Editing MediaWiki Development Services (section)

== How MediaWiki Development Services Work ==

=== Phase 1: Server Setup and Configuration ===

A professional MediaWiki deployment begins with server provisioning. The recommended stack — commonly referred to as '''LAMP''' (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) or '''LEMP''' (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, PHP) — requires:

* A Linux server running Ubuntu Server LTS or AlmaLinux
* PHP 8.1 or later with required extensions (<code>mbstring</code>, <code>xml</code>, <code>intl</code>, <code>curl</code>)
* A MySQL or MariaDB database server
* Apache with <code>mod_rewrite</code> or Nginx with appropriate rewrite rules

The standard installation process follows these steps:

# Provision Linux server (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS recommended).
# Install and configure Apache/Nginx with PHP-FPM (PHP 8.1+).
# Install MySQL/MariaDB and create a dedicated database and user.
# Download and extract the latest stable MediaWiki release from mediawiki.org.
# Run the web installer at <code>/mw-config/</code> to generate <code>LocalSettings.php</code>.
# Configure short URLs by editing <code>.htaccess</code> or Nginx rewrite rules.
# Enable HTTPS (SSL/TLS) and configure HTTP-to-HTTPS redirect.
# Set file upload directory permissions and configure <code>$wgUploadPath</code>.
# Configure email (SMTP or sendmail) for user notifications.
# Install and configure a reverse proxy cache (Varnish) or CDN if required.

=== Phase 2: Skin and Branding Development ===

Custom skin development in MediaWiki involves creating a PHP-based skin class that extends the <code>SkinMustache</code> or <code>SkinTemplate</code> base class, along with associated CSS/LESS stylesheets and JavaScript modules registered through MediaWiki's '''ResourceLoader''' system.

A production-ready custom skin typically includes:

* A responsive grid layout using CSS Grid or Flexbox
* A configurable navigation sidebar or top navigation bar
* A site logo and favicon registered through <code>$wgLogos</code>
* Custom typography and colour variables
* Print-optimised stylesheets
* Accessibility compliance (WCAG 2.1 AA) including sufficient colour contrast ratios and keyboard navigation support

=== Phase 3: Extension Integration ===

Extension selection and integration is one of the most technically consequential phases of a MediaWiki deployment. A professional integration process includes:

* Reviewing extension maintenance status on MediaWiki.org (stable vs. experimental vs. unmaintained)
* Testing in a staging environment before production deployment
* Configuring extension-specific settings in <code>LocalSettings.php</code>
* Establishing an update schedule that keeps extensions in sync with core version upgrades

Commonly integrated extensions for business and institutional wikis include:

* '''VisualEditor''' — a rich-text, WYSIWYG editing interface built on the Parsoid rendering pipeline.
* '''Cite''' — footnote and reference management for citations and bibliographies.
* '''CategoryTree''' — hierarchical category browsing through an AJAX-powered tree widget.
* '''Echo''' — a notification system delivering alerts for page changes, mentions, and system events.
* '''OAuth''' — integration with external authentication providers.
* '''Scribunto''' — Lua scripting support for complex template logic.
* '''CirrusSearch + Elasticsearch''' — full-text search with relevance ranking and faceted filtering.
* '''Semantic MediaWiki (SMW)''' — structured properties, typed links, and SPARQL-like queries via <code>#ask</code>.
* '''PageForms''' — form-based page creation and editing, typically used alongside SMW.

=== Phase 4: Content Migration to MediaWiki ===

Migrating existing content from platforms such as Confluence, SharePoint, DokuWiki, or WordPress into MediaWiki involves three stages:

# '''Extraction''' — pulling source content via APIs, database exports, or structured web scraping.
# '''Transformation''' — converting the source format (HTML, Markdown, XML, or proprietary wiki markup) into valid Wikitext using conversion scripts, often built with Python tools such as [[Pywikibot]], pypandoc, or mwparserfromhell.
# '''Import''' — using MediaWiki's built-in XML import function (<code>Special:Import</code>) or the <code>maintenance/importDump.php</code> command-line script for large-scale bulk imports.

A professional migration service also handles:

* URL redirect mapping to preserve SEO equity from the source platform
* Category and namespace planning so imported content lands in the correct organisational structure
* Image and file migration with correct attribution metadata
* Post-migration validation to identify broken wikitext, missing files, or malformed templates

=== Phase 5: Ongoing Maintenance and Support ===

MediaWiki is actively developed software with regular releases — typically a major version every six months and point releases addressing security vulnerabilities and bug fixes. Ongoing maintenance services cover:

* Core version upgrades (including running <code>update.php</code> to apply database schema changes)
* Extension and skin updates
* PHP version upgrades as older versions reach end-of-life
* Database optimisation (<code>OPTIMIZE TABLE</code> operations and index analysis)
* Log file management and backup verification
* Security monitoring via the MediaWiki security mailing list