Neos

Features

In-line Editing

From the outset, Neos was designed to make editorial tasks as straightforward as possible. One key feature is inline editing, where changes are made directly within the webpage layout and are immediately visible.

Neos also provides different content viewing modes. For example, in “Writer Mode,” images and other design elements are hidden to allow for focused text work without distractions. Additionally, it simplifies content optimization across various platforms by letting you visualize how it will appear as a Google search result or on a mobile device.

Content dimensions

Neos is the only system on the market that supports the use of “Content Dimensions.” This customizable feature goes beyond just handling multiple languages - it allows the creation of virtually unlimited content variations. Language is just one possible dimension; another could be the tailoring of content for specific target audiences.

For instance, an editorial team could use a Content Dimension to create a customized version of a landing page specifically for a Google AdWords campaign.

Workspaces

In editorial workflows, content often undergoes multiple revisions before it's ready for publication. Neos takes a unique approach with "Workspaces," which eliminates the need to separate editorial and production environments. Instead, each team member gets their own virtual workspace, where changes are visible only to them. Content can either be published immediately or moved to a review workspace for further checks, enabling flexible and customizable approval workflows. Neos also supports team-based workspaces for collaborative efforts.

Multi-Site and Multi-Language

While Neos differs significantly from TYPO3 in terms of software and architecture, its roots in the TYPO3 community mean some concepts were carried over. As a result, Neos was designed to support the management of multiple websites within a single system (multi-site) and to offer content in multiple languages (multi-language).

In principle, there is no limit to the number of languages in which a site can be translated. The editorial interface itself is currently available in 14 languages.

Cloud-ready

As a relatively young CMS, Neos was developed with cloud integration in mind. The media module allows users to upload assets like images, PDFs, and videos directly to the cloud via the editorial interface, and seamlessly integrate these assets into content.

The process is entirely transparent: the website runs on Google Kubernetes in the Google Cloud, while multimedia files are automatically stored on platforms like Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services (AWS). 

Weaknesses

Using Neos CMS always involves some level of custom development. To ensure complete design flexibility, each specific application requires a minimum amount of tailored coding.

Technical Background

Neos CMS is built on PHP and enhanced with React UI. Its content repository is node-based, allowing for a flexible, hierarchical structure that can accommodate both simple and complex websites. In addition, database management is streamlined and made efficient thanks to the use of Doctrine as its ORM.

For templating, Neos utilizes Fusion and AFX, which support a component-based design approach. This not only simplifies the layout process but also enhances reusability and modularity, making it familiar and user-friendly for front-end developers.

Neos CMS is designed to integrate seamlessly with external systems, and its functionality can be expanded through Composer packages. It also provides advanced features like multilingual content management, along with flexible user permissions and access control. Version 9 introduces a groundbreaking and innovative content repository built on CQRS and event sourcing, which not only tracks the current state of your content but also preserves its entire history.

Extensibility

Neos CMS has long relied on Composer as its package manager, making it easy to extend the system with any library available on Packagist. For those seeking specific extensions tailored to Neos, the project website offers a collection of plugins that can be installed through Composer.

These extensions range from tools for integrating ChatGPT to help create and optimize editorial content, to Elasticsearch for search functionality, and even image database connectors or tracking tools like Google Analytics. Google Analytics, in particular, can be tightly integrated so that relevant data is displayed directly on the corresponding Neos page.

Currently, there are over 1,000 extensions available for Neos CMS.

Operations

Neos provides developers and administrators with a highly versatile command-line interface (CLI) that simplifies the installation of Neo and can be used to perform backups and database migrations. This allows full automation of rollouts and operations, supporting modern practices like continuous integration and deployment in Neos projects.

The CLI can be extended with custom commands to manage project-specific tasks. Additionally, Neos supports a variety of databases, including MySQL, Postgres, Oracle, and Microsoft SQL, making it easy to integrate into existing system architectures.

Outlook

The Neos community is currently working on several cutting-edge features, such as the integration of machine learning, RDF Semantic, CQRS, and event sourcing. These advancements will make Neos particularly appealing to industries which need highly secure, audit-ready systems, such as banks, insurance companies, and government agencies.