Wiki hosting service

A wiki hosting service or wiki farm is a server or an array of servers that offer users tools to simplify the creation and development of individual and independent wikis. Wiki farms are not to be confused with wiki "families," a more generic term for any group of wikis located on the same server although on the rare occasion people make wiki "families" on wikifarms.

Prior to wiki farms, someone who wanted or wants to operate a wiki had/has to install the software and manage the server(s) themselves. With a wiki farm, the farm's administration installs the core wiki code once on its own servers, centrally maintains the servers, and establishes unique space on the servers for the content of each individual wiki with the shared core code executing the functions of each wiki.

Nowadays there are a few wiki farms where no software download is needed and all software is downloaded onto the site and example being editthis.

Both non-commercial and commercial wiki farms are available for users and online communities. Whilst most of the wiki farms allow anyone at all to open their very own personal wiki, some impose restrictions to what can be done on and/or with the wiki. Many wiki farm companies generate revenue through the insertion of advertisements, but often allow the payment of a monthly fee as an alternative to the acceptance ads.

Many of the currently most notable wiki farms got their start in the mid-2000s, including Wikia (2004), PBWorks (2005), Wetpaint (2005), Wikispaces (2005), Wikidot (2006), EditThis.info (2007), and Referata (2008), wikifamily (2011).

See also

• Comparison of wiki farms

External links

• Wiki farms at Curlie
• Wikimatrix, with interactive selection of wikifarms based on user preference