Replacing a wiki with WordPress: a simpler solution for documentation
At LRobDocumentation management is essential, but until recently was handled by MediaWiki. Although this tool is effective for collaborative projects, it becomes cumbersome and complicated to manage when you're the only one writing and maintaining documentation.
Working on a site WordPress websites to the numerous pages used as categories that the idea came to me: why not use WordPress to manage documentation, without the need for an additional plugin?
Why switch to WordPress?
WordPress websiteswhich runs www.lrob.fr, already offers all the basic functionality needed to organize documentation, without having to install any additional plugins. Here are some of the native advantages that prompted me to make the switch:
- Page hierarchy Creating pages and sub-pages, as in a wiki, is very simple thanks to WordPress' native structure.
- Gutenberg block for tree structure A block is available to display the sub-page tree of a parent page, making it easier to navigate through the documentation.
To complete this configuration, I used RankMath SEOalready present on lrob.fr, who helped me integrate two key features for a documentation site:
- Breadcrumbs A breadcrumb trail to improve navigation and referencing.
- Automatic summary An index of headings and subheadings, ideal for well-structured pages such as a wiki.
The transition to WordPress
On the evening of October 17th, I transferred the documentation to WordPress. The block editor Gutenberg made the process easy, preserving titles, lists and links when copying and pasting from MediaWiki. Next, I set up 301 redirects from the wiki to the new WordPress documentation pages, then deactivated the old wiki.
This morning, I took advantage of the migration to reorganize and improve part of the documentation, with a clearer, more modern layout, while adding internal links for better navigation.
Simpler, more efficient results
The switch to WordPress websites simplifies documentation management. Not only has this enabled me to eliminate the cumbersome maintenance of MediaWiki, it's also a more flexible and easy-to-use solution for me, while offering more accessible content to my customers.
Thanks to RankMath SEOThe documentation is better structured and more optimized for SEO, which should improve its online visibility.
You can consult the new documentation here : https://www.lrob.fr/doc/
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