User:Kirkburn/Advice

New wiki advice from Kirkburn

Main Page
This is the page almost everyone will see when they come to the wiki, and therefore is extremnely important.

If you have nothing on the Main Page, people will think you have no articles and won't go looking.

It must have:
 * A clean design - it doesn't need to be pretty
 * Links to most important sections (especially on a smaller wiki) - check out the WoWWiki main page
 * A short intro paragraph

Logo
For the wiki to be easily identified and to give it a more professioanl look, a good logo is recommended.

Tips:
 * Upload an image called wiki.png to create it
 * It should be simple and recognisable
 * Often images are better than words
 * You may want to protect the image to prevent vandals changing it
 * Don't use a copyrighted image! Create something based off the logo for your wiki's subject

Pages
The "meat" of your wiki.

Tips:
 * Keep them tidy and organised
 * Don't let people sign the articles (normally)
 * Categories - any easy way to navigate and find info
 * Linking - don't overlink, but don't specifically avoid red links
 * Do not make empty pages to get rid of a red link

Admins
The guiding hands behind the project.

Tips:
 * Don't make too many admins - try to choose them based on trust, ability and frequency of visits
 * Don't make too few admins - other you may be swamped
 * For a small project 5 (reasonable dedicated) admins should be enough
 * Admins are not a requirement for a wiki to do well. WoWWiki had very, very few.
 * Admins are not unilateral decision makers - they should work with the community

Policies and guidelines
For a new these may not at first seem important, but as it grows, you will find yourself needing them more and more.

They need not be comprehensive - at first you may wish to just link to another wiki's policies, such as wikipedia. Next, start creating polocies that are specific to your site. As and when they become important you can create policies for most things.