EKKW Receives a Modern TYPO3 Communications Platform

The Evangelische Kirche von Kurhessen-Waldeck (EKKW) is one of Germany’s largest Protestant regional churches, comprising over 700,000 members across 686 independent parishes. Its website serves as the main platform for visitors to access information about official communication and services. 

In 2022, EKKW decided to develop a new digital presence that would bring together a modern communication concept along with a new technical foundation, and the migration of its existing content from its previous proprietary system. It approached punkt.de to lead the project.

TYPO3 was selected as the CMS of choice for the project after punkt.de assessed the complex permissions required across EKKW’s offices.

With more than 40 service departments contributing content, the new platform needed to combine clear structures and permissions with an engaging user experience. It also was essential that it would allow EKKW to appeal to younger audiences, remaining relevant to them while continuing to serve the rest of its community.

The existing proprietary OpenText platform used by the church no longer suited EKKW’s needs, and the church wanted to migrate existing content to a new CMS while also introducing a modern visual design and improved information architecture.

One of the main challenges was the organization’s complex structure. More than 40 service departments needed an appropriate and visible hub for their content, something which effectively created individual areas within the wider website, while still maintaining an overall consistent digital experience. At the same time, EKKW required a permission structure that would reflect its many different offices and editorial responsibilities. 

punkt.de built upon the work already completed by EKKW’s own ‘Medienhaus’, including a detailed requirements catalog and content guide. Alongside design and UX partner made in, the team refined this foundation through workshops covering navigation, page structure, and information architecture. 

Designers, developers and the client worked together to align on the content model, structured data and visual experience. This resulted in a responsive design focused on usability, clear content structures and an approachable visible identity for the church. 

The structural challenge of managing over 40 departments was addressed by giving each its own clearly defined areas within the website. This enabled each department to have an appropriate platform for its content while preserving a consistent overall experience. 

The technical implementation was based on TYPO3 v13 and included a tailored permission concept for EKKW’s different offices. Additionally, to improve the website’s search functionality, a Solr-based search was implemented with weighting and keyword assignment, allowing editors to influence how content appears in search results while maintaining fast and structured discovery.

Moreover, the new website also integrated CleverReach for newsletters, as well as Matomo for web analytics. Existing content and data were migrated, including the legacy articles ‘Lektorenpredigten’ and ‘Tageslosung’, along with event listings.

The hosting and operations for the new platform were implemented on punkt.de’s proServer infrastructure

The new website launched successfully in March 2024 and established a new long-term foundation for EKKW’s digital communications.

The platform brings together EKKW’s extensive content and organizational structures while giving individual service departments the flexibility to manage and produce content in their own areas. Editors can benefit from the clearly defined permissions and improved tools for managing and finding content, while visitors now have access to a website with clearer content architecture and an improved visual experience.

The project has also developed into a long-term partnership thanks to a continuous relaunch approach with punkt.de continuing to make incremental improvements to the platform and collaborate on further workshops. 

Following the launch, punkt.de trained 80 editors from EKKW’s various service departments on the new backend, developing their skills for handling the new platform and better understanding permission structures and areas of responsibility.