TYPO3 Camp London 2025 – Why Visibility Matters

|Florian Keitgen
Graphic featuring a stylized design of the London skyline with the logo for TYPO3 Camp London prominently displayed in the center.

For years, we’ve been active with TYPO3 in the United Kingdom. One of our longest-standing clients, Texere, ran several magazine sites on TYPO3 — and we regularly flew to Manchester to collaborate with their team.

Despite these early projects, TYPO3 has remained something of an underdog in the UK. In conversations with agencies and companies, we noticed a recurring pattern: many had barely heard of TYPO3 or associated it exclusively with Germany.

Yet TYPO3 has long evolved into a true enterprise CMS — combining stability, openness, and long-term sustainability.

That’s why it was such an important milestone to finally see the very first TYPO3 Camp take place in London. And for us, it was immediately clear: if we can help make it happen, we’ll be part of it.

From Code to Communities

Benni’s keynote told the story of James, a project manager responsible for leading a major corporate website relaunch.
As is often the case in enterprise projects, he faced the big question: Which CMS is the right fit?

Many systems on the market offer sleek interfaces and promise quick results — usually with a clear price tag attached.
The problem? Those costs often spiral out of control. Vendor lock-in and usage-based pricing models increase dependency on the provider, making long-term flexibility and ownership nearly impossible.

A speaker stands at a podium, holding a microphone, while presenting to an audience. A laptop is visible on the podium.

James, however, asked himself a different question:
“What if we invested our budget not in licenses — but in people?”

His idea: by choosing an open-source system like TYPO3, he could reinvest the saved costs into building in-house expertise — training TYPO3 developers, sharing knowledge, and contributing back to the community.

The result:

  • Less dependency on external vendors
  • More know-how within the team
  • A genuine contribution to the growth of the ecosystem

Or, as Benni put it:

Be like James.

Sharing knowledge, strengthening the community

Many of the talks showcased TYPO3’s enormous potential as an enterprise CMS — and highlighted how crucial it is to make these strengths visible.
Especially in a market like the United Kingdom, where TYPO3 still has limited presence, positioning plays a decisive role.

Because those who look at TYPO3 purely from a technical perspective often miss its true essence: it’s not just about features — it’s about empowerment, openness, and trust.

Knowledge around TYPO3 and Open Source

In his talk, Mathias Bolt Lesniak demonstrated how to systematically build and share knowledge around TYPO3.
He explained how the community has established clear standards to help newcomers — or, in his example, an entire development team in Rwanda — become proficient with TYPO3.
The goal: to create a transparent learning path that empowers people to quickly become active contributors in the open-source world of an enterprise CMS.

A presenter stands in front of a slide displaying "The Four-Pillar Model," highlighting Project, Money, People, and Knowledge Transfer (Education) for TYPO3.

TYPO3 is more than just code — it’s a learning system.
And the more people understand how it works, the stronger the entire ecosystem becomes.

Open Source at Government Level

Daniel Fau, CEO of TYPO3 GmbH, concluded the camp with a preview of the Government Site Builder 11 — a project that will bring thousands of government websites in Germany onto TYPO3 over the coming years.
It’s a powerful example of how open systems can create lasting stability and sustainability at scale.

A speaker presents at a conference, with a slide displaying "With TYPO3 you are not alone!" in bold orange text.

Daniel’s message was clear: an open-source system like TYPO3 thrives through its community — through the contributions of every single person.
Whether it’s from partners, marketing teams, documentation efforts, or code contributions — each one strengthens the very foundation on which TYPO3 stands.

Conclusion: A First, Important Step!

The camp in London wasn’t your typical TYPO3 Camp.
Instead of following the usual Barcamp format, the organizers deliberately focused on scheduled talks — the right choice for a still-growing community. It was all about creating knowledge first, before diving into discussions — building a solid foundation for the future.

Tom Warwick, TYPO3 Brand Ambassador for the UK, did an outstanding job organizing a day full of inspiration, exchange, and networking opportunities.
It marked an important first step in establishing TYPO3 within the British market — and in showing that enterprise doesn’t have to mean closed source.

Hope to see you in 2026, London!