Banner

Citation Needed! A Guide to Writing and Editing on Wikipedia

  • Editing an Existing Wikipedia Article
  • Creating a New Wikipedia Article
  • Women's History Month
  • Need More Help?

The Process

  • Create your account and practice editing. Try to make 10 edits before you get started on your assignment. Information on account creation can be found on the ENL 3895 section of this guide.
  • Make sure your article doesn't already exist! Search for it on Wikipedia. If it does exist, you can simply edit the existing article.
  • Use the Article Wizard to start creating your new article. This will help you create a draft space for your article. Make sure to bookmark it and share with your group. Multiple people can edit the same draft, so only one person in your group needs to create the draft.
  • Write! Check out the links in the Helpful Resources box if you need some more guidance.
  • Hit the blue "Publish page..." button when you're done! This will allow the page to either be published, or be sent for review by other Wikipedia editors. Consider saving a copy of your article somewhere to ensure you have an extra copy of it. The 'download as PDF' link on the left is great for doing just that.

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

Helpful Resources

  • Manual of Style From Wikipedia. "The MoS presents Wikipedia's house style, to help editors write articles with consistent and precise language, layout, and formatting, making Wikipedia easier and more intuitive for users. Plain English works best. Avoid ambiguity, jargon, and vague or unnecessarily complex wording."
  • Your First Wikipedia Article Everything you need to know about writing and creating your first Wikipedia article.
  • Article Development The process by which articles turn from short 'stubs' into useful, longer articles.
  • Examples of Good Articles Language and literature articles that are considered 'good articles' by Wikipedia. These can serve as good examples of what your finished article should look like.
  • << Previous: Editing an Existing Wikipedia Article
  • Next: ENL 3895 >>
  • Last Updated: Jan 17, 2023 3:01 PM
  • URL: https://belmont.libguides.com/wiki
  • PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
  • EDIT Edit this Article
  • EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
  • Browse Articles
  • Learn Something New
  • Quizzes Hot
  • This Or That Game New
  • Train Your Brain
  • Explore More
  • Support wikiHow
  • About wikiHow
  • Log in / Sign up
  • Computers and Electronics

How to Edit a Page in Wikipedia

Last Updated: February 13, 2024

wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 46 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 57,609 times. Learn more...

Sometimes, while taking a look at a Wikipedia article, you might find a mistake in it. Here's how to edit a page.

It's recommended to create an account before doing this action. If you already have an account, log in. If you don't, you might want to create one to keep all your contributions in your account under your username. If you want to edit without an account, then continue below.

Editing an Unprotected Page

EditingaWikipediapage2.png

  • Take a look again. Did you accidentally remove a word? Is there is anything else you could correct?

EditingaWikipediapage5.png

Editing a Protected Page

  • 1 Go to the protected page.
  • 2 Click on "View source".
  • 3 Click Submit an edit request .
  • 4 Fill in the space between {{subst:trim|1= and }} stating unambiguously what you want to do. If what you are doing is ambiguous, consider discussing the edit on the talk page before making the edit.
  • 5 Click on Show preview . This allows you to view how the changes will appear on the talk page.
  • 6 Click Publish changes .

Community Q&A

Hello903hello

Wiki formatting

Putting in:.

  • section headings between two equals signs, e.g.: ==Hello there== ;
  • subheadings between three equals signs, e.g.: ===Hello there=== ;
  • italic text between two apostrophes (NOT double quotes) - e.g. '' Hello there'' makes: Hello there ;
  • bold text between three apostrophes - e.g. ''' Hello there''' makes: Hello there ;
  • bold "and" italic text between five apostrophes - e.g. ''''' Hello there''''' makes: Hello there ;
  • [[Say Hello in Different Languages|Say Hello]] would link in a wikiHow article to: Say Hello and
  • external web-link entire URL between single square brackets (check spelling & punctuation) - e.g. [http://www.hello-there.com] (with "http://") will link to the webpage at http://www.hello-there.com . Basically, external links are set up like internal links, only with one set of brackets, and a space instead of a | separator;
  • "block indent" of unnumbered line or paragraph, put a colon (:) beginning the line (2 colons = double indent) actually skips lines ;
  • more bullet points within a bulleted list , use a double star (**) beginning each line
  • Third level bullet points within a bulleted list , use a triple star (***) beginning each line
  • (That was done here and the one above for example) .
  • But, that would disrupt a numbered list... See the note at the end of the numbering section.

Automatic wiki numbering:

  • numbered list , put a hash (#) beginning each line.
  • insert a new numbered line , strike "Enter" where you want the line and put a hash (#) and write your text and it will automatically renumber all the lines below. That's the basics of numbering!
  • bullet point list within the main numbered list , put a hash and a star (#*) beginning each line
  • To add extra blank lines as above before the bulleted sub-list, and also below before the indented numbered list use <br><br> at the end of the line before where extra lines are desired.
  • put a double hash (##) beginning each line
  • Third level numbering put a triple hash (###) beginning each line
  • "br" means line break (to break the line and go to the next line) so several of them will make several blank lines...
  • Use this extra formatting for a good reason not for fun.

You Might Also Like

Write a Wikipedia Article

About This Article

  • Send fan mail to authors

Is this article up to date?

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

Featured Articles

How to Comfort Someone Physically

Trending Articles

Everything You Need to Know to Rock the Corporate Goth Aesthetic

Watch Articles

Cook Fresh Cauliflower

  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Info
  • Not Selling Info

wikiHow Tech Help:

Tech troubles got you down? We've got the tips you need

Editing Wikipedia

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That's our commitment.

This is the vision for Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects, which volunteers from around the world have been building since 2001. Bringing together the sum of all human knowledge requires the knowledge of many humans — including yours!

What is Wikipedia?

Wikipedia—the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit—is one of the largest collaborative projects in history. With millions of articles and in hundreds of languages, Wikipedia is read by hundreds of millions of people on a regular basis.

A lot of content already exists on Wikipedia, but many important topics have poor coverage and some have no article at all. Wikipedia relies on contributors like you to keep information current, expand short "stub" articles, and create new articles on topics not already covered in your language Wikipedia. Contributions you make to Wikipedia can enlighten hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people worldwide.

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

When you make an edit to Wikipedia, you're joining a community of hundreds of thousands of people—Wikipedians—who have freely contributed their knowledge to Wikipedia. What Wikipedians are doing has the potential to change the world. But there's still a very long way to go before we collect the sum of all knowledge. That's why we need your help.

Today, I'm carrying on my grandfather's life work and his passion for recording local history and heritage. The difference is I have a tool my grandfather did not — Wikipedia.

Navigating Wikipedia pages

As you get started, it's helpful to familiarize yourself with the interface and how to navigate Wikipedia pages.

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

1 : Each article has a corresponding Talk page where contributors can leave comments and suggestions, discuss changes, and ask for help from one another.

Featured content

2 : Here you can find some of the best work on Wikipedia: articles, photographs, and other content that meet the community's highest standards.

3 : The Help pages, just like the articles, are written by Wikipedia contributors.

Community portal

4 : The community portal lets you explore what's going on across Wikipedia, from news to collaborations to policy discussions.

5 : This section has useful tools for getting more information about a page and its history.

6 : These are the other language versions of Wikipedia—out of more than 280 — that have an article on the same topic.

Language settings

7 : These settings allow you to change the language used for menus and select your keyboard layout.

8 : Many readers never notice the Edit button, but it's the most important part of any Wikipedia article. Click the Edit button at the top to edit the whole article, or click one of the inline links to edit a particular section.

View history

9 : The history of a Wikipedia article includes every contribution since it was created. You can see who changed what when, and compare any two versions side-by-side.

Create account

10 : If you haven't done so yet, create your account. With an account, you can keep track of your contributions, create a personal User page, and receive Notifications when other contributors reply to you or build on what you've done.

11 : Find articles by name, or find pages that include your search terms. You can also enter shortcuts to bring up specific pages that we reference throughout this brochure. A useful one is | shortcut WP:HELP .

What Wikipedians do

Volunteers contribute in more ways than one. Here are examples of what it takes to make Wikipedia happen.

Add new text and references

Preparing to edit

Anyone can edit Wikipedia, but there are some basic rules. Here are some of the most important ones to follow as you start editing:

Neutral point of view

Everything on Wikipedia must be written from a neutral point of view. Articles must not take sides, but instead should describe — accurately and without bias—all the significant viewpoints on the topic published in reliable sources. Argumentation or advocacy does not belong in Wikipedia articles.

No original research

Simply put, Wikipedia is not a place to publish original ideas. Rather, you should summarize what others have published in reliable sources about the topic. Articles may not contain any new analysis, and they should not synthesize published materials to reach broader conclusions beyond what the individual sources say.

Copyright and plagiarism

Since all contributions are freely licensed, no editor owns any article; all of your contributions can and will be edited and redistributed. Except for brief quotations, copying content from copyrighted sources onto Wikipedia is not allowed. Whether direct copying or close paraphrasing, plagiarism and copyright violation are disruptive and time-consuming for volunteers to clean up. It's important that all content you contribute to Wikipedia is written in your own words. (Public domain and freely licensed content may also be added to Wikipedia as long as it is properly attributed.)

Reliable sources

Information in Wikipedia needs to be verifiable, based on reliable published sources. You should include citations for the information you add to the encyclopedia, so that others can check it for themselves. The most reliable sources for Wikipedia are third-party sources with a reputation for fact-checking, such as books published by academic presses, peer-reviewed academic journals, and international newspapers. You should be using sources that represent significant viewpoints, rather than one-off studies or fringe work. Try to find the best and most reliable sources available on the topic.

Conflict of interest

If you have a conflict of interest about a particular topic—such as an employer or an organization you are a part of—you should avoid editing articles about it.

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

What is encyclopedic style?

Writing in an encyclopedic style and a formal tone is important when adding new content to Wikipedia. Instead of essay-like, argumentative, or opinionated writing, Wikipedia articles should have a straightforward, just-the-facts style. Here are examples of the do's and don'ts of encyclopedic writing.

Inappropriate

Encyclopædia Britannica , although a celebrated and historically significant encyclopedia, has little relevance in modern society. Instead, most experts agree that the future of the encyclopedia genre belongs to Wikipedia and other wiki encyclopedias — created by regular folks like you and me. Ironically, while it was a great influence on Jimmy Wales and the intrepid new generation of amateur encyclopedists who created—and continue to create — Wikipedia, Britannica in recent years has come to symbolize everything wrong about the old ways of creating and distributing knowledge: top-down control, unaccountable gatekeepers who decide what does and does not merit coverage, copyright restrictions and high prices that limit access to the wealthy, and—in its current online form—intrusive advertising that undercuts the reliability and usability of its content.

  • Don't create new essay-like articles or sections.
  • Don't structure your writing as an argument.
  • Don't use "weasel words" (like "most experts agree" or "some people say").
  • Don't use colloquial language or slang.
  • Don't use "peacock terms" (like "great", "extraordinary", or "intrepid").
  • Don't inject personal opinion into the writing.
  • Don't use overly complex language and sentence structure.

Appropriate

Since the early 1990s, the Britannica has faced new challenges from digital information sources. In rapidly changing fields such as science, technology, politics, culture, and modern history, the Britannica has struggled to stay up-to-date, a problem first analyzed systematically by its former editor Walter Yust. [1] Although the Britannica is now available both in multimedia form and over the Internet, its preeminence is being challenged by other online encyclopedias, such as Wikipedia. [2]

  • Use plain language
  • Cite sources to back up factual claims
  • Attribute viewpoints to the people who hold them
  • Avoid stating conclusions, except when attributed to a specific source

Editing with VisualEditor

With VisualEditor, you can see what your changes will look like as you edit, so you can focus on the content. Just click on the parts you want to change and start editing.

Editing toolbar

In edit mode, the toolbar lets you add formatting, references, images, and special page elements called templates (such as the infoboxes at the beginning of many articles). When you are finished editing, press the "Save page" button.

Lead section

The first sentence provides a definition of the topic, and the lead section goes on to summarize the key points covered in the article. This is the only section without a heading.

Freely licensed images and other media files can be added to Wikipedia articles from Wikimedia Commons.

Inline citations in the body of the article are used to show where the information in each part of the text came from. The citation details appear as footnotes at the end.

Reusable pieces called templates are used to format information in standard ways, and to insert things like the banners that alert readers to problems with an article.

Body of the article

Headings—and sometimes sub-headings—break the article up into sections, and are used to generate the table of contents. Each section usually covers some significant aspect of the topic, so that readers can jump right to the information they are looking for.

Appendices and footnotes

After the main body of an article come sections with additional information, such as related Wikipedia articles ("See also"), footnotes with details on the sources used ("References"), and a list of other websites readers could turn to for more information ("External links").

Editing with wiki markup

Wiki markup is the original form of editing Wikipedia articles (and on some browsers, it will be the only form available). It gives you precise control over the content and appearance of the page, once you understand how it works. Some of the underlying wiki markup for an article is pictured below. See how many of the corresponding elements you can find in the VisualEditor illustration.

Double square brackets around the title of a photo from Wikimedia Commons will insert the image. Pipes separate optional parameters to control how the image is displayed. The most common way is with two parameters: the word "thumb" to use the standard thumbnail format, and a descriptive caption that appears beneath the image.

Three single quotation marks before and after a string of text makes that text bold. The article's subject is usually bolded in the first sentence.

Opening and closing ref tags are used to cite a source. An automatically-numbered superscript appears at the location of the ref tags, and the content appears as a footnote in the references section.

D Internal link

Double square brackets around a term create a link to the article of that name. Adding a pipe and another string of text before the closing square brackets changes the link text.

Two single quotation marks begin and end a segment of italic text.

A pair of double equals signs mark a line as a heading. Triple equals signs make a sub-heading.

Double braces are used for templates, which are reusable page elements that serve many purposes. The first item after the opening braces is the template's name. Pipes separate the parameters, which are additional inputs that can change the way the template works or what it displays.

H References

The references tag, or an equivalent template, sets the location where the footnotes show up — typically in a "Notes" or "References" section.

I External link

A single square bracket, followed by a URL, a space, label text, and a closing square bracket makes a normal hyperlink. Typically, they are only used in footnotes or an "External links" section.

At the end of an article, double square brackets around a string that starts with Category: adds an article to the specified category. Categories organize Wikipedia articles into related sets.

For more wiki markup help, see the cheatsheet on page 19 or visit the reference page | shortcut H:MARKUP .

Adding content, step by step

These images show how one contributor added new information to the article on Penny Cyclopaedia .

The article before editing…

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

…and the article after changes were saved.

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

​ This image shows what the contributor added and the markup they used. Follow these steps and you too can add content to a Wikipedia article.

Step 1: Pick a topic you want to write more about.

Step 2: Find a reliable source that covers the topic better than the current Wikipedia article.

Step 3: Now comes the fun part. Click the Edit button! A

Step 4: Add some of what is missing. Using the source you've found, summarize the information you want to add in your own words. B

Step 5: At the end of your new block of text, add a reference. In the edit toolbar—whether you're using wiki markup or the VisualEditor — you can click the 'cite' icon to cite your source. C

Step 6: In the 'edit summary' field, add a brief description of what you've done in your edit. D (With VisualEditor, you'll be prompted for an edit summary after you click Save page.) The edit summary helps other editors understand what you are doing.

Step 7: Now it's time to save your changes. Be sure to click Save page. E

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

Don't worry. If you make a mistake, you can always make more changes or restore a previous version of the article.

User pages and Talk pages

Wikipedia has other types of pages beyond articles. As you start editing, you might also want to create your User page to let others get to know you a little bit.

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

At the top right (if you are logged in) you will see your username, which you can click to reach your User page. Links to pages that do not exist — such as your User page if you have not created it yet—are colored red, instead of the typical blue.

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

If you click the Create button on one of these pages, you can start from a blank page. A User page is a place to write a little bit about yourself, to give other contributors an idea of who you are and what you're interested in. You can share as much or as little as you like.

When you Save the page, your red link will turn blue!

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

You also have a User Talk page, where other contributors can leave messages for you. If you want to contact another contributor, you can navigate to their Talk page and leave a message at the bottom.

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

You should sign your messages on Talk pages; clicking the Signature button in the edit toolbar will insert four tildes ( ~~~~ ), the special wiki markup for inserting your username along with the date and time of your message.

Interacting with the community

Every article has its own Talk page, too. These Talk pages can be used to make suggestions, post new sources, point out problems, and discuss changes that contributors disagree about.

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

One important guideline for community discussions on Wikipedia is to be respectful and civil. Even if you get into disagreements, you should assume good faith on the part of other contributors. They almost always have the same goal you do—to make Wikipedia better. Keep the discussions focused on content, rather than making them about individual contributors.

Mobile editing

In addition to the traditional desktop interface, Wikipedia has a streamlined mobile version that you can use to both read and edit. Just visit Wikipedia on your smartphone or tablet, then log in.

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

More about English Wikipedia

Each language version of Wikipedia is different (although there is a lot in common across languages as well). These are some of the things specific to English Wikipedia that you may find useful.

Creating your first article

Starting a new article on English Wikipedia—and making sure it doesn't get deleted—can be tricky. For a detailed guide on creating your first article, see | shortcut WP:FIRST .

Wikipedia Signpost

The Signpost | shortcut WP:SIGNPOST is a weekly community newspaper, covering Wikipedia-related news and research, important discussions, new Featured content, and more. You can even subscribe to have it delivered to your Talk page each week.

Uploading non-free images

In general, only freely licensed or public domain images can be used to illustrate Wikipedia articles, and these should be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons (commons.wikimedia.org). However, limited exceptions are allowed on English Wikipedia under the non-free content rules | shortcut WP:NONFREE for things like album covers. Non-free images uploaded to Wikipedia without a clear justification under the rules will be deleted.

WikiProjects

WikiProjects Directory

WikiProjects are groups of contributors who have a common interest when it comes to editing Wikipedia. Browsing the existing WikiProjects | shortcut WP:WIKIPROJECT and joining ones that interest you can be a good way to find things you want to work on and connect with other Wikipedians.

Wikipedia 1.0 assessments

WikiProjects on English Wikipedia have a system for rating the quality and importance of articles, known as the Wikipedia 1.0 assessments | shortcut WP:ASSESS . For quality, these ratings go from Stub (just the beginnings of an article) to Start to C-class to B-class, and then the formally reviewed ratings of Good article, A-class, and Featured article.

You can see the ratings for an article at the top of its Talk page, and most WikiProjects maintain a table showing how many articles related to that WikiProject have each rating. Browsing WikiProjects for Stub and Start articles is a good way to find new topics to work on.

Evaluating Wikipedia article quality

The quality of Wikipedia articles varies widely; many are very good, but some lack depth and clarity, contain bias, or are out of date. In general, high-quality articles have these elements:

  • a lead section that gives an easy-to-understand overview,
  • a clear structure,
  • balanced coverage,
  • neutral content, and
  • reliable sources.

Additional information about article quality is available by consulting the "Evaluating Wikipedia" brochure (see below).

Additional resources

I took this great photo I can use to illustrate Wikipedia! That means I'll need to upload it to Wikimedia Commons.

A companion guide covering Wikimedia Commons, the media repository for images used on Wikipedia. The brochure covers what Wikimedia Commons is, how to upload files, how to use files, and the basics of free licenses.

http://education.wikimedia.org/illustrating

This brochure offers best practices for educators looking to assign students to contribute to Wikipedia as part of their course curriculum.

http://education.wikimedia.org/instructorbasics

Wiki markup cheatsheet

These examples cover the formatting needed most often when editing Wikipedia articles with wiki markup. For more help, see | shortcut H:MARKUP .

edit summary

A brief explanation of an edit to a Wikipedia page, which helps other contributors follow the development an article and understand the intention of the edit.

free license

A public copyright license that ensures the freedom to use and study a work, to make and redistribute copies of it, to make changes and improvements, and to distribute derivative works, by any person for any purpose. Wikipedia—and each individual contribution to it—uses the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license, which is a free license. See | shortcut WP:CC-BY-SA to learn more.

The record of a Wikipedia page, accessible through the View history tab, that shows every edit made. Any two versions can be compared to see the specific differences (known as a diff), and previous versions can be restored.

The special code used to format a Wikipedia page. See the cheatsheet (page 19) for the basics, or go to | shortcut H:MARKUP for more detail.

Notification

A message for you that shows up at the top of a Wikipedia page. If you want to let someone know you replied to them, you can create a Mention Notification by including a link to their User page in a signed Talk page message.

A bit of text, separated from other bits with a pipe character (|), that is used to control how images, templates, and other wiki markup appear on a page.

A short, undeveloped article with plenty of room for expansion. Adding content to stubs is a good way for new contributors to get started.

The discussion space for an article or other Wikipedia page, where you can talk about the contents of the page with other contributors.

A way of automatically including the contents of one page within another. For instructions on using them, see | shortcut H:T .

The personal page of an individual contributor, which begins with "User:" followed by their username. Wikipedians can use their User pages to share information about themselves and their interests, list the articles they have worked on or want to work on, and much more.

Wikimedia Commons

The media repository for Wikipedia and many other wikis, where you can contribute freely licensed photos, diagrams, videos, and other media files for illustrating Wikipedia.

Someone who helps build Wikipedia. Common synonyms include contributor, user, editor, and community member.

All images from Wikimedia Commons are under a CC BY-SA license or public domain unless otherwise stated. The content contained within is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License v.3.0 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:CC-BY-SA ) or any later version.

The trademarks and logos of the Wikimedia Foundation and any other organization are not included under the terms of this Creative Commons license. Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia, Commons, MediaWiki, Wiktionary, Wikibooks, Wikidata, Wikisource, Wikinews, Wikiquote, Wikiversity, Wikivoyage, Wikispecies, and Meta-Wiki are pending trademark registration or are registered trademarks of Wikimedia Foundation. For more information, please see our Trademark Policy page, http://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Trademark_Policy . For other questions about our licensing terms or trademark policy, please email [email protected]

Design by David Peters, EXBROOK

Portraits of Wikipedians by Karen Sayre, Adam Novak, and Victor Grigas. CC BY-SA 3.0

10% post-consumer recycled fiber, elemental chlorine-free process, produced using renewable power

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

  • Texts with missing images
  • Not proofread
  • Works published by the Wikimedia Foundation
  • Pages with override author

Navigation menu

  • Create account
  • Contributions

Help : How to start a new Wikipedia

Do you want to start a Wikipedia in your language ?

Having a Wikipedia in all languages is great. However, please realize that while the world-wide Wikimedia community will be happy to give you the technical support in creating a space for your language, you will actually have to do the writing, and it could require a lot of work. It will take some time to become ready to "go live". You need to be able to write your language well, and it is strongly recommended to team up with other speakers of that language.

While this is not a requirement, it is also good to be experienced in editing a Wikipedia in another language.

Check whether your language already has one

There are editions of Wikipedia in more than 300 languages, so maybe there already is a Wikipedia in your language! Here are a few places where you can check for it:

  • Look at the page List of Wikipedias .
  • Look at https://www.wikipedia.org , the portal page.
  • Go to the article about your language in a Wikipedia in a large language, such as English. These articles usually have a link to the Wikipedia in the language at the bottom.

If you cannot find an existing Wikipedia in your language, check the page Requests for new languages —there may be a request for it already.

Please be patient. It can take up to four months or longer.

Getting help

If you do not already use another Wikipedia, you might have many questions when you begin. For answers regarding your questions, you may contact other Wikipedians. For example, you can contact people using mailing lists (especially "Wikimedia-L"), Telegram groups (especially Wikimedia General and Wikimedia Language Diversity ), and the channel #wikimedia on IRC .

Here are some particular people on Meta willing to help:

  • User:Amire80 (Amir E. Aharoni)
  • Jon Harald Søby

Creating the initial content

Create the incubator.

Follow the instructions on the page incubator:Help:Manual , and create the initial pages there.

Create a Main Page

Create your own Main Page for the Incubator. You may also go to the main page of another Wikipedia and translate it into your language.

Note that main pages tend to have advanced code, and in the first stages of creating the Incubator, the articles are much more important than the main page. The initial main page should be simple and functional. You can create a cool-looking main page later, after you gain experience editing usual articles.

How to edit a page

You should translate the page How to edit a page into your language.

Another helpful link: Help:Starting a new page .

Translate the interface

To start a Wikipedia in a new language, you also need to translate the user interface of the software that runs it, called "MediaWiki". This is done on the site https://translatewiki.net . Note that it uses a separate user account. Translating the "Most important" messages is a condition for creating a new Wikipedia, but much more should be translated so that readers and editors would be able to use Wikipedia fully in your language.

Even before translating the user interface, it is recommended to settle on the basic terminology about wiki editing—words such as "page", "user", "log in", "account", "editor", "block", etc. The most convenient way to do it is to read the Basic glossary on translatewiki, discuss it with other people who know your language well, and translate that glossary. (It's recommended to translate at least the terms, but translating the explanations and the definitions is recommended, too.)

Special characters

If your language has characters that are difficult to enter on keyboards used by speakers of the language, you should add support for it to the Universal Language Selector . Ask for it at Help talk:Extension:UniversalLanguageSelector/Input methods .

You can also add a box of special characters to insert using the Edittools message.

Going further

Translate other things.

The name Wikipedia and the tagline "The Free Encyclopedia", which appear in the logo, must be translated, too.

Some notes:

  • The name Wikipedia can be spelled differently if the rules of your language require it, but it should generally be based on the English name. For example, the name in the Catalan is "Viquipèdia", because the standard Catalan alphabet doesn't include the letters W and K. If your language is not written in the Latin alphabet, the name should be written in that alphabet.
  • In the translation of the free encyclopedia , the word free means "not restricted." This sometimes confuses people because English does not have different words for free (as in price or cost - like the French word "gratuit") and free (as in freedom or liberty - like the French word "libre"). If your language has different words for the two kinds of "free", please use the one that refers to freedom or liberty. For more information on this, see this essay on the English Wikipedia: Wikipedia:The Free Encyclopedia .
  • The word "Encyclopedia" can be translated in any way that is correct in your language. It can be a transliteration of the English word, or a completely new word that has the same. Make sure that you understand the different between an encyclopedia and dictionary; if you are not sure, please read the relevant articles: Encyclopedia , Dictionary .

Prepare the Community pages

Each Wikimedia project has a place where users go to talk about things. In the English Wikipedia, for example, this is the Village pump . The French Wikipedia has Le Bistro . Please choose a name for a page and then create the page.

You will need a page where writers and editors can write their name and location. One idea is to use the page of en:Wikipedia:Wikipedians as a base and translate it in your language.

Set up basic guidelines

There are a few rules that all Wikimedia projects must follow:

  • You cannot violate the terms of a copyright. Please make a page to warn users not to copy things from other places without asking the author.
  • As of 2022, Wikipedia articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License . (The GNU Free Documentation License was used in the past and still applies for backwards compatibility in some cases.) Very briefly, it means that everyone is free to read, copy, change, and redistribute the content, but please read the full license to understand it. You should also make a page in your language to explain it and publish it in the Wikipedia.
  • Authors must write from a neutral point of view (NPOV). Please make a page to explain this.
  • Please make a page to explain what Wikipedia is not .

Other than these all-projects rules, each Wikipedia has created its own rules.

Some rules you might want to have right away include:

  • Orthographic practices - if there is more than one way to spell or write your language, you will need rules about it.
  • Stylistic conventions - if your language does not have a standardized universal form (the way everybody writes it to understand each other), you will need to have one or have a rule to tell people which forms or dialects of your language to use. Also, you will need more complex stylistic conventions. For examples in many languages, see the page Language guides .
  • naming conventions

Add a style guide and resources for writers

You want to have a high-quality encyclopedia. Please write a few suggestions for writers. Are there any websites in your language about how to write? Maybe you want to add a dictionary or a grammar guide here. Put in everything that could be useful for writers.

Write a few good content articles as an example for others

You might want to write a few articles for your Wikipedia to get it started, and to give an example to other possible writers. You can translate an article from a different Wikipedia, or you can write an original article.

Have cooperation between the Wikipedia in your language and other Wikipedias

We think that you should join some of the mailing lists so that you will know what happens. The mailing lists are also good resources you can use to grow from the things that happen to other Wikipedias.

Please make a local Wikimedia Embassy for multilingual cooperation. (make yourself a page so that we can talk to you more easily, and write a name for a contact)

If you want to have a central place where you can find out what is going on in the whole Wikipedia community, go to goings-on .

Permissions

You might need someone with administrator (sysop) status very soon. Add your request on Requests for permissions .

Promote your Wikipedia

Find appropriate newsgroups, forums, discussion lists, and so on, where people are interested that the Wikipedia has started in their language. Offer to write an article for a local newspaper about your work on the project, and its cultural value to society. Lecture at conferences where the topic would be appropriate. Create a small brochure or poster about Wikipedia in your language. Add a link to Wikipedia in your email signature.

Now your language is ready for the public! Try to convince your friends to join the project, and explain how the Wikipedia works. Thank you for working hard!

  • Requests for new languages
  • Proposals for new projects
  • incubator:Help:Manual
  • Meta:Language proposal policy

how to create a wikipedia article about a person

  • Multilingualism
  • Toggle limited content width

IMAGES

  1. how to create a wikipedia article about a person

    how to create a wikipedia article about a person

  2. How To Create A New Article on Wikipedia

    how to create a wikipedia article about a person

  3. how to create a wikipedia article about a person

    how to create a wikipedia article about a person

  4. How to create a Wikipedia page for a person, place, company, or any notable topic

    how to create a wikipedia article about a person

  5. How To Create A Wikipedia Page For Someone, How To Make A Wikipedia Page For A Person, Can I

    how to create a wikipedia article about a person

  6. Wikipedia Page Writing Services

    how to create a wikipedia article about a person

VIDEO

  1. Feature Spotlight: AI Biographer™

  2. Top 10 searches on Wikipedia in 2023!

  3. How to Create Wikipedia Account || How to Make a Wikipedia Page || How to Create Wikipedia Profile

  4. did you know about wikipedia #shorts

  5. Why He Made Wikipedia Free #478

  6. How to cite an article on Wikipedia.org?

COMMENTS

  1. Help:Your first article

    Learn how you can create a new article on Wikipedia. Newcomer tip: You might want to build up your skills doing smaller tasks first at Wikipedia:Task Center . This is an information page.

  2. Wikipedia:How to create a page

    The methods explored below describe how to access a non-existent page when a red link is not already presented to you, in order for you to follow these steps to creation. Method 1: searching. Enter text in the search field that you seek to create as a page title. If the title you entered does not already exist, is not technically restricted and ...

  3. How to Create a Wikipedia Article Step by Step

    A Wikipedia article about a person requires the person to be notable. ... It takes more than one reference to make a Wikipedia article. Far more. For example, a biography of a living person requires web references for most, if not all, facts presented. Wikipedia editors are very picky about this.

  4. Template:Biography

    Template:Biography Subject's complete name (birthdate - death) can be a lead-in to the subject's popular name. Describe the subject's nationality and profession (s) in which the subject is most notable. Provide a description of the subject's major contributions in the immediately relevant field (s) of notable expertise.

  5. Simple Guide To Creating a Wikipedia Biography

    Search for the name of the page you want to create in the upper-right search box in Wikipedia. In the search results, click on the red title of the name near the top. You will be taken to a page where you can copy and paste the Wiki-code (or write the code from scratch) which creates the page.

  6. How to Write a Wikipedia Article: A Simple Guide

    This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Darlene Antonelli, MA.Darlene Antonelli is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Darlene has experience teaching college courses, writing technology-related articles, and working hands-on in the technology field.

  7. How to Create a Wikipedia Page for Any Notable Topic

    Anyone can sign up for a Wikipedia account and create a unique article or contribute to an existing one. Wikipedia has notability and core content requirements it considers before allowing...

  8. How to create a Wikipedia page for a person, place, company, or any

    1. To create a Wikipedia.org page, you must have a registered account. Log in or create one. Note: After you create an account, you will be automatically logged in. You will need to...

  9. How to be included on Wikipedia

    A user's guide to writing and editing Wikipedia pages. Editing Wikipedia is pretty simple. You have the choice to edit using a visual editor or using code, and you can toggle between the two using the button found in the top right-hand corner of the editing screen. You must be logged in to use the visual editor feature.

  10. Creating a New Wikipedia Article

    The Process Create your account and practice editing. Try to make 10 edits before you get started on your assignment. Information on account creation can be found on the ENL 3895 section of this guide. Make sure your article doesn't already exist! Search for it on Wikipedia. If it does exist, you can simply edit the existing article.

  11. How to Create a Wikipedia Page (Step by Step)

    Draft your page Format, cite and categorize Prepare to submit for review Adjust and cooperate Monitor your entries Let's kick this off with the dealbreaker. 1. Check your notability The most common reason why Wikipedia pages fail the review process is the lack of notability. And here's the harsh reality: Your brand is less notable than you think.

  12. How to Develop and Create a Wikipedia Page that Sails Through the

    How to Develop and Create a Wikipedia Page that Sails Through the Approval Process Writing for Wikipedia is a great way to share information. There's a learning curve, but following these steps will make you a Wiki wizard.

  13. Wikipedia:Article creation

    Article creation is the process by which new articles are started, titled, formed, stubbed, categorized, and developed. See Help:Your first article. You may also wish to consider using a Wizard to help you create articles — see the Article Wizard. Note: The ability to create articles directly in mainspace is restricted to autoconfirmed users ...

  14. How to Contribute to Wikipedia: 9 Steps (with Pictures)

    1 Create a Wikipedia account. Account creation is not required; however, if you register for an account, [1] you will be given more privileges than a non-registered user. For all of these privileges to take place, your account must be at least four days old and have at least ten edits. [2] 2 Get familiar with Wikipedia's core policies.

  15. How to Create a Wikipedia Page

    Paid Media - effective paid strategies with clear ROI. Book a Call What Are The Benefits of Creating a Wikipedia Page for Your Business? The largest benefit of Wikipedia is its sheer size and reach. It is one of the most visited websites in the world, averaging nearly 2 billion unique visitors per month.

  16. How to Edit a Page in Wikipedia: 11 Steps (with Pictures)

    Editing a Protected Page. Go to the protected page. Click on "View source". Click Submit an edit request. Fill in the space between { {subst:trim|1= and }} stating unambiguously what you want to do. If what you are doing is ambiguous, consider discussing the edit on the talk page before making the edit.

  17. How to Make a Wikipedia Page

    Learn how to create your own Wikipedia page, step-by-step, from start to finish! We'll cover everything you need to know to make a Wikipedia page on your PC ...

  18. How to create a Wikipedia Page

    Before you start writing your Wikipedia article, you should make sure that your planned content is not a published entry yet. Enter the topic of your planned article in the Wikipedia search bar. ... and when it is not. In general, a topic, event, or person is considered to be notable enough for a Wikipedia page when it is significant to the ...

  19. Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia

    A short video about that "Edit" button and what it can do when you are bold! (1:06 min) Our purpose is to create a web-based, free content encyclopedia of all branches of knowledge, in an atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation.The goal of a Wikipedia article is to create a comprehensive and neutrally written summary of existing mainstream knowledge about a topic.

  20. Editing Wikipedia

    Edit. 8: Many readers never notice the Edit button, but it's the most important part of any Wikipedia article.Click the Edit button at the top to edit the whole article, or click one of the inline links to edit a particular section. View history. 9: The history of a Wikipedia article includes every contribution since it was created.You can see who changed what when, and compare any two ...

  21. Help:How to start a new Wikipedia

    To start a Wikipedia in a new language, you also need to translate the user interface of the software that runs it, called "MediaWiki". This is done on the site https://translatewiki.net. Note that it uses a separate user account. Translating the "Most important" messages is a condition for creating a new Wikipedia, but much more should be ...

  22. Wikipedia:Writing better articles

    This page advises on article layout and style, and on making an article clear, precise and relevant to the reader. You can post questions about English grammar and usage at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Language.; If you want to peruse some of Wikipedia's finest articles, have a look at Wikipedia:Featured articles.; For information on how to cite sources, see Wikipedia:Citing sources.

  23. Wikipedia : Writing Wikipedia Articles course/Create an account

    Personae [ edit] Each of the following fictional people has an interest in flowers and horticulture, and participates in several online blogging and social media communities relating to that interest. Each one works on Wikipedia articles related to flowers, and various other topics as well.

  24. Lethal Company

    Lethal Company is a cooperative survival horror video game created by Zeekerss. It released in early access in October 2023 and gained popularity on the Steam storefront.. In Lethal Company, players collect and sell scrap from abandoned, industrialized exomoons while avoiding traps, environmental hazards, and monsters. As employees of "The Company", players must sell enough scrap to meet a ...