TYPO3 Performance Tuning: Speed Tips That WorkTYPO3 is a powerful, flexible CMS used for complex websites and enterprise projects. But without careful tuning, sites can suffer from slow page loads, poor user experience, and lower SEO rankings. This guide covers practical, effective performance tweaks for TYPO3 — from server setup and caching to frontend optimization and monitoring — so your site feels fast and remains scalable.
Why performance matters
Fast sites improve user engagement, reduce bounce rates, and rank better in search engines. TYPO3 has strong built-in caching and optimization capabilities; the goal is to configure and extend them correctly while avoiding common pitfalls.
Server and infrastructure
Choose the right hosting
- Use a hosting provider with good PHP and database performance (CPU, RAM, NVMe storage).
- For high traffic, prefer scalable cloud instances or managed TYPO3 hosts that understand the CMS.
PHP and web server
- Use PHP 8.1+ (or the latest stable supported by your TYPO3 version) for better JIT and performance.
- Prefer FPM (PHP-FPM) over mod_php; tune pm.max_children, pm.start_servers, etc.
- Use NGINX or Apache with PHP-FPM; NGINX often yields better static file handling and reverse-proxy setups.
Database tuning
- Use MySQL/MariaDB with InnoDB, properly tuned (innodb_buffer_pool_size ~ 50–75% of RAM for dedicated DB server).
- Enable slow query logging and optimize or add indexes for slow statements.
- Consider separate DB server for large sites.
Use a reverse proxy / CDN
- Place a CDN (Cloudflare, Fastly, Bunny) in front for assets and edge caching.
- Use Varnish or NGINX caching as a reverse proxy for HTML when appropriate (careful with dynamic user-specific pages).
TYPO3 configuration and caching
Enable and configure caching
- Ensure TYPO3 frontend caching (Cache Framework) is enabled. Verify TYPO3 caches are warm and hit rates are high.
- Configure cache backends (Redis or Memcached) for clustered setups or to speed up cache operations.
Use TYPO3’s HTTP cache
- Use the TYPO3 HTTP cache with proper cacheable pages and TTLs. Leverage cache tags to purge selectively.
- Configure proper cache headers (Cache-Control, Expires) for static and dynamic resources.
Composer and extensions
- Keep TYPO3 core and extensions updated for performance improvements and security fixes.
- Audit installed extensions; remove unused or heavy ones. Prefer well-maintained extensions with good performance reputations.
TypoScript optimizations
- Consolidate TypoScript templates and avoid expensive USER_INT objects on cacheable pages.
- Replace USER_INT with USER where appropriate to allow caching. Use AJAX for truly dynamic parts.
Frontend performance
Minify and combine assets
- Use TYPO3 built-in options or third-party extensions to minify and concatenate CSS and JavaScript.
- Prefer HTTP/2 or HTTP/3 so resource concatenation is less critical; but minification still helps.
Defer and async JS
- Load non-critical JavaScript with
deferorasyncto prevent render-blocking. Move scripts to the footer when possible.
Optimize images
- Serve properly sized images, use modern formats (WebP, AVIF) where supported.
- Use responsive images via srcset and TYPO3 FAL processing to deliver optimized variants.
- Enable lazy loading for below-the-fold images (native loading=“lazy” or JS fallback).
Preload and critical CSS
- Inline critical CSS for above-the-fold content and defer the rest. Use rel=“preload” for key fonts and hero images.
Fonts
- Limit custom web fonts, subset them, and host fonts with proper caching and preloading. Use font-display: swap to avoid invisible text.
Backend and build process
Asset building
- Use modern build tools (Webpack, Vite) to bundle, tree-shake, and produce optimized assets.
- Integrate build step into CI so production artifacts are pre-built and hashed for cache busting.
Static file handling
- Serve static files from a CDN or dedicated static host. Set long cache lifetimes with fingerprinted filenames.
Logging and debug settings
- Disable Xdebug and debug logging on production. Ensure TYPO3 is in production context (APPLICATION_CONTEXT=Production) to avoid overhead.
Monitoring, profiling, and testing
Monitor performance metrics
- Track Core Web Vitals, TTFB, and other KPIs using tools like Lighthouse, WebPageTest, or real-user monitoring (RUM).
- Monitor server metrics (CPU, memory, disk I/O) and database performance.
Profile TYPO3
- Use TYPO3’s System Information and Admin Panel to inspect cache hits, loaded extensions, and page generation times.
- Profile PHP with Xdebug or Blackfire in staging to find slow functions and database queries.
Load testing
- Perform load tests (k6, JMeter) to validate scalability and find bottlenecks before traffic spikes.
Common pitfalls and fixes
- Heavy use of USER_INT and uncached fragments — convert to cached where possible or serve via AJAX.
- Too many DB queries per page — optimize queries, add indexes, and implement caching layers.
- Large images or many small assets — optimize images and combine assets, use CDNs.
- Running development settings in production — disable debug, devlog, and detailed error reporting.
Quick checklist (summary)
- Run PHP 8.1+ with PHP-FPM
- Enable TYPO3 caching and use Redis/Memcached for backend
- Use a CDN and set proper cache headers
- Optimize images (WebP/AVIF + srcset + lazy loading)
- Minify and defer JS/CSS; inline critical CSS
- Profile with Blackfire/Xdebug and monitor Core Web Vitals
If you want, I can: audit a specific TYPO3 site (list what access I’d need), create a TypoScript snippet to convert a USER_INT to USER, or draft a CI pipeline for asset building. Which would you like?
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