Are you eager to harness the collaborative power of SharePoint by creating a wiki page but unsure where to start?

SharePoint offers a collaborative platform for teams to share information and resources seamlessly, and creating a wiki page is a fundamental method to share your documentation.

This guide will walk you through creating a wiki page in SharePoint, equipping you with the knowledge to build your team’s knowledge base.

What is a Wiki?

In today’s digital age of collaborative work and knowledge, a “wiki” is a term you’ve likely come across. But what exactly is a wiki, and why is it important when creating one in SharePoint?

A wiki is a dynamic and user-friendly platform that allows individuals or teams to create, edit, and organize content collaboratively in a digestible manner. It serves as a centralized knowledge base where information is easily accessible, and updates can be made in real time. This means users can add new pages, edit existing ones, and remove older ones that have been outdated.

Wikis foster collective intelligence, making them extremely useful for project collaboration, documentation, and information distribution.

The relevance and importance of the SharePoint wiki page include:

1. SharePoint’s wiki page offers version history which allows you to trace changes and revert to previous versions as needed.
2. They help with knowledge management by arranging data and making it easy to access and utilize, which is essential for making educated decisions.
3. Wikis are excellent for developing and updating documents such as project plans, process manuals, and best practices.
4. SharePoint wikis provide a seamless platform for teams to collaborate, ensuring that content is always up-to-date and easily accessible.

Understanding what a wiki is and why it is important in the SharePoint environment prepares you to construct your own. Now, let’s go over how to make a wiki page in SharePoint step by step.

Creating a SharePoint Wiki Page from the Site Page Library

The SharePoint site page library is a special type of library that stores pages like a wiki. Whether you’re building an internal knowledge base, a project hub, or just need a space for collaboration content, creating a wiki page from the site page library is a perfect choice.

Follow these steps to create a wiki page from the site page library.

1. Login to your Office 365 account.
2. Click on the App launcher at the top left corner of the home page.
3. Click on SharePoint

This will take you to your SharePoint account in a new window.

4. Click on your preferred Team site or any other site you want to create your wiki page.

This will take you to your selected team site.

5. Click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of the page.
6. Click on the Site contents option.

You can also click on the Site contents link on the quick launcher bar of your selected site. This is found at the down left corner of your team sites.

Now, this will display all the Site contents present on your selected site.

7. Click on the Site Pages to open the folder. This is found at the bottom of your Site Contents.

This brings you to the Site Page Library. The next thing to do is to create a meta column to organize your wiki page depending on the need.

8. Click on Add column
9. Select the column of your choice to be added depending on the kind and purpose of your wiki page. Then Click on Next to add the column.

A Create a column dialog box pops up.

10. Customize this dialog box according to your need and click on save to save the column. You can add as many columns as you want for your wiki page

Next, get started creating your wiki page.

11. Click on New.
12. Click on Site page.

This will bring up a new Template to create your wiki page. You can modify it to your needs.

13. Click on the plus sign at the left corner of the wiki page template to select how you want your page layout to look.

Feel free to explore and choose whatever is okay for you.

14. You can also set your page properties web part by clicking on the plus sign at the middle of your template.
15. Select page properties.

You can edit the page properties to your needs and finally save the template.

16. Click on save as a template (This is best practice for the creation of multiple wiki pages)

17. Click on Publish.

After this, your wiki page will be live. If you want to create multiple pages, you can use the template to create more by repeating the steps.

Creating a SharePoint Wiki Pages using PowerShell

Automating tasks in SharePoint Online can significantly streamline your workflow. PowerShell CSOM (Client-side Object Model) offers a powerful way to manage SharePoint resources programmatically using PowerShell script. This method is ideal for those who prefer scripting and automation to enhance efficiency in managing their SharePoint content.

Follow these steps to automate your SharePoint wiki page creation.

Add-Type -Path "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\16\ISAPI\Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.dll"
Add-Type -Path "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\16\ISAPI\Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Runtime.dll"

1. Open PowerShell and run the above command, this command loads the necessary SharePoint CSOM assemblies for your SharePoint session. Click on enter on your keyboard afterward.

$SiteURL = "https://tenant.sharepoint.com/Sites/YourSite"
$PageRelativeURL="/sites/ YourSite /Wiki/YourWikipage.aspx"
$PageContent="A Test is a database of all such known errors, recorded as they are and when they happened - and they're maintained over time."

2. Next, replace https://tenant.sharepoint.com/Sites/YourSite and YourWikipage.aspx with your SharePoint site URL and your desired wiki page to be created.

$Cred= Get-Credential

3. Run the command and click on enter on your keyboard. This command prompts you to enter your SharePoint Online credentials. Enter your correct credentials to sign you into your account.

$Ctx = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ClientContext($SiteURL)
$Ctx.Credentials = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.SharePointOnlineCredentials($Cred.Username, $Cred.Password)

4. Execute the commands one by one pressing enter after each. This command sets up the client context for your SharePoint site and authentication with the provided credentials.

$WikiPageInfo = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Utilities.WikiPageCreationInformation
$WikiPageInfo.WikiHtmlContent = $PageContent
$WikiPageInfo.ServerRelativeUrl = $PageRelativeURL
$WikiFile = [Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Utilities.Utility]::CreateWikiPageInContextWeb($Ctx, $WikiPageInfo)
$Ctx.ExecuteQuery()

5. Finally run the following set of commands pressing enter after each command. These commands create the wiki page with the specified content on your SharePoint site.

This will successfully add a new wiki page to your SharePoint site.

Key Tips for Your SharePoint Wiki

Here are a few pointers to consider before you begin constructing your knowledge base wiki in SharePoint online.

1. Consider the Content Hierarchy: This may sound simple, but your priority should be to place pages exactly where users expect them to be. You must create an intuitive structure based on individual pages that answer employee inquiries. As they progress further, subsequent pages should contain more information. Consider your target audience and strive to match your sectioning to them for the greatest results.
2. Utilize Efficient Categorization and Labeling: Make sure to use tagging on your pages, but don’t overdo it. Divide your wiki pages into major categories. Make sure these don’t overlap so there’s no question about who’s who. Additionally, never apply several categories to a single article. This can lead your wiki to become congested and difficult to navigate (which is counter-intuitive to the purpose of a wiki).
3. Make use of cross-linking: Cross-linking is an excellent method for connecting sections with subsections. This allows you to link articles from the same or related categories and allows readers to navigate from one wiki page to a different one without having to look for it. This allows you to conserve space on each wiki page and remove any unnecessary content that may be cited on the crosslinked page.
4. Make a table of contents or index: It’s important to provide a centralized table of contents or index that provides users with a preview of your entire wiki. This is a necessary structuring tool for helping employees find what they’re looking for quickly and effectively. Additionally, a table of contents can help users switch back and forth between different pages until they find what they are searching for.

Creating a SharePoint wiki can be a valuable tool for knowledge management in your organization. It’s a dynamic platform for organizing, sharing, and spreading knowledge, and by following a few simple guidelines, you can turn your wiki into a valuable resource.

As you continue to develop your SharePoint wiki, keep in mind that it’s not a static project. It should evolve to match your team’s evolving needs. By putting these best practices into action, you’re establishing the groundwork for a dynamic knowledge base.

Conclusion

Crafting a dynamic SharePoint wiki is not only about creating pages but also about fostering a culture of knowledge sharing within your organization.

With the knowledge and tools, you’ve gained, you’re well-prepared to embark on this journey of creating, maintaining, and continuously enhancing your SharePoint wiki.

So, go ahead, create your SharePoint wiki, and watch it become a central hub of knowledge and collaboration for your team.