YAML
Modern standards-based web site designs should use CSS (cascading style sheets) to define multi-column layouts, and allow the same content to be viewed differently depending on the device (different sizes of computer screen, screen reader, print, mobile device, etc.) which are used to represent the content. They should also include accessibility features to allow people with sensory impairments to use the site.
To do this poses a considerable challenge, since different browsers interpret the same information differently.
The YAML framework (described in more detail 
here and 
here) cuts down the development time of a site design by providing a highly developed and structured multi-browser compatible CSS framework from which most common layouts can be generated, particularly fluid designs, where the width of columns varies according to the width of the browser window.
This leaves the designer free to concentrate on the design itself, rather than the difficult, but ultimately irrelevant, problem of getting the page design to work in many different environments.
TYPO3 YAML Template
The template provides an out-of-the-box solution, with a nicely designed working YAML-based XHTML template which allows for greater variation of layout within pages, is accessible, and is designed for further customisation. It is set up to support up to six languages in parallel.
It is most appropriate for organisations with somewhat more money to invest than need be the case with the WEC templates - unless the more interactive features are not what you need.
Who is it for?
The solution is directed (out of the box) less at interactivity and community building than the WEC solution, though it is more standards-based, and pays a great deal of attention to accessibility - which would have to be added to the WEC solution at extra cost.
The template is therefore appropriate for organisations which want to develop, or have developed, their own designs, or who already have a web-based or corporate identity which they with to preserve while adopting the power of TYPO3.
Customising/Extending the template
The philosophy of the template is to set up a great deal of background configuration and additional functionality which is useful for a professional web site, particularly extensions which address accessibility issues.
The YAML framework is based firmly on multi-column layouts using CSS. The framework is set up to overcome the assorted quirks of a wide range of browsers, and to degrade gracefully in the case of early browsers which simply cannot support the required CSS functions.
Almost any layout, particularly fluid layouts (where the width of columns varies according to the screen resolution) can be produced by modifying the CSS files.
You can, of course, add or have added any of the vast numbers of extensions in the TYPO 3 extension repositary, and although most of these will work with their default congurations, many would need a degree of design of templates and/or configuration to produce truly professional results.
This tends to make this template more expensive to work with, but ultimately more flexible and capable of supporting greater individuality than the WEC offering.
Cost
If you use us for your hosting, we provide the template free, as part of the package, subject to the conditions below for YAML.
YAML is licensed under the Creative Commons license, which allows the vendor to charge for the software under certain conditions:
- If a link back to the YAML home page is displayed, the software may be used free of charge.
The TYPO3 template (excluding YAML itself) is now released under the gpl license, and can be used by anyone, free of charge.
These figures relate only to the use of the YAML framework, not to the costs of customisation. However, the combination produces a perfectly usable web site "out of the box", with the added possibility of almost limitless customisation simply by changing the css files.