For many years, with TYPO3 you had to either install a third-party extension for SEO or program your own solution for XML sitemaps, redirects or meta-tags. With the newly released version 9.5 finally everything is different. The most important SEO features are already included in the Core and I've got a closer look at it.
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New Backend Modules for Site Management
In the backend there are now 2 new modules, which are summarized under the tab "SITE MANAGEMENT". There is the module "Sites" for general page settings and a separate module "Redirects" for URL forwarding. Both modules are absolutely up to date and I personally have been waiting for a long time to be able to do these things directly in the backend.
The Sites Module
The Sites module automatically detects pages in the root of the page tree, and suggests creating a page configuration. Various site-relevant settings can be made here, as well as the language settings.
Particularly interesting:
- Different standard languages can be realized per site. The process has become much clearer and easier with the new module
- Error pages can be defined in the tab "Error Handling"
- Static Routes can be used to create robots.txt, sitemap.xml and other static file links that are particularly interesting for SEO.
The configuration is stored in a YAML file, which is automatically created under the folder name you can specify in the "Site Identifier" field. TYPO3 creates this folder in "/typo3conf/yourfoldername/". Of course, experienced developers can also edit this file manually. But it will probably take some time before there are enough tutorials and documentation on this topic.
Screenshot: Page Error Handling
Screenshot: Static Routes with robots.txt
Screenshot: Language Setup
Let's take a look at the redirects module
The module "Redirects" is kept simple, and offers everything you need to cover most cases for SEO redirects. I've tested it, but at this point in time, there is still no experience on how Google will respond to websites featuring the new TYPO3 with its new redirection features.
For now, the new module makes a very comfortable and functional impression. Also functionality for multi-domain websites was considered. Take a quick look for yourself on the screenshot.
There is not much more to say about the Redirects module. It works and is handy, as well as finally a part of the TYPO3 core.
The new SEO features in the page settings
Before we move on to the new SEO tab, here's a very significant change in the tab "General": Finally, you can edit the URL Slug by default in the page properties. Without having to install "realURL", "Cooluri" or other extensions. TYPO3 now generates readable URLs by default. This is a real milestone from my point of view.
It's important to know that older sites created with realURL are not easy to migrate. So far there is not enough clear documentation and some minor pitfalls. For example, URLs are created by default without final slash. For most websites, this is not realistic, as they almost always have the slash at the end of the URL.
At the moment, entering a URL slug manually with Slash at the end results in an error message. This can certainly be solved somehow, but unfortunately is not a real out-of-the box solution yet.
The SEO tab!
This is new in the page properties. A tab titled SEO, where you get a solid foundation for OnPage SEO. The following functions are included here:
- Setting the page title / title tag
- Define no-index and no-follow
- Title, description and image for facebook open graph and twitter cards
- Setting a Canonical URL
I tested these functions, so far perfectly.
Final conclusion from my point of view
The new SEO features in TYPO3 are awesome. No stress with third-party extensions and annoying update issues. Finally, it's all in the Core right now. At this point, I really have to thank the TYPO3 core developers.
For new projects, I see no problems with the use of TYPO3 9.5.0, because you can easily adjust to some new features.
Somewhat critical I am with the upgrade of older versions, especially when it comes to larger sites with a high SEO ranking. For that matter, I am personally still cautious and would first like to wait a few numbers, experience and better documentation.
But the good thing is that you can try and test.
It's open source and it's just great!
Support TYPO3: https://typo3.org/community/contribute/donate/
Download TYPO3: https://get.typo3.org/
Extensions für TYPO3 Version 9: https://extensions.typo3.org/?tx_solr%5Bfilter%5D%5B0%5D=typo3%3A9+LTS
My Website: https://simon-koehler.com (sorry German only so far ;-))