MediaWiki/Overview
MediaWiki: - a Guide for Hosted Sites
About MediaWiki
MediaWiki is a free and open-source software package originally developed as a platform for Wikipedia but now widely used by companies, government departments and individuals for a diverse range of knowledgebases, intranets and websites.
MediaWiki is also suitable for personal websites, such as this, and is a cost-effective platform for small to medium business websites, intranets and CMS.
Guide for Using MediaWiki in a Hosted Environment
To support the development of hosted sites which are MediaWiki-based I have developed a Guide which links to relevant documentation at MediaWiki.org and by the Wikimedia Foundation but is supplemented by information or advice specific to building a website with MediaWiki in a hosting environment.
This site - GrantsWebsite.net - and two other websites I am developing use MediaWiki. All are hosted, so I know the benefits and limitations of hosting. More articles will be added to this Guide as I continue to notice differences between hosting and my previous experience as a System Administrator where I had full access to the server and web server.
MediaWiki Skin - Pivot
The Pivot Skin is a responsive custom skin developed using the mobile-first CSS Framework called Foundation, by Zurb.
This Site uses Pivot and more details are provided here:-
MediaWiki Skin - Foreground
The Foreground Skin was one of the first responsive custom skins developed using the Zurb Foundation CSS Framework.
This Site was developed with Foreground (although currently using the Pivot skin). More details are provided here:-
Foundation CSS Framework
MediaWiki supports most HTML tags and custom CSS. However, MediaWiki was developed so that users did not require any knowledge of HTML or style sheets, and instead uses wikitext and a simple editor. Sites developed like that are rather plain - Wikipedia is a classic example. By contrast, a Skin like Foreground enables use of a ready-made CSS library with a Grid for page layout, and interactive features like buttons, developed by Zurb Foundation. Examples of these features, with code samples, are provided here:-
