Practical tasks that Benni works on include business coordination and management, backend development, server setup + maintenance, and plenty of coding.
Benni uses some key terms when he thinks about his leadership role at the agency and helping clients:
“Taking the hits” - Frontline coordination of clients and client projects
“Think” - find the best ideas on how to solve technical issues
“Listen, Translate” - Turning client needs and requests into useful development tasks
“Dig deep” - Analyzing hard-to-fix issues, looking for their source and solutions
“Engage, Encourage, Unblock” - Finding the right, constructive next steps for any and all development- or ‘human’ issues that arise in the course of our activities
Tools Benni can’t live without:
TYPO3
Though b13 co-founder and TYPO3 CMS Core Development Lead, Benni Mack, is something of an unstructured genius, he gives us the structure we need to succeed in many areas. He’s part of coordinating the business side of our agency and winning new clients. He handles setup and maintenance of our technical infrastructure. And though he’s one of our key resources when we’re solving new problems for clients, he uses a classic “salami tactic” when he can get away with it: Any problem you bring to him, he slices into even finer pieces and gives it back to you. Watch out for leaving with more questions than you came with! Little-known facts about Benni: he was a German national semi-finalist in Olympic Greco-Roman-style wrestling and he can’t swim.
Using TYPO3, we have a tool that has some flaws, but almost no limits. With it, we can make our lives and our work easier. It is predictable, powerful, flexible, and transparent. I can extend and improve TYPO3 on my own. Other tools might not allow that. It’s up to me what I do with it.
I believe that the more we know, the more we should share. As Core Development Lead, it is my responsibility to share as much about TYPO3 as I can. I know a lot, so I can pass on a lot. And yet, this project is SO BIG that I am always learning how to do things easier and faster. It’s delightful how often I see solutions and uses for our project that I never would have thought of. I draw a lot of inspiration from contributing and participating in other projects and technologies, too.
Benni on working at b13
I am humbled and grateful that we’ve built an agency where we get the job done well while caring about each other … and having fun! We’re open to new ideas while focusing on doing one thing and doing it right. There’s a powerful feeling of being in it together with each other, and making a difference for our clients and the world. We identify their needs, we’re there to help them work better and succeed.
Benni’s Dos and Don’ts
Always understand, build things to last, and maximize your efficiency
Always ask for the reason and the need before doing something (“understand”)
Always find a clean, future-proof solution that keeps you out of trouble in the future (“build things to last”)
Always automate (“be efficient, don’t do the same thing three times”)
Always be optimistic and see the benefits of bad situations, look for the silver lining
TYPO3 is an open source CMS used widely across Europe, but it is still surprisingly little known in some regions. Built for international, multiregional, distributed, and multilingual organizations, TYPO3 is an accessible CMS for users around the world. In this article, we’ll walk you through the strengths of this CMS and why you should consider it alongside other popular solutions like Sitecore, Drupal, and WordPress.
Before you buy more server space to speed up a slow-loading TYPO3 site, there might be another solution. Transitioning from TYPO3’s native menu to b13’s menus extension can significantly improve your site’s loading speed and allow more simultaneous users, while reducing the load on your servers.
In TYPO3, language configuration and translation comes easy and out of the box. b13 is constantly improving the TYPO3 Core localization features to respond to real users’ needs
Some initial planning can make localization much simpler. Here’s how we help our clients set up their workflows for smooth, efficient translations in TYPO3.
One of TYPO3's powerful features for content publishing is Workspaces - creating and staging in a draft environment before publishing content. TYPO3 v11 adds a few important touches to this functionality, making it even more powerful - for both developers and editors.
Previously in this series, we covered the improvements TYPO3 v11 brought to the Page Tree in the post, Resizable Navigation Area in TYPO3.
There is one feature in particular that deserves its own shiny spot in our list of new features in TYPO3 v11, and that is the tree functionality within the Element Browser and the Link Picker.
Our TYPO3 caching blog series is ideal for developers familiar with TYPO3 who want to fully understand the core concepts and build robust and faster websites with TYPO3.
Unlock TYPO3 v12's enhanced TCA types. Improvements to the Table Configuration Array introduce streamlined code and simply work for integrators and extension authors.
Find out how Content Security Policy can protect your websites from malicious attacks. Cross-Site Scripting exploits vulnerabilities in CMS architecture—but with the right security policy, you can keep your websites safe.
You’re invited: TYPO3 has a new home for its system configuration in TYPO3 v12. In our latest post we’ll walk you through the new changes, their advantages, and how it fits into TYPO3’s system history.
Discover the significance of trailing slashes in URLs and how they impact SEO and user experience. Learn best practices and TYPO3 solutions with b13's expert guide.
TYPO3 v12 introduces better support for languages and locales, including BCP 47 format, automatic fallbacks, and reduced configuration overhead for setting up new languages.
Discover 3 easy ways to check your TYPO3 version and learn the next steps to keep your site secure and up-to-date. Stay informed with our helpful guide.
Discover how to efficiently tackle duplicate content in TYPO3 with our expert guide. Learn about unique strategies and essential tools to boost your site's SEO today.
Discover 3 easy ways to check your TYPO3 version and learn the next steps to keep your site secure and up-to-date. Stay informed with our helpful guide.
Discover how to efficiently tackle duplicate content in TYPO3 with our expert guide. Learn about unique strategies and essential tools to boost your site's SEO today.
Dive deep into how TYPO3 is caching variants of a page and how to improve caching - but also how you can leverage TYPO3’s Site Handling into speaking URLs.
Today’s world is global, and content distribution networks (CDNs) bring content closer to users around the world for lightning-fast performance wherever they are. TYPO3 is ideally adapted to modern CDN technology, reducing the load on your server, and even taking caching off your to-do list!
b13 wouldn't exist without open-source software. Our leadership, technical expertise and commitment to life-long learning all stem from our deep roots in open source.
b13 wouldn't exist without open-source software. Our leadership, technical expertise and commitment to life-long learning all stem from our deep roots in open source.
Before you buy more server space to speed up a slow-loading TYPO3 site, there might be another solution. Transitioning from TYPO3’s native menu to b13’s menus extension can significantly improve your site’s loading speed and allow more simultaneous users, while reducing the load on your servers.
In TYPO3, language configuration and translation comes easy and out of the box. b13 is constantly improving the TYPO3 Core localization features to respond to real users’ needs
Some initial planning can make localization much simpler. Here’s how we help our clients set up their workflows for smooth, efficient translations in TYPO3.
Composer and TYPO3 have had a long journey together. Now, work done in v11 is paving the way for v12—so that TYPO3 can become a fully-realized standard Composer project and consequently, an even more secure CMS.
One of TYPO3's powerful features for content publishing is Workspaces - creating and staging in a draft environment before publishing content. TYPO3 v11 adds a few important touches to this functionality, making it even more powerful - for both developers and editors.
Previously in this series, we covered the improvements TYPO3 v11 brought to the Page Tree in the post, Resizable Navigation Area in TYPO3.
There is one feature in particular that deserves its own shiny spot in our list of new features in TYPO3 v11, and that is the tree functionality within the Element Browser and the Link Picker.
TYPO3 is an open source CMS used widely across Europe, but it is still surprisingly little known in some regions. Built for international, multiregional, distributed, and multilingual organizations, TYPO3 is an accessible CMS for users around the world. In this article, we’ll walk you through the strengths of this CMS and why you should consider it alongside other popular solutions like Sitecore, Drupal, and WordPress.
Unlock TYPO3 v12's enhanced TCA types. Improvements to the Table Configuration Array introduce streamlined code and simply work for integrators and extension authors.
Find out how Content Security Policy can protect your websites from malicious attacks. Cross-Site Scripting exploits vulnerabilities in CMS architecture—but with the right security policy, you can keep your websites safe.
You’re invited: TYPO3 has a new home for its system configuration in TYPO3 v12. In our latest post we’ll walk you through the new changes, their advantages, and how it fits into TYPO3’s system history.
Discover the significance of trailing slashes in URLs and how they impact SEO and user experience. Learn best practices and TYPO3 solutions with b13's expert guide.
TYPO3 v12 introduces better support for languages and locales, including BCP 47 format, automatic fallbacks, and reduced configuration overhead for setting up new languages.
Our TYPO3 caching blog series is ideal for developers familiar with TYPO3 who want to fully understand the core concepts and build robust and faster websites with TYPO3.
Dive deep into how TYPO3 is caching variants of a page and how to improve caching - but also how you can leverage TYPO3’s Site Handling into speaking URLs.
Today’s world is global, and content distribution networks (CDNs) bring content closer to users around the world for lightning-fast performance wherever they are. TYPO3 is ideally adapted to modern CDN technology, reducing the load on your server, and even taking caching off your to-do list!