Setting up your wiki

So you have a new wiki. Congratulations! Now what?

Here's a few things we recommend you do for your wiki's "housewarming".

Uploading a logo

You can upload a logo to File:Wiki.png so that it'll display in the top left corner of every page on your wiki. Make sure its dimensions are no more than 155px by 155px.

If you are using the new Vector skin, upload a logo to File:Wordmark.png and make sure its dimensions are 135px by 20px.

By default, your wiki uses the Timeless skin for mobile browsers, which displays your wiki's name as the "logo". If you would like to replace that with an actual logo image, visit Self Service and add a configuration setting called "Use logo on mobile". Then, upload the mobile logo to File:Wordmark.png and make sure its dimensions are 135px by 20px. The small size of the wordmark allows for maximum mobile compatibility.

On the newest skins, like Vector 2022, you also have the option to add taglines and icons.

• A tagline can be a 135px by 15px PNG file uploaded at File:Tagline.png on your wiki.
• An icon can be a 100px by 100px PNG file uploaded at File:Icon.png on your wiki.

You will probably want to protect these logo files so it won't be overridden by unauthorized users. To do so, go to the picture, then the top right corner, hover over "More", and click "Protect". Then, change it so that only administrators can upload updates for this file.

Uploading a favicon

Want an icon in your browser tab for your wiki too? Upload it to File:Favicon.ico. Make sure its dimensions are 16px by 16px.

Again, you will probably want to protect this file so it won't be overridden by unauthorized users. To do so, go to the top right corner, hover over "More", and click "Protect". Then, change it so that only administrators can upload updates for this file.

Customizing your sidebar

If you're logged in as an administrator or interface administrator, you can edit the contents of MediaWiki:Sidebar to change what shows up there.

Want to hide it to users who are logged out? Visit Self Service and install the "Hide Sidebar" extension.

Adding users

There's several ways to add new users.

• For wikis that allow open signup, simply tell your users to visit your wiki and press "Create account" on the top right corner of the page.
• For wikis that require account confirmation, tell your users to visit your wiki and press "Request account".
• For wikis where only users can create new accounts, to create an account for someone, visit Special:CreateAccount while logged in. You'll most likely want to specify their email address so they can log in.
• Want to invite multiple people at once? Install the "Invite Signup" extension onto your wiki by going to MyWikis Self Service.

Adding administrators and bureaucrats

An administrator is someone who can perform tasks normal users can't. This includes protecting pages, deleting pages, blocking users, and executing maintenance tasks. If you have Backups Plus, you'll also be able to download the latest backup XML dump of your wiki on Special:WikiBackups.

A bureaucrat is someone who can change user permissions for other people. Despite its odd name, it doesn't mean anything other than that.

When you create a wiki, it comes with a default admin user. Unless you specified another name for it, it's called "Admin". This user is assigned both administrator and bureaucrat rights. Therefore, you can visit Special:UserRights to change permissions for yourself and other users. (You probably don't want to remove bureaucrat rights from your own account though.)

Adding templates

You can add your own templates to your wiki by creating a page under Template:NameOfTemplate, and then include the template on a page by using the syntax {{NameOfTemplate}}. For more details, please see Help:Templates.

Some Wikipedia templates are also available to be installed on your wiki. The most common template that wiki owners request is the infobox. Wikis on the MyWikis Pro and above plans are eligible for Wikipedia template installation. Here's a list of templates that we currently support:

• Infobox (recommended)
• Notice
• Navbox
• Ambox

In addition to these templates, we may be able to add more templates for you. Contact us to ask if we can add a certain template for you.

Good news, you can now easily create your very own infobox without much work. Install the Page Forms extension onto your wiki using MyWikis Self Service.

Adding extensions and skins

When your wiki is created, it comes with over 30 preinstalled extensions. These include extensions that offer a mobile-friendly layout, protect your wiki from spam, interface improvements, a better search interface, and improved search capabilities made possible by the same search engine that powers Wikipedia. However, there's still many more extensions you can install. To find extensions to install, visit MediaWiki.org. Or, if you want our recommendation for an extension, contact us.

Additionally, we bundle the three skins that come with MediaWiki by default, but we know there's many other skins available. Some popular ones include Chameleon.

Many popular extensions that we've vetted are available to install with ease on Self Service. You won't need to edit any code or figure out how to load the extension. Self Service does the installation for you—all you have to do is click install.

If an extension isn't on the list, contact us and we'll take a look at whether we can install the extension for you.

Customizing appearance and page functionality with CSS and JavaScript

To modify your wiki's general CSS and JavaScript, edit the MediaWiki:Common.css file or MediaWiki:Common.js file, respectively.

To modify a specific skin's CSS or JavaScript, replace "Common" with the skin name. For instance, if you only wanted to edit the default Vector skin's CSS file, edit the MediaWiki:Vector.css file.

Using a custom domain

If you are on MyWikis Pro or above, you can either purchase a custom domain, use the one that's included with your plan (for annual subscribers), or bring in your own existing custom domain.

See the Custom domain page for more info.