whose CMS was upgraded to the latest version of TYPO3,
and regularly updating them to be up-to-date has resulted in an enhanced user experience. This article will walk you through the need to upgrade to newer versions from TYPO3 v8 and discuss the enhanced features that TYPO3 v11 brings in.

DMG is an all-in-one expert in delivering exceptional digital experiences and innovation that helps businesses grow exponentially. In the last two decades, we have built custom-tailored CMS solutions that provide lasting value to companies and their customers.

With the TYPO3 CMS tool, we have built many performance-driven websites that deliver users with compelling, faster and SEO-friendly web experiences that rank higher on search engines, keep users’ attention glued, and result in higher conversion rates.

Our experiences have shown that upgrading the TYPO3 site to the latest version is the most cost-effective way for the businesses to get the most value out of the sites with regards to increased traffic, lead generation and conversions.

We have developed a proven process and well-structured plan for upgrading TYPO3 websites, even those with a lot of customisations, making the process smooth, secure and plannable. If you are planning to get your site upgraded to any TYPO3 version but are baffled at the process, we’d love to support you. Once we get in touch, we’ll investigate your site’s current systems and make an in-depth analysis of your site’s technical web infrastructure to make the best possible planning for your team to move to the new version of TYPO3.

Every new version comes with additional minor updates at regular intervals. These updates are brought to clear the security issues. So the type of update your site needs will indicate the complexity and cost incurred.

TYPO3 gives three years of free LTS for every new version, and after that, your business needs to go with the paid version of updates and services known as ELTS – Extended Long Term Support. The ELTS support is provided for the next three years after LTS ends.

It is not necessary to upgrade to every new version of TYPO3. Whenever the free LTS of a version is taken away by TYPO3, it is a good time to upgrade to the latest version. But that is not the only way out; your site can stick to the older version with TYPO3 ELTS service.

DMG recommends that businesses upgrade their CMS between every major version, as there will be ample time to plan the upgrade, and the site can also be protected under the TYPO3 community support.

If your site is now running on TYPO3 v8, it is the right time to upgrade to TYPO v10 or v11. It is also possible for site owners to wait until April 2023 for TYPO3 version 12 and directly upgrade to it.

As mentioned earlier in this article, the long-term support for TYPO3 v8 was discontinued in March 2020, and it is now running with extended long-term support. TYPO3 announced that the ELTS support for TYPO3 v8 will also get suspended in March 2023. It means that the websites with version 8 of TYPO3 will run normally, but TYPO3 won’t offer any support or updates in case of any vulnerability or security threat.

Updating TYPO3 is a complex process. It requires the necessary tech knowledge and high costs to do the update. The choice in terms of custom code and integrations can further increase this complexity.

Since it is a complex process, you need the support of a TYPO3 developer, who will integrate all necessary steps like backing up the current version, updating the required extensions, and relaunching TYPO3 if essential.

With that, a few reasons adding to the need for expert support are:

It is essential to have expert support in upgrading TYPO3. Selecting the right partner/expert to update TYPO3 is equally important to update CMS. Your TYPO3 update partner needs to update TYPO3 without harming your business’ web presence during and after updating.

At DMG, when we onboard client’s to update their TYPO3 site, the first step is to study the compatibility of their site, TYPO3, PHP and the extensions used.

When updating TYPO3 on client’s sites, as a priority step, we back up the current version of TYPO3. The next step will be taking the site into TYPO3 maintenance mode and performing the update procedures. These two steps ensure that, while TYPO3 is being updated in the backend, there should not be any disturbance for the users and customers visiting the website.

TYPO3 v11 has been gradually developed, and many businesses have updated their site to the latest version. It comes with extensive advantages of:

The latest TYPO3 LTS available is Version 11.5. V11 as a whole came with features to make TYPO3 user-friendly backend development. This also includes new system requirements and removes obsolete coding, making it easy to use. Few other highlighted long-term expected features are multi-factor authentication and link sharing in the backend of TYPO3.

The latest update to version 10 was TYPO3 v10.4, released on 15th June 2022. V10 runs on a free LTS support until April 2023, and its ELTS support can be availed till April 2026. Some of the key features are:

The main highlight of Version 9 TYPO3 was improved SEO performance. TYPO3 v9’s LTS had already expired in September 2021, and now the TYPO3 community only provides ELTS support for sites running TYPO3 v9. It will be suspended in September 2024. Some of the key features are:

User experience is the key to the growth for every business. And as websites are the primary point of contact for the target audience to get introduced to the brands and businesses, it is essential to keep the websites updated.

Every time TYPO3 launches new versions, it introduces various new functionalities, improves modernity & speed, enhances industrial standards, increases security threads, fixes bugs, increases compatibility and simplifies backend working. And it ultimately results in an improved user experience.

After launching new versions, TYPO3 gives three years of free LTS, where their security team will regularly check for bugs and security gaps to resolve all the issues. Once the free LTS ends, businesses can opt for ELTS, which is a paid service provided by the TYPO3 for the next three years post-LTS period.

TYPO3 v8 is now running with the ELTS support, and it will come to an end by March of 2023. After that, the TYPO v8 will not receive any updates from the TYPO3 community making the sites more exposed to threats and hackers. Keeping the site associated with the unsupported version of TYPO3 will put the site through

And as said above, it is not conceivable or a need for every site to upgrade to every new version of TYPO3. Instead, businesses can opt to upgrade between every two major versions. For instance, TYPO3 v8 users now have the flexibility to choose between version 9, version 10 or version 11 to upgrade.

Updating now future proofs you for the next version of TYPO3. Your site also has the option to be left with the older version of TYPO3 with ELTS support. But when a situation arises to update or relaunch your TYPO3 site in the future, it will make the processes much more complicated.

With DMG you will get extensive support for transitioning into TYPO3 v11, why delay more?