Updated: Feb 19
If you're about to start your own MediaWiki project or spice up an existing wiki,
some of the following points may be helpful.
We will talk about "skins" - freely distributed sets of code and resources - that
will determine the appearance of MediaWiki, and about the factors important for
choosing the right one. We are developers and will focus primarily on the
technical and conceptual aspects of the choice.
The design should match the content, not the other way around
Many people think of the Wikipedia interface when they think of MediaWiki: a large number of links that support the specific workflows of readers, commentators, editors, moderators, administrators.
The phenomenon of the world's largest online encyclopedia is so inspiring that
many people or companies using Mediawiki want their wiki to resemble Wikipedia.
The purpose and subject matter of a wiki, the nature of its content, and the
intended user experience may require a more or less extensive adaptation of
MediaWiki skin. Or maybe you just want to make your wiki unique?
About 70 different skins are listed on mediawiki.org and most of them
were created by enthusiasts and/or professional developers with the
goal of:
improving responsiveness
making interface cleaner
adding emotions
matching wiki content
Since it makes sense to make your wiki look great and distinct, these skins should
generally be viewed as templates for your own design. Therefore, ease of setup is
important.