Do you actually need a wiki? MediaWiki is great software, but your site looks to only have about a dozen pages; unless you have a significant number of pages/the actual need for employees to be able to edit the site, MediaWiki is probably more trouble than it's worth. I would hire a good web designer, and have him create some nice, clean HTML. However, if your company has need for an internal corporate wiki, then MediaWiki would be a perfectly fine choice. (I'm speaking to you as though you were in charge of your company: Since you're not, it'd probably be easier to get a "standard" website created.)

If you want a case study of why a company using a wiki can be a bad idea, I would offer up the DreamHost support wiki http://wiki.dreamhost.com/ ( wiki.dreamhost.com). DreamHost decided a while ago that it would be a good idea to convert their "knowledge base" section to use MediaWiki, since it would mean that their hosting customers would be able to add to it, and hopefully make it a stronger resource. To that end, it has succeeded somewhat, but it has been an abysmal technical failure, primarily due DreamHost's unwillingness to devote ten minutes of manpower to upgrade the wiki software from 1.4.0(!). I think there was a staff member who initially served as the caretaker of the wiki, but he left a while back. The important lesson to draw is this: Don't use a wiki for your company unless you're willing to maintain it. An unmaintained wiki tends to look bad, and can eventually become a security risk. MediaWiki isn't really that hard to maintain, but someone does have to be willing to spend a few minutes every now and then (ideally, every day) keeping it in proper shape.

On 2/28/07, Mike Maughan mike.maughan@procuratum.com wrote:

Hi all,

I'm a member of a medium-sized network of business consultants here in the UK and our website is up for redesign (see here for your own opinion! http://www.bcn.org.uk/ ). The tone of the group in respect of marketing & promotions is best regarded as "staid", and as I'm a relatively new member most are regarding my troublemaking efforts to push a good & up-to-date web solution as "nuisance".

I feel we can do a much better job by using a wiki, set up with suitable templates and using an overall "look & feel" we shall probably shop out. What I need are ideas, suggestions, dos & don'ts, plus ideally any references to good or bad site designs of this sort both with & without wikis.

Enough variety to get your teeth into? :)

-- Regards, Mike _______________________________________________ MediaWiki-l mailing list MediaWiki-l@lists.wikimedia.org http://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/mediawiki-l