Are hidden pages a problem?

Only if they're still reachable, which happens more often than expected — through old links or search engine indexing.

What about old translations?

They're the most common blind spot. An out-of-date translation is worse than none, because readers can't easily tell it's stale.

How do I find forgotten pages fast?

The page tree, including branches hidden from the menu, plus a search for last year's dates inside content elements.

Do shared content elements need special attention?

Yes — a single edit updates every page using them, so an old one left in place spreads outdated text everywhere it appears.

Finding outdated content in TYPO3

In TYPO3, outdated text tends to collect in content elements under old branches of the page tree, in shared content referenced across multiple pages, in news records from finished campaigns, and in translations that were never kept in step with the main language. Larger, older installations accumulate the most.

August 5, 2026

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So geht es

1Go through the page tree. Expand old branches and look at content elements one by one.
2Check references. For referenced elements, one edit updates every page that uses it.
3Compare languages. Check each translation against the main-language version; stale translations rarely stand out on their own.
4Check from outside. Look at the address with DustOff so nothing from an old branch gets left behind.

Where dust settles in a big installation

The bigger the page tree, the more forgotten corners it grows:

Pages outside the main navigation that are still reachable
Content in shared elements carrying an outdated status
News and event records from extensions that keep running quietly
Files in the file list still linked from somewhere on the site
Translations that fall behind the primary-language version

The page tree as your shortlist

The page tree also shows what's hidden from the menu. That's precisely where pages end up that nobody opens anymore, yet search engines still find them through old links. One pass a year through the hidden branches is almost always worthwhile.

Shared content cuts both ways

A referenced content element only needs one edit to update everywhere it's used — which is efficient, but it also means an old sentence left in a shared element quietly persists across every page that references it, since nobody thinks to check a page they consider already finished.

Translations are the most common blind spot

A translated page usually gets built once, alongside the main-language version, and then left alone while the primary language keeps evolving. A translation that's out of date is arguably worse than having no translation at all, because it reads as authoritative to someone who can't easily cross-check it.

Häufige Fragen

Are hidden pages a problem?: Only if they're still reachable, which happens more often than expected — through old links or search engine indexing.
What about old translations?: They're the most common blind spot. An out-of-date translation is worse than none, because readers can't easily tell it's stale.
How do I find forgotten pages fast?: The page tree, including branches hidden from the menu, plus a search for last year's dates inside content elements.
Do shared content elements need special attention?: Yes — a single edit updates every page using them, so an old one left in place spreads outdated text everywhere it appears.