TYPO3 Upgrade Case Study for Leading Media & Streaming Brand, HISTORY
Industry
Media / Pay-TV & Streaming (Germany)
TYPO3 Project Type
TYPO3 Upgrade & Modernization
TYPO3 Extensions
28
Visit Website
https://www.history.de/
HISTORY.de: A Content-Heavy Media Platform Built for Scale
HISTORY.de is the digital platform for The HISTORY Channel in Germany. The website helps users explore shows, schedules, and editorial content across devices. With a large amount of content and daily updates, the platform needs to stay stable, fast, and easy to manage.
For a website like this, performance and reliability are not optional. They directly affect how users experience the brand.
Partnership: NITSAN × mokom01 TYPO3 Agency
This TYPO3 upgrade project was delivered in partnership with mokom01 TYPO3 agency.
mokom01 supported project coordination and stakeholder alignment, while NITSAN handled the full technical delivery, including the TYPO3 upgrade, extension modernization, quality checks, and go-live support.
The Task & Challenges
HISTORY.de needed a safe and future-ready TYPO3 and PHP upgrade without risking content loss, broken layouts, or downtime for editors. The goal was to modernize the platform while keeping daily content operations running smoothly.
Key challenges and goals:
- Upgrade TYPO3 from v10 to v12 and PHP from 7.4 to 8.2
- Run a full technical and compatibility analysis
- Modernize or replace legacy extensions
- Reduce technical debt and fix code issues
- Ensure strong testing for frontend and backend
- Improve performance, SEO, and accessibility
Solutions We Delivered
We planned and executed a structured TYPO3 upgrade with a strong focus on stability, clean extensions, and long-term maintainability. The project covered technical analysis, controlled upgrade steps, content system modernization, and quality checks before go-live.
TYPO3 & PHP Upgrade Foundation
We created detailed technical and compatibility reports and upgraded the core system with a controlled rollout plan to reduce risk.
Key work delivered:
- TYPO3 v10 → v12 upgrade
- PHP 7.4 → 8.2 upgrade
- Upgrade documentation and reports
- Step-by-step upgrade process to avoid downtime
Content & News System Modernization
The legacy news setup was replaced with a modern TYPO3 standard to make content management easier and more stable.
Key work delivered:
- Migration from EXT:tt_news to EXT:news
Search Migration for Better Findability
The old search setup was replaced with a more flexible and modern TYPO3 search solution.
Key work delivered:
- Migration from EXT:indexed_search to EXT:ke_search
Layout Modernization
We modernized the content layout system to follow current TYPO3 best practices and make future upgrades easier.
Key work delivered:
- Migration from EXT:gridelements to EXT:container
Extension Additions & Operational Setup
We added project-specific extensions and improved the development and deployment setup to make ongoing work smoother.
Key work delivered:
- Added custom extensions: EXT:contest, EXT:history_shop, EXT:historyaward
- Setup of EXT:typo3_console
- New GitLab CI/CD setup
- Safe go-live and re-upgrade strategy to avoid data loss
Quality, Performance, SEO & Accessibility
We tested the platform across devices and workflows and aligned the setup with modern performance and accessibility needs.
Key work delivered:
- Cross-platform testing (frontend, backend, UX)
- Accessibility improvements toward WCAG / BITV
- Targeted PageSpeed and SEO improvements (90+ goal)
Results at a Glance
- Modern TYPO3 v12 and PHP 8.2 base for long-term support
- Reduced technical risk by cleaning up legacy extensions
- Better performance and SEO readiness
- Stronger testing and release process with CI/CD
Better Workflows for Content Teams
With EXT:container and a cleaner TYPO3 setup, editors now work with clearer layouts and more predictable content structures. This is especially important for a media platform where content updates happen frequently.
Built for Long-Term Stability
The project included code cleanups, error fixes, and log reviews. This makes future TYPO3 security updates and LTS upgrades more predictable and easier to manage. The platform is now better prepared for ongoing maintenance and future growth.
