How To Create a Wikipedia Article

Make sure you get the information for your article from a credible, reliable source. Material in books and newspapers is generally considered reliable; the musings of bloggers are not. And don’t bother writing about yourself; it’s considered a conflict of interest.

Make sure Wikipedia hasn’t already published an article on your exact subject by typing it into the site’s internal search engine. Search as many variations of the topic name as you can think of, including common misspellings of relevant terms.

Search the topic on Google to see if it finds any Wikipedia articles on your subject. Google sometimes picks up postings that Wikipedia’s own search engine misses.

Become a registered user to submit an article without first gaining the site’s approval. Having an account also means you can create a user profile, receive messages from other users, request notification for changes made to articles, and, of course, get credit for the articles you write. Click on “create an account” at the top right of any page.

Practice writing an article by composing a draft in the Sandbox, where you can familiarize yourself with the site’s editing tools. Get there by typing WP:SB in the Search box and hitting, “Go.” Click “Help” in the toolbox to the left of any page for guidance.

Type your subject in a Search box and hit “Go.” You’ve already determined that no page with that title exists. Click on your highlighted search entry. You’ll be redirected to a blank page where you can begin writing your article.

When your article is finished, hit “Show Preview” to proofread your work and see how it will appear on the site. When you’re ready to publish it, hit “Save Page.” Congratulations! You’re a Wikipedian!