Site package, a website as an extension
Configuration, templates, images, scripts, and everything that is needed to set up a website is usually spread over an installation. With a site package everything can be packed in an extension which is easy with versioning and distributing.
In many installations images, fonts, templates are stored in files; TypoScript is stored in records; TSconfig in page properties and so on. This creates challenges with versioning systems and distributing changes from a development environment to the live website.
By putting all these resources in a single extension it becomes very easy to move all the changes to a live website in a single operation. Because everything is stored in files it is very easy to use a CVS such as SVN or git to track changes.
We will build a structure with easy to remember locations for different types of resources. Based on TYPO3 CMS 6.2 features we set up fluid page templates, backend layouts, some custom content elements and everything else for a working website.