Hello, I have been working for years with a client that has a huge Wiki on the Internet, used primarily as a journalist’s research tool that eventually feeds books they write.
I am a total newbie to MediaWiki/WikiMedia. . .and in the past when the client has needed the site moved or updated, I’ve rustled up a colleague to do it.
Now they are toying with the idea of a paywall. Perhaps some parts of the site would be visible. A few pages of the day as a teaser, etc.
But they’d like to have a membership/paywall a visitor must join to access the pages. And since they are completely non-technical, the simplest, but more importantly, most SECURE is the driving force.
I’ve been poking around web-searching, discovered that using MediaWiki to block pages using “access control" is unadvisable.
https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:AccessControl%EF%BF%BC
Again, not recommended:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/619036/mediawiki-payment-gateway%EF%BF%B... MediaWiki payment gateway stackoverflow.com
I’ve seen suggestions of setting up either a Bootstrap html/css page that handles the PayWall—and putting the Wiki in a subdomain and pointing the access to that. I have not tested it.
?--A Wordpress site with the Wiki in a subdomain? There are several membership plugins with Wordpress that I’m familiar with. ?—A Bootstrap or React page and the Wiki Site in a subdomain?
And while I’m always up to learn new things—my experience is as a designer/visual creative with a bent for the web—I know my limitations.
I’m looking for some advice from the MediaWiki community to see what way is best, most secure, and easiest to maintain.
Also, as a sidebar: I’m a neophyte with upgrading. They are needing it and they are on version 1.34.5 I’m worried that if they wait too long to upgrade it will be a monster, as explained by a friend who did the upgrade and said there were so many things that had to be replaced and alternates selected.
Thank you SO much for your time, experience, and advice, Maureen Mead / South Sound Washington State mmeadpond@icloud.com mailto:mmeadpond@icloud.com