Difference between revisions of "Start a Wiki"
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Wikis are a great way to create and build a community based on exchanging and learning information, and are incredible collaborative pieces of work. If you've got a great idea, creating a wiki has never been simpler. Whether you're using a wiki farm or hosting your own, this guide will show you how to get started on the path to creating the ultimate community for your topic. | Wikis are a great way to create and build a community based on exchanging and learning information, and are incredible collaborative pieces of work. If you've got a great idea, creating a wiki has never been simpler. Whether you're using a wiki farm or hosting your own, this guide will show you how to get started on the path to creating the ultimate community for your topic. | ||
| − | [[Category:Wikis]] | + | [[Category: Wikis]] |
== Steps == | == Steps == | ||
=== Planning Your Wiki=== | === Planning Your Wiki=== | ||
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#Make a team before creating your wiki. Creating a wiki needs advices and motivations so talk about your project and make other people following you. They are more likely to contribute to the project if they are called before the creation of the wiki as they will feel like co-creators. | #Make a team before creating your wiki. Creating a wiki needs advices and motivations so talk about your project and make other people following you. They are more likely to contribute to the project if they are called before the creation of the wiki as they will feel like co-creators. | ||
#Decide between hosting your own or using a wiki farm. If you are going to need a lot of control over your wiki, or you want to run your own, you're going to want to host your wiki on your own service. If you don't have any technical experience, a wiki on a wiki farm will be much easier to get up and running, though you won't have as much control over it. | #Decide between hosting your own or using a wiki farm. If you are going to need a lot of control over your wiki, or you want to run your own, you're going to want to host your wiki on your own service. If you don't have any technical experience, a wiki on a wiki farm will be much easier to get up and running, though you won't have as much control over it. | ||
| − | #*If you foresee your wiki getting very popular with lots of pages and traffic, you may find hosted wikis too limiting. It can also be difficult to get your wiki contents off of a wiki farm's servers so that you can move it to your own later on.<ref>http://awa.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Anti-Wikia_Alliance</ref> | + | #*If you foresee your wiki getting very popular with lots of pages and traffic, you may find hosted wikis too limiting. It can also be difficult to get your wiki contents off of a wiki farm's servers so that you can move it to your own later on.<ref name="rf16588">http://awa.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Anti-Wikia_Alliance</ref> |
#*Using a wiki farm means that your wiki's URL will have the farm's name in it. For example, if you use Wikia, your wiki's address will be <b>yourwiki.wikia.com</b>. Hosting your own wiki means you can purchase your own domain, making your wiki's address <b>yourwiki.com</b>. | #*Using a wiki farm means that your wiki's URL will have the farm's name in it. For example, if you use Wikia, your wiki's address will be <b>yourwiki.wikia.com</b>. Hosting your own wiki means you can purchase your own domain, making your wiki's address <b>yourwiki.com</b>. | ||
| − | #*The cost of hosting your own wiki will vary depending on the host that you pick. Be sure to find one that has a good uptime guarantee and high-quality support. Follow [[Choose | + | #*The cost of hosting your own wiki will vary depending on the host that you pick. Be sure to find one that has a good uptime guarantee and high-quality support. Follow [[Choose a Web Host|this guide]] for more help on finding your own host. |
| − | #Choose a software package. Whether picking a wiki farm or going with your own host, you're going to come across several different wiki software packages. Most wiki farms offer whichever software their farm is running, but if you host your own you can use whichever package suits your needs the best. Use services such as WikiMatrix<ref>http://www.wikimatrix.org/wiki/comparison</ref> to compare the features of various software packages. | + | #Choose a software package. Whether picking a wiki farm or going with your own host, you're going to come across several different wiki software packages. Most wiki farms offer whichever software their farm is running, but if you host your own you can use whichever package suits your needs the best. Use services such as WikiMatrix<ref name="rf16589">http://www.wikimatrix.org/wiki/comparison</ref> to compare the features of various software packages. |
| − | #*'''MediaWiki''' – This is the most popular wiki software on the net, and runs wikiHow, Wikipedia, and many other wiki sites. Many of the most popular wiki farms use the MediaWiki software as well.<ref>http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?TopTenWikiEngines</ref> | + | #*'''MediaWiki''' – This is the most popular wiki software on the net, and runs wikiHow, Wikipedia, and many other wiki sites. Many of the most popular wiki farms use the MediaWiki software as well.<ref name="rf16590">http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?TopTenWikiEngines</ref> |
#*'''TikiWiki''' - This is the second most popular wiki software available, and runs a large number of wikis and wiki farms. TikiWiki has strong plugin support, allowing you to add features such as forums, image galleries, calendars, and more. | #*'''TikiWiki''' - This is the second most popular wiki software available, and runs a large number of wikis and wiki farms. TikiWiki has strong plugin support, allowing you to add features such as forums, image galleries, calendars, and more. | ||
#*'''UserPress''' – This is a wiki plugin for WordPress. It has most of the functionality of MediaWiki and other standalone wiki software, but it's much easier to use. | #*'''UserPress''' – This is a wiki plugin for WordPress. It has most of the functionality of MediaWiki and other standalone wiki software, but it's much easier to use. | ||
| − | #*'''DokuWiki''' - This is a smaller wiki software program that is growing in popularity, especially in enterprise-level implementations. It is designed first and foremost for team and workgroup collaboration, and has multiple levels of user access.<ref>http://www.siteground.com/compare_best_wiki.htm</ref> | + | #*'''DokuWiki''' - This is a smaller wiki software program that is growing in popularity, especially in enterprise-level implementations. It is designed first and foremost for team and workgroup collaboration, and has multiple levels of user access.<ref name="rf16591">http://www.siteground.com/compare_best_wiki.htm</ref> |
===Starting a Wiki Farm Wiki=== | ===Starting a Wiki Farm Wiki=== | ||
#Choose a wiki farm. If you decide to go with a wiki farm for your new wiki, you'll need to do some comparisons. There are a lot of options out there, both free and paid. The main benefit of using a farm is the ease of getting your wiki up and running. Be aware that moving to a different farm or to your own server can be very difficult. Some of the more popular farms include: | #Choose a wiki farm. If you decide to go with a wiki farm for your new wiki, you'll need to do some comparisons. There are a lot of options out there, both free and paid. The main benefit of using a farm is the ease of getting your wiki up and running. Be aware that moving to a different farm or to your own server can be very difficult. Some of the more popular farms include: | ||
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#*'''WikiFoundry''' – This is an alternative to Wikia and allows for private sites. It is one of the wikis where they can opt to require writer status in-order to edit. | #*'''WikiFoundry''' – This is an alternative to Wikia and allows for private sites. It is one of the wikis where they can opt to require writer status in-order to edit. | ||
#*'''Wikispaces''' – This is a wiki host designed for educational and academic uses. It is very popular in university settings. | #*'''Wikispaces''' – This is a wiki host designed for educational and academic uses. It is very popular in university settings. | ||
| − | #*'''Wikispot''' – This is a host designed for communities and non-profit services, though it is not limited to those. However, as of 30th April 2015, it has discontinued its services in favor of focusing on a geographically-oriented wikis project: LocalWiki<ref>http://wikispot.org/2015_Shutdown_Notice</ref>. | + | #*'''Wikispot''' – This is a host designed for communities and non-profit services, though it is not limited to those. However, as of 30th April 2015, it has discontinued its services in favor of focusing on a geographically-oriented wikis project: LocalWiki<ref name="rf16592">http://wikispot.org/2015_Shutdown_Notice</ref>. |
#*'''Wikidot''' – This is an all-purpose (business, personal, community, education) wiki farm that allows you to use your own purchased domain name with a free Wikidot-hosted account. Wikidot also allows for the creation of webpages beyond wikis. | #*'''Wikidot''' – This is an all-purpose (business, personal, community, education) wiki farm that allows you to use your own purchased domain name with a free Wikidot-hosted account. Wikidot also allows for the creation of webpages beyond wikis. | ||
#Create your wiki. The process will vary from site to site, but general all you need to do is create a username and then click the "Create Wiki" link on the farm's homepage. Some wiki farms require you to fill out a form to be submitted for approval, while others simply ask you for a title and some other basic information. | #Create your wiki. The process will vary from site to site, but general all you need to do is create a username and then click the "Create Wiki" link on the farm's homepage. Some wiki farms require you to fill out a form to be submitted for approval, while others simply ask you for a title and some other basic information. | ||
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#*Place the extracted wiki software folder into the "web" directory on your server. | #*Place the extracted wiki software folder into the "web" directory on your server. | ||
#*Rename the uploaded folder to what you want the URL to look like. For example, if your website is www.example.com, renaming the folder to "w" will make your wiki homepage www.example.com/w/index.php. | #*Rename the uploaded folder to what you want the URL to look like. For example, if your website is www.example.com, renaming the folder to "w" will make your wiki homepage www.example.com/w/index.php. | ||
| − | #Create a database. MediaWiki supports [[Create | + | #Create a database. MediaWiki supports [[Create a Database in MySQL|MySQL]] and SQLite. If you are using SQLite, you only need to choose a name for the database and it will be installed automatically. If you are running MySQL, you will need to download it for your server if it is not already installed, and then create a new database using the following commands:{{kbd|create database wikidb;}}{{kbd|grant index, create, select, insert, update, delete, alter, lock tables on wikidb.* to '{{var|username}}'@'{{var|localhost}}' identified by '{{var|password}}';}} |
#*Replace {{var|username}} and {{var|password}} with the username and password you want to use as the wiki's owner. | #*Replace {{var|username}} and {{var|password}} with the username and password you want to use as the wiki's owner. | ||
#*{{var|localhost}} Can be left as "localhost" unless your database is located on a different server than the web server you're installing your wiki on. In that case, replace {{var|localhost}} with the address of the database's server. | #*{{var|localhost}} Can be left as "localhost" unless your database is located on a different server than the web server you're installing your wiki on. In that case, replace {{var|localhost}} with the address of the database's server. | ||
| − | #*See [[Create | + | #*See [[Create a Database in MySQL|this guide]] for more details on creating a MySQL database. |
| − | #Run the installer script from your browser. Once you have the MediaWiki files uploaded and the database has been created, you can visit the {{samp|index.php}} page on your server through your browser to run the automated install script. After Mediawiki finishes the configuration tests, you will be asked to fill out a form with your wiki information:<ref> https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Installing_MediaWiki</ref> | + | #Run the installer script from your browser. Once you have the MediaWiki files uploaded and the database has been created, you can visit the {{samp|index.php}} page on your server through your browser to run the automated install script. After Mediawiki finishes the configuration tests, you will be asked to fill out a form with your wiki information:<ref name="rf16593"> https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Installing_MediaWiki</ref> |
#*Wiki name - This is the name for your wiki. It will show up in the metadata for your wiki, and will be integrated throughout the site. | #*Wiki name - This is the name for your wiki. It will show up in the metadata for your wiki, and will be integrated throughout the site. | ||
#*Contact e-mail - This is the main administrative email address. It will be displayed on all email notifications and on some of the error pages. | #*Contact e-mail - This is the main administrative email address. It will be displayed on all email notifications and on some of the error pages. | ||
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#*Database host - This is where the database is located. If it is on the same server as your wiki software, set it to {{kbd|localhost}}. | #*Database host - This is where the database is located. If it is on the same server as your wiki software, set it to {{kbd|localhost}}. | ||
#*Database name - The name of your database. | #*Database name - The name of your database. | ||
| − | #*Database username/password - The username and password used to access the database.<ref>https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Config_script</ref> | + | #*Database username/password - The username and password used to access the database.<ref name="rf16594">https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Manual:Config_script</ref> |
| − | #Customize your wiki. Once you've got the base wiki up and running, you can change the visual appearance using [[Create-a-MediaWiki-Skin-from-Scratch|user-made skins]] or by playing around with the [[Learn | + | #Customize your wiki. Once you've got the base wiki up and running, you can change the visual appearance using [[Create-a-MediaWiki-Skin-from-Scratch|user-made skins]] or by playing around with the [[Learn CSS Code|CSS]] code. Change the [[Design a Logo|logo]] on the wiki to match the function of the wiki. |
===Launching Your Wiki=== | ===Launching Your Wiki=== | ||
#Adjust your permissions. Your wiki will come installed with a set of default permissions that may work for your needs, but many people will want to change who can access and edit what. This is especially important in business settings where you want multiple collaborators to work on a product page, but don't want it vandalized by anonymous users. | #Adjust your permissions. Your wiki will come installed with a set of default permissions that may work for your needs, but many people will want to change who can access and edit what. This is especially important in business settings where you want multiple collaborators to work on a product page, but don't want it vandalized by anonymous users. | ||
