Getting Started with Confluence as a Wiki

Want to use Confluence as a wiki? We’ll guide you through the process step by step.

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Curious about how to use Confluence as a wiki? You’re in the right spot! In this guide, we’ll break down the basics of creating a wiki page in Confluence and highlight the key differences between a wiki and a blog. Let’s dive in and see how easy it is to set up your very own wiki with Confluence!

What is Confluence?

So, what exactly is Confluence? It’s basically a tool for teams to collaborate, share knowledge, and keep everything organized. You can create documents, share ideas, and store everything in one place. Whether you’re working on a small project or managing a large team, Confluence makes it easy to stay on track and communicate – also across different departments or time zones.

But here’s the best part: it’s not just for formal docs. Confluence is perfect for building a wiki. You can create pages that evolve over time, add new info, and let everyone chip in. It’s simple, flexible, and easy to get started with. Whether you’re setting up a knowledge base or sorting through ideas, Confluence keeps things simple and smooth.

What Exactly is a Wiki?

A wiki is basically a type of website that anyone with the right permissions can edit. It’s a collaborative space where users can add, update, or remove content as needed. The beauty of a wiki is its open-editing nature — it’s designed for continuous improvement and sharing of knowledge.

You’ll typically find wikis being used for internal knowledge sharing, project documentation, or even public knowledge bases.

Why You Should Consider Confluence as Your Wiki

Confluence stands out as a fantastic choice for building a dynamic, interactive wiki. It brings together the key strengths of collaboration, flexibility, security, and scalability — all essential for a successful wiki. Here’s why:

1. Collaboration: With Confluence, your team can edit pages in real-time, add inline comments, and work together seamlessly. It’s designed for easy collaboration, so you can build your wiki faster and smarter, with everyone contributing their knowledge.

2. Flexibility: Whether you’re creating detailed knowledge bases or simple how-to guides, Confluence lets you structure your wiki however you like. You can organize content using spaces, pages, and categories that make sense for your team.

3. Security: Unlike basic wikis, Confluence offers fine-grained permissions to control who can view, edit, and delete content. So, you can share the right info with the right people, keeping sensitive data secure.

4. Scalability: Whether you’re a small startup or a large enterprise, Confluence grows with you. It’s highly scalable, so as your team or company expands, your wiki can easily handle the increased content without losing its structure or performance.

Plus, Confluence supports wiki-style editing with the added benefits of structured spaces and powerful integrations. You can connect Confluence with tools like Jira, Trello, and more, making it the perfect hub for all your team’s knowledge.

Wiki vs. Knowledge Base: Understanding the Key Differences

When setting up a space in Confluence, you’ll choose between a wiki (Collaboration space), a knowledge base, or a custom space.

A wiki is all about flexibility and collaboration. The Collaboration template is ideal for team projects, brainstorming, and evolving content where everyone can contribute and edit freely. It’s perfect for dynamic, informal documentation that changes over time.

On the other hand, a knowledge base is more structured and formal. It’s great for housing policies, manuals, and guides with clear organization. You can set permissions to limit who can edit, making it perfect for maintaining accuracy.

So, which should you choose? If you need collaboration and flexibility, go with a wiki. If you need formal, structured documentation, opt for a knowledge base.

You can also use both! Set up a wiki for team collaboration and a knowledge base for official documents.

Building Your Confluence Wiki: A Step-by-Step Guide

Before jumping into Confluence wiki creation, take a moment to plan things out. Here’s a simple guide to help you build your internal wiki with purpose and structure.

1. Define Your Wiki’s Purpose

What’s the goal of your wiki? Are you creating an internal knowledge base, a team collaboration space, or a company-wide information hub? Understanding your wiki’s purpose will help guide your structure and content. For instance, if you’re focusing on collaboration, you’ll likely want a more flexible structure, where pages can expand and improve with input from multiple team members.

2. Plan Your Structure

Think about how to organize your wiki. Will you group content by teams, projects, or topics? A solid structure is essential for keeping your wiki organized and easy to navigate as it grows. Think about the future too—what happens when new teams, projects, or topics are added? How can your structure adapt without becoming chaotic? Taking time to plan now will make it much easier to scale and maintain your wiki as your company evolves.

Also, don’t forget to consider navigation—how users will move between spaces and pages. Make sure your structure is clear, logical, and consistent, so everyone can find what they need quickly.

3. Create a New Space

Once you’ve planned your wiki’s purpose and structure, it’s time to bring it to life by creating a space in Confluence. Spaces act as the home page for your internal wiki, where all the pages, files, and discussions are stored and organized.

Follow these steps to get started:

1. Access the “Create Space” Option

   • Navigate to the Spaces dropdown in the top menu bar in Confluence.

   • Select “Create a Space” to begin.

 

• 2. Choose the Right Template

• • Confluence offers several pre-built templates for spaces. For a wiki, the Collaboration template is a great starting point because it’s flexible and designed for team contributions.

• 3. Name Your Space

  • Give your space a clear and descriptive name, like “Marketing Wiki” or “Project X Knowledge Hub”. A good name helps everyone immediately understand its purpose.

4. Add Content to Your Wiki

Now that you’ve set up your space, it’s time to start adding content and building out your wiki. The key to a great wiki is creating pages that are informative, organized, and easy to update. Here’s how to get started:

1. Create Your First Page

   • Click the “+” (Create) button in your space to start a new page.

   • Use a blank page to start fresh, or select one of Confluence’s templates to save time.

 

• 2. Organize Pages into a Logical Structure

  • Keep related pages grouped together using parent and child pages or folders. For example, you might have a folder/parent page for a project with child pages for meeting notes, timelines, and deliverables.

 

• 3. Use Labels to Categorize Content

  • Apply labels to your pages to group similar content. For example, apply a label like “campaign-resources” to all pages with campaign plans or materials. This way, team members can easily find what they’re looking for using Confluence’s search tool.

 

• 4. Keep It Simple and Focused

  • Keep your pages simple and easy to navigate. Use headings, bullet points, and visuals to organize content like marketing strategies or social media guidelines. To make key points stand out, you can also highlight text in Confluence using formatting tools like Aura Content Formatting Macros. This helps your team quickly scan and absorb the most important information without feeling overwhelmed.

5. Enhance Your Wiki with Macros and Visual Tools

To take your Confluence wiki to the next level, consider using macros and visual tools. These features make your pages more dynamic, engaging, and easier to navigate. Here’s how to make the most of them:

Add a Table of Contents

For long pages, the Table of Contents macro is a lifesaver. It automatically generates a list of headings from your page, allowing users to jump directly to the sections they need. Just type /Table of Contents in the editor, and it will take care of the rest.

 

 

Use Expandable Sections

Keep your internal Confluence wiki clean and user-friendly by using collapsible content. The Expand macro is ideal for FAQs, detailed instructions, or any content you don’t need to show all at once. To add it, type /Expand in the editor, enter the content you want hidden, and you’re good to go!

 

Highlight Key Information

Make important updates or announcements stand out with the Panel macro. These colorful boxes are perfect for emphasizing critical details, deadlines, or calls to action. To use it, type /Panel in the editor and customize the background color, border, and text to match your content.

 

Advanced Wiki with Aura Macros

Take your Confluence wiki to the next level with Aura Content Formatting Macros. These powerful tools let you create visually stunning, interactive pages that keep your audience engaged and make navigation easier. Here’s what Aura can do for your wiki:

Aura Cards: Visually Stunning and Interactive

Aura Cards are ideal for creating clickable, visually appealing sections to showcase project goals, important links, or popular resources. What sets them apart is their hover and flip effects, which add an extra layer of interactivity to your pages. With customizable colors, icons, and layouts, Aura Cards bring clarity and style, making navigation intuitive and professional.

 

Aura Dynamic Content: Real-Time Information Updates

Keep your Confluence wiki fresh with the Aura Dynamic Content macro, which pulls in live updates from across Confluence. Whether it’s blogs, recent edits, user profiles, or external sources like Mantra events, this macro ensures your wiki is always up-to-date. It’s fully customizable and easy to filter, so your team gets the most relevant information at a glance.

 

Aura Child Tabs: Seamless Content Integration

Unlike Confluence’s default child page macro, Aura Child Tabs let you consume child page content directly on the parent page. This eliminates the need for users to navigate between pages. Perfect for project plans or detailed documentation, Aura Child Tabs keep all relevant information in one place, simplifying workflows and improving productivity.

 

Aura Expand: Enhanced Collapsible Sections

For FAQs, guides, or detailed explanations, the Aura Expand macro offers customizable expandable sections. Unlike Confluence’s default Expand, Aura’s version includes options for custom colors, icons, and animations, allowing you to style the sections to match your page design. You can even nest expands or combine them with other Aura macros like Tabs and Cards for a cohesive layout.

 

Aura Panels: Customizable and Engaging

Aura Panels go beyond the limitations of native Confluence panels by offering extensive customization and advanced features. You can adjust backgrounds, borders, and text styles to match your branding or create visually striking designs with gradients and images. Unlike the default option, Aura Panels allow you to nest other macros like buttons or tables, making your panels interactive and functional.

 

Confluence Wiki Page Examples

Here are some examples of the types of pages you can include in your Confluence wiki to make it an indispensable tool for your team:

Confluence Wiki for Onboarding

 

 

 

Confluence Help Center Example

 

 

 

Knowledge Base Example

 

 

We used Aura and the free app Karma. Interested in more designs? Take a look at more Confluence sample pages.

 

 

Confluence Wiki Best Practices

Building a Confluence wiki is just the first step—maintaining it is where the real value lies. Follow these best practices to ensure your wiki stays effective and user-friendly:

1. Set Clear Guidelines

• Establish rules for naming pages, adding content, and using labels.

• Encourage consistent formatting across all pages for a professional look → page templates and content formatting macros are perfect for that!

2. Keep Content Organized

• Regularly review and update the structure of your wiki to accommodate growth.

• Use parent and child pages to group related content logically.

3. Encourage Collaboration

• Empower team members to contribute and edit pages.

• Use inline comments and @mentions to collaborate directly on wiki content.

4. Leverage Macros for Engagement

• Use macros like Table of Contents, Aura Cards, and Aura Dynamic Content to make pages visually appealing and easy to navigate.

• Create interactive elements like expandable FAQs or progress trackers to keep users engaged.

 

Empower Your Team with a Confluence Wiki

Confluence is a platform that transforms how your team collaborates and communicates. With its flexibility, powerful macros, and integrations like Aura Content Formatting Macros, you can create a wiki that’s dynamic, user-friendly, and tailored to your team’s needs.

Unlock the full potential of your Confluence wiki and empower your team with better tools for knowledge sharing. Try Aura now or get a free, customized demo!

 

 

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