MediaWiki Installation

How to install MediaWiki?

SiteGround customers can request a free installation of Mediawiki from their Customer Area.

Mediawiki software is not included in the Fantastico automated installation tool. That is why its installation is relatively more complicated than those of Joomla or phpBB for instance.

Pre-installation Steps

Step 1: Database Setup

Please check our MySQL tutorial, to see how to create MySQL database and user.

Step 2: Upload Files

Once you have downloaded the release you want (Mediawiki can be downloaded from here), you can upload it to your account using the File Manager tool or an FTP client.

MediaWiki Installation

Now you should open the folder where you extracted the files with your favorite browser. If you have extracted the files in a folder called 'wiki', then you should go to:

www.yourdomain.com/wiki

There you will be asked to set up your MediaWiki.

When you click on the Set up the wiki link, you will be taken to the installation page.

Step 1: Site config

Under the Site config section you will be able to choose a name for your wiki, to set up a contact mail, to choose a language and license, to set an admin username and password and to select a caching method.

Step 2: E-mail, e-mail notification and authentication setup

The name of the next section - E-mail, e-mail notification and authentication setup, speaks for itself. Here you should configure the mail features for your wiki.

Step 3: Database config

In the Database config section you have to set up your database:

• For Database type you should select MySQL.
• For Database host you should type localhost.
• In the fields for database name, user and password you should enter the MySQL database, username and password you created during the database setup.
• The option for Superuser account should be left unchecked.

Step 4: MySQL specific options

Under MySQL specific options you can configure:

• Database table prefix. You can leave this blank or type in a table prefix, for example mw_ or wiki_.
• Storage Engine. We recommend using MyISAM as a storage engine for your database.
• Database character set. Here we recommend using Backwards-compatible UTF-8.

When you are ready, click on [Install MediaWiki!] button.

If everything has been set up correctly, you should see the Installation successful message.

Then you have to move the file LocalSettings.php from the config/ folder to your main wiki folder.

Congratulations! MediaWiki has been successfully installed to your account. You can access it through: www.yourdomain.com/wiki.