The Technische Akademie Esslingen grew out of the Radio Club Esslingen in 1955. Today, the registered association runs 800–1,000 seminars, courses, and conferences a year, plus part-time degree programs and a vocational school. “Often, it’s our technical depth,” says Robin Renz, head of marketing and communications, about why people choose TAE. “We have very specialized seminars that you won’t find in this form anywhere else.”
99% of TAE’s training customers are companies. The person who picks a seminar is often not the one who books it: participants send the link to HR or purchasing, who place the order. So TAE wanted a shopping experience people know from their private lives—without customer accounts.
We want to give web users the e-commerce experience they know from everyday internet use—but without having to register.
TAE has used TYPO3 for around 20 years. For a long time, a one-person agency maintained the site, until the work outgrew that setup. “When there were bugs or things needed changing, we often had very long waiting times,” Robin remembers.
The old site also looked dated. TAE wanted a fresh design, better usability, and new features. With such specific requirements, staying with TYPO3 as a flexible system was the logical choice—along with finding an agency that could make changes quickly.
Roland Bach, then head of electrical engineering and IT at TAE, had followed b13’s work for Bosch on Deepfield Connect and recommended the agency. After a first conversation with b13 founder David Steeb, two things stood out to Robin: b13’s deep TYPO3 expertise, including TYPO3 project lead Benni Mack, and a fixed price for the relaunch. “Our website was very complicated, and there was more work than anyone saw coming,” says Robin. “I think both sides treated each other really fairly.”
The values matched, too. “You can feel this passion for your own topic at b13 and TYPO3,” Robin says. “I’ve never had anyone tell me: that’s not possible, we can’t do it.” That fits how b13 likes to work: with clients who bring new problems, and with clear agreements that hold.
I’ve never had anyone from b13 tell me: that’s not possible, we can’t do it.
TAE came to b13 in 2020. b13 took over the existing TYPO3 site, rebuilt it on TYPO3 v10, and completed the relaunch with TAE in 2022. First, all existing features moved over one to one. Then new ones followed step by step:
“For many features, it was pioneering work, because there was no standard TYPO3 module you could just plug in,” says Robin. For David Steeb, who leads the project at b13, that’s the appeal: “TAE’s website talks to several external tools for courses, dates, and texts, with event series and in-person, online, and hybrid formats. No standard module covers that—and that’s exactly the kind of challenge we like.”
No standard module covers that—and that’s exactly the kind of challenge we like.
When an outside mail server failed repeatedly, bookings were always saved—but newsletter sign-ups and reviews quietly stopped going through. “We only found out when the booking team said: no bookings came in today—that’s unusual,” remembers Niklas Pahl, Marketing and Communications Specialist at TAE, who manages the website. So David suggested Mail Queue, which makes every outgoing email visible.
Mail Queue also works as an early warning system.
“Mail Queue also works as an early warning system,” says Niklas. It also catches typos: since customers don’t log in, nobody tells them when they mistype their address. “In three out of four cases, it’s a typo in the email address,” says Robin. Now Niklas corrects the address and resends the email straight from the backend. “Now we have the full picture whenever a technical problem comes up again,” Robin says.
With b13’s Evergreen service, TAE moved from TYPO3 v12 to v14 in 2026. “With Evergreen, we know the costs at the start of the year and can plan for them like a subscription,” says Robin.
During the v14 upgrade, the review form briefly showed an error. “We solved that within two days and didn’t lose a single review,” Niklas says. “When you build something new, it rarely works the first time. But because we iterate quickly with b13, problems always get solved fast.” The upgrade also paid off for him as an editor: “With the v14 upgrade, the backend is much clearer and much more user-friendly.”
With the v14 upgrade, the backend is much clearer and much more user-friendly.
TAE sees the impact in a modern booking experience, features that didn’t exist before, and problems that are now visible and fixed quickly. “When we need changes, new features, or design elements, b13 can deliver them relatively quickly,” says Niklas.
Several concepts and features are planned for 2027. “I can see plenty to do with b13 in 2027,” says Niklas.
The partnership also reaches into the TYPO3 community. TAE has already hosted TYPO3 Camp Stuttgart at its academy—a natural fit for an organization that brings industries together at its own conferences. “It was a really nice event, and I’d be happy if it took place here again in the future,” says Robin.
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A TYPO3 extension by b13 that keeps emails from getting lost. If sending fails, Mail Queue holds the message and retries it automatically.
b13’s service that keeps a TYPO3 site continuously up to date for a fixed monthly fee, instead of waiting until an upgrade becomes urgent and expensive.
A custom TYPO3 booking platform for 800–1,000 training events a year, with shopping cart, reviews, waitlists, credit card payment, and a two-way interface to TC Manager.
A training management system by Softdecc that TAE uses for courses, dates, and bookings.
At TAE, HR or purchasing usually books the training, not the participant. A shop-like flow without registration fits that process better.
Since 2020. The relaunch was completed in 2022, and b13 has kept developing the site ever since.
